When You Should Use Alternative Recovery Methods
When You’ve Tried Everything Else
There are times in recovery where you feel totally hopeless and that you’ve tried everything. A lot of alternative recovery methods may seem like they aren’t for you, but when you’ve done everything else, is there really a choice?
Recovery is just as scary a process as it is rewarding. We hear a lot about success stories but not as much about the people who struggle endlessly to stay sober.
I personally have known a lot of different people who tried rehab multiple times and never were able to figure it out. I think the majority of addicts have to try over and over to get clean before actually getting there.
I attended rehab seven times before I got clean. I tried to get clean on my own at least two dozen times. This is a natural part of the process, but it can be an extremely frustrating process.
There were times when I had a long period of sobriety before one little thing took it all away. One momentary lapse of judgement or rationality and your right back where you started. It can really make you feel like a failure sometimes.
The important thing is not how many times you fall, but that you understand it isn’t abnormal. You really have to work very hard on forgiving yourself over a relapse. It can really take a toll.
I tried what I thought was everything. Multiple rehabs, retreats, spiritual practices, you name it. I kept on ending up right back where I started.
The thing that took me a long time to understand is that everyone’s process is unique. It’s all about finding the method that works for you personally. What gets one person sober may be detrimental to another. Luckily, there are many different options and many types of alternative recovery methods.
When To Try Something Different
How do you know when you should try alternative recovery methods? Should you have the same amount of faith in them? When you’ve tried a bunch of different things to achieve sobriety and nothing works, it’s hard to have faith in any other method.
A lot of what you’ll hear in recovery groups is that you constantly need to remind yourself of the ups and downs that come along with the process.
There is a lot of reworking your mind. If the ordinary rehab setting just hasn’t worked out for you, that doesn’t mean you aren’t going to find one that will.
You’d be surprised at the number of different approaches that exist in the world of addiction. There are some rehabs that claim they can cure you of your addiction, while others stress that you’re still an addict no matter how long you’ve been clean.
Although there are a lot of approaches out there, the core terminology and methods are more alike than they are different. At the end of the day, it’s all about getting clean and staying clean, right? Again, what works for one person may not be what works for another, but it’s still the same basic journey that we all take.
There are many benefits of alternative recovery methods. If you are someone uncomfortable with being labelled an addict for the rest of your life, there are recovery models out there that put a lot of emphasis on getting rid of lifelong labels.
I know that for me, it could be discouraging at times to always have to refer to myself as an addict. In ordinary rehab settings, they stress that you’re an addict for life and removing that label can give you a false sense of success.
For me personally, it helps me a lot to say that I used to be an addict and that I am not anymore. I also understand and respect that that is not the philosophy that everyone in recovery follows.
When I continued to refer to myself as an addict, it made me feel like my accomplishments could only go so far. I didn’t see myself as an addict still, but it seemed like I had to wear it on my sleeve and remind myself of it all the time.
This became exhausting for me and made me think dark thoughts. The way I saw it was if I’m always an addict, what’s it matter if I slip up and have a drink? This is a slippery slope that I needed to avoid to flourish.
Alternative Recovery Methods – Finding Something New
If you’ve tried it all and you need to expand your approach, there are many more options available now than there used to be. Finding a rehab that offers alternative recovery methods is an internet search away.
You’d be surprised at the amount of different models that are out there. Finding the right one takes time, but it takes time no matter what when you are on this path. Patience is always a priority.
We often know what it is that we need better than anyone else. If you take the time to do a little research, it shouldn’t be too difficult to find an approach that aligns with you personally.
If you’re at the point of seeking out alternative recovery methods, you’re probably already in a delicate mindset. You’re familiar with traditional recovery methods because you’ve tried them, and they didn’t work.
You’ve done everything you can think of. The positive thing that you can take away from that is that you are still trying and still actively seeking a way out of your addiction.
Most people never even get to the point where they try rehab once. If you’ve tried it several times and it hasn’t worked, at least you are doing your part to get better.
You can’t give up on your health and well-being. It can be a ruling out process a lot of times just like any other health concern. You try one thing, and if it doesn’t work, you try another. A lot of issues in life aren’t going to be solved after trying only one thing. It’s important to hold on to that.
With all the aspects of recovery that you have to worry about, wondering whether or not your insurance will cover alternative recovery methods can be a whole other headache. Luckily, more and more insurance companies are switching over towards covering these different methods.
It’s at a point now where there have been enough success stories through alternative recovery that it isn’t such a foreign concept anymore. This is a very encouraging sign that no matter what you’ve tried, there is always another path to take to get where you want to be.
