My wife and I brought a beautiful baby girl, Winnie Margaret Conrad, into the world three weeks ago!

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The question to ask yourself when you are considering treatment: How do drugs and alcohol add value to my life today?

There are many different reasons addicts will not go into drug and alcohol rehab. One reason may be because the addict thinks they won’t be able to become clean, so what is the point of going? With that attitude, you definitely won’t become clean and sober again. 

I’m here to tell you, relapse is NOT a part of recovery. This statement, which I’ve heard many times, is BS. Relapse is only a part of recovery if you choose to make this a part of your recovery.

In this episode, I’m going to talk about the most common fears people have when considering treatment options. Many people have a fear of the unknown. Remember, treatment for any problem, whether the issue is medical, such as a broken leg or addiction, is purposeful. The reason you go for treatment is for repair. Treatment is generally uncomfortable; however, the goal for your treatment is to heal successfully. 

When you enter into drug and alcohol treatment, it may be hard to comprehend your life moving forward without drugs and alcohol. You may be asking yourself the following questions:

• What does drug and alcohol treatment look like?
• What can I expect during this process?
• What are the actions and steps I’ll have to do in the addiction program?
• What types of treatments will my rehab consist of?
• Who will be leading my rehabilitation?
• What types of doctors, psychologists, will I be working with during rehab?
• What will this process look like for me?

I’ll be speaking with my guest, Griff, today about his fears about going into drug and alcohol rehab. He has been in rehab for six months and will talk to us about dealing with emotions.

Fear #1: Talking about your emotions. As an addict, we tend to live emotionless lives to avoid feeling emotions. You are using drugs and alcohol to mask your true emotions. Your feelings are overwhelming; however, if you do not process your emotions, you have a significant chance of falling back into the addiction cycle.

When Griff first started feeling emotion, he felt love for the first time. This was the first experience he had with loving himself. Also, he experiences the emotion of hate for his actions in the past.

He now realizes he has a choice not to live a life of addiction. He feels he is a better person now than he was before. Griff realizes that he feels different if he is around others who are drinking. 

Fear #2: Loneliness: Make sure to have a trusted counselor or other professional to work through your emotional process and have a clean and positive community of friends who can be there for you when you are working through the recovery process.

Griff talks about how vital the community at the Rock Recovery Center is for him through his process of recovery. He felt welcome and accepted at the Rock Recovery Center. Even though he considers himself an introvert, he realizes how his new friends are looking out for him. 

Listen in to hear more detail about three common fears many people experience when considering drug and alcohol rehabilitation.

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Show Notes:

• [03:54] Trying to comprehend your life without drugs and alcohol.
• [04:06] Common modalities and activities you may have in your recovery program.
• [04:33] Fear #1: The fear of dealing with your emotions
• [05:59] My guest Griff talks about using since he was 12 and not having to deal with emotions for a very long time.
• [07:02] Feeling guilt and shame when going through the treatment process.
• [07:25] Griff talks about harnessing his new found emotions to change and become a better person.
• [09:09] Going through and processing emotions with a trained therapist who you can trust and feel comfortable with when healing from addiction.
• [10:56] Stay away from environments which have drugs or alcohol when you are in early recovery.
• [11:09] Fear #2 the fear of loneliness.
• [12:39] Griff talks about the relationships he has developed during treatment.
• [13:39] Be an asset to your community during treatment.
• [14:59] Griff talks about his new found “family” at the Rock Recovery Center and the importance of having this community for his well-being.
• [17:04] The community at the Rock Recovery Center holding each other accountable.
• [20:04] Perspective: look at how wonderful your life would be without dependence on drugs and alcohol instead of thinking about life without drugs and alcohol.

Links and Resources:

• Real Recovery Live Chat
• Real Recovery Talk on the Web
• Real Recovery Talk on YouTube
• Leave Real Recovery Talk a review on iTunes
• Rock Recovery Center