I am in recovery for
substance abuse and I work in or around the recovery field. Every time a celebrity is whisked off to
rehab it sends the message to substance abusers and the people who love them,
that in order to recover from alcoholism and drug abuse you must go to
treatment. In Texas, if you don’t have private pay insurance or you
aren’t on probation or parole, or have a big private bankroll, it is nearly impossible to go to a treatment
center because we don’t have many with other funding options.
When Oak Haven closed in
Marshall, it was the last house on the block of treatment centers in East Texas
for people who did not fall into specialty niches that still have funding
available. There is little to no funding to put “Joe or Susie Average “in treatment
in Texas.
The good news is, and it is
good news, for nearly 80 years AA has been saving lives and restoring drunks to
wholeness. NA has been doing the same for over 61 years.
TREATMENT IS A LUXURY, not a
necessity.
If a man or a woman can admit
they can’t use successfully and their life is unmanageable, they can recover
with meetings that take place several times a day. every day of the week for no
cost. No insurance necessary.
I have had my phone number
attached to several information lines for NA and AA for years. I get calls from
people who are at the end of their ropes and they have no idea what can be
done.
Here is the straight dope
about Alcoholism and Addiction recovery. If you are an addict or alcoholic, it
only gets worse. It will end with “Jails, institutions or death”. End of story.
You drag everyone that dares to keep loving you right through the gates of
torment and hell.
Treatment facilities are a
great place to get a lot of information quickly, but ultimately you go to AA or
NA meetings on your own volition, if you stay sober.
Some calls I get or got, were
from Grandparents raising their grandkids, parents at wits end over their kids
drug abuse, spouses, lovers and friends who’s own lives are in shambles because
they love a drunk or dope head.
More good news here, those
people can regain their lives and sanity in two programs called Alanon and
Naranon. These are family groups that work in conjunction with the 12 Steps of Alcoholics
Anonymous. Addiction is a family disease, and if you love an addict and your
life has been wrecked by their drug abuse, YOU can regain sanity in your life
whether or not your alcoholic or addict ever recovers.
To recover or to be restored,
made whole again, is available in your town or near your town. There are
meetings online these days. You don’t have to spend another day in despair. The
requirement for membership for both NA and AA is simply, you need to have the
desire to quit. You don’t have to quit before you come. You can’t do it alone
and most of us can’t. It is best to come with a clear head ,but the important
thing is you keep coming back.
In this dark situation of
chemicals, despair, and obliterated family relationships, there is a quiet
promise of recovery from NA and AA.
YOU CANNOT USE THE EXCUSE I
CAN’T AFFORD TREATMENT. For 80 years poor people, rich people, ugly people,
pretty people, white people, black people, Chinese people, street walkers,
preachers, football players, mothers, grandfathers, kids, Republicans, and
Democrats have gotten sober and regained their spirits and the ability to love
and be loved through the miracle of recovery in
AA/NA.
I am a member of a 12 Step
Organization but I am not speaking on behalf of them. I’m speaking solely from
my experience as being a broken human who used chemicals for a peace of mind
that never was sustainable or attainable. I regained life through a 12 step
program.
East Texas Council on Drug
Addiction and Alcoholism is a clearing house for all things dealing with
addiction in Longview, for the addict or the person that loves an addict.
Things don’t magically get
better for people who don’t seek help, in fact they get so bad, the horror
writer Stephen King couldn’t dream up the nightmares addiction rains down on
people and their families..
The websites for AA and NA
are
If you love an
addict/alcoholic, these are important websites with life and sanity saving
information just for YOU.
There is freedom for active addiction,
there is freedom for those whose lives have been destroyed by the disease of
alcoholism and addiction. It doesn’t get better on its own, it won’t just go
away. Recovery is possible and you don’t have to pay 10 thousand dollars a
month to learn what is shared freely in AA and NA.
There is a way out of the
darkness. Restoration to wholeness and sanity is completely possible and
doable. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain. Misinformation
regarding inpatient or outpatient treatment is killing people and letting
families suffer needlessly. Recovery is hard, but active alcoholism and
addiction is harder by far..
Clint G.
Anonymous Recovering
Alcoholic Addict
Alcoholic Addict
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