Recovery from drug addiction and alcohol addiction is stressful in the best of circumstances. The addict/alcoholic wishes that they could fast forward time and have all the past negative history behind them, overnight in fact would be preferable. The watchful eyes of family, friends and employers take their toll and the minutes seem to tick by in slow motion as the discomfort for all involved still remains. One important thing for the recovering addict to remember is that their concept of time is a bit warped. Take for instance their using. If you ask an addict or alcoholic if they are currently using because their behavior indicates that may be the case, they will often state Oh I havent used in a long time! If pushed to elaborate what constitutes a long time it may often be a day or two at most. To the addict that IS a long time. To those around him or her it is an extremely short amount of time and they are still holding their breath waiting for the other shoe to drop. In early recovery each day may deem to drag on uncomfortably. Preoccupation with wanting to use drugs or alcohol fights against determination to be drug and alcohol free. On top of that, a whole new way of living is being learned a minute, an hour and a day at a time. As they look around them they might feel resentful for how easy others are just sailing through the day when for them it feels as though it will never end. They think to themselves I have to try to do this the rest of my life? When recovery is the goal it is important to gain acceptance of the truth that time takes time. There are only twenty four hours in any given day, 1440 minutes and 86,400 seconds. Just because the recovering alcoholic and addict would like it to be less and for their journey on the road to recovery to be further along does not change the physical aspect of time. It simply is what it is. That is why One Day at a Time is such an important slogan in twelve step recovery. Almost every recovering addict and alcoholic is coming form a place of instant gratification. They are used to going with their impulses and the consequence be damned. Now a whole new way of living is attempted. The recovering person is learning to delay gratification and substitute worthwhile pursuits for the drink or drug of choice that has been the focus for so long. That takes practice and it takes TIME. Having a plan for each day can keep someone new to recovery occupied throughout the crucial first weeks and months of recovery. That is why there are so many support meetings for alcohol and drug addiction. Other recovering addicts and alcoholics well remember the early days and how slowly they seemed to move at times. The hour or so they spend together may well be one less hour spent staring at the clock wondering if they are going to make it. If it is tough to get out to many meetings and you have access to the computer there are even meetings on line. The phone is invaluable as no one understands this somewhat warped perspective of time better than another recovering person. Sharing the frustrations with how slow time may seem to be passing can be helpful. Gaining insight as to how others have survived it may be life-saving. It is as important to remember that many people want the addict or alcoholic to succeed. They often have a truer sense of how much time has really passed. As the days and then weeks and then months pass by without the ensuing chaos brought about by the addict, these folks will begin to relax. The addict and alcoholic will begin to relax as well as they have put a significant amount of time between themselves and their last episode of using. Recovery from drug addiction and alcohol is not easy but it will help to keep a true perspective of the value of time. |
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