In my recently published book titled, “I Just Said My Prayers and Showed Up — Former Alcoholism/Addictions Counselor’s Experiences, Reflections and Opinions,” I offered some of my insights based on my twenty-five-year career as a Certified Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse Counselor and a Certified AODA Clinical Supervisor. I wish to share a few additional thoughts in this article on the topic of “recovery” as it relates to a substance use disorder.
“Recovery” can mean different things to different people and circumstances. My focus in this article will be on alcohol or other drug abuse concerns and not directed to other potentially addictive behaviors.
So, alcoholics and addicts talk about recovery. So, what does recovery mean? It can mean different things. Not all substance abusing people have crossed the line to addiction or dependency and not all dependencies involve a physical addiction. Furthermore, it is usually understood that there are different levels or stages of dependency — usually described as early stage, middle stage and late-stage dependency.
“Recovery” historically has usually meant that at least the substance use has stopped. Not just stopped or discontinued using but also that the substance abusing person has hopefully entered ...
