Klonopin and Alcohol

In recovery circles, you might hear the term “abstinence model.” The abstinence model implies that a person stops using any and all substances. Some treatment centers might require abstinence. Even prior to getting treatment. Some people might be able to swing that. But what about the rest of us?

In this article, you will learn:

• How to define the abstinence model
• Advantages of the abstinence model
• Disadvantages of the abstinence model
• Alternatives to the abstinence model
• How to determine if the abstinence model is right for you

How To Define The Abstinence Model

Merriam-Webster defines abstinence as, “the practice of abstaining from something: the practice of not doing or having something that is wanted or enjoyable.” To abstain means, ”to choose not to do or have something: to refrain deliberately and often with an effort of self-denial from an action or practice.”

You decide to quit. You quit. You pull yourself up by your bootstraps. Dig your way out. You make a plan. You stick to the plan. You succeed. All you need is some willpower. Seems easy, right?

For some people, the abstinence model might work. Let’s explore a few advantages of the abstinence model.

Advantages Of The Abstinence Model

Perhaps you can muster the strength. Perhaps abstinence lies within your grasp. If you can abstain alone.

Let us explore a few advantages of the abstinence model. Advantages include:

• Unrestricted personal autonomy
• Maintenance of personal rhythms
• Faster recovery journey

Unrestricted Personal Autonomy

Let’s face it. Most forms of treatment demand a lot. You have to surrender. Your time. Your schedule. Maybe even your money. Who wants to give all that?

The abstinence model has no restrictions. Or rather, it only places those restrictions which you set for yourself. You’ve decided that it’s time to quit. And so, you quit. You’re an adult. As such, you make your own choices about your life.

Maintenance Of Personal Rhythms 

Your life has a rhythm to it. Likely several rhythms. You have patterns and routines in place. And you’ve set them exactly as you want them. Treatment plans interrupt those rhythms. Providers ask you to put new rhythms in place. Rhythms that you must agree to in order to participate in recovery.

But adhering to the abstinence model lets you have the final say-so. You elect where and when your life’s obligations are.

Faster Recovery Journey

You don’t have weeks and months to spend trying to recover. You know best. If you can wake up tomorrow and quit, do it. Today was the last day. This time was the last. Tomorrow, you’re done. It’ll be a new day. Your recovery will see completion.

Disadvantages Of The Abstinence Model 

Like any recovery tool, the abstinence model has advantages. But it also comes with some distinct disadvantages. Disadvantages include:

• High likelihood of relapse
• The abstinence violation effect (AVE)
• Not addressing root causes or underlying problems

High Likelihood Of Relapse

Success will vary from person to person. For some people, quitting cold turkey has potential. But relapse remains common. Even among those who seek treatment. In an abstinence-only model, you bear all responsibility. You provide all the resources. But perhaps we shouldn’t trust in willpower alone. Recent research suggests that willpower might not be all we thought. How willpower works seems to vary on our motivations for using it. Abstinence might make for a noble endgame goal. But the journey to abstinence involves more than one single decision.

The Abstinence Violation Effect (AVE)

Most recovery journeys don’t turn on a dime. Treatment providers expect those enrolled to struggle. If everyone could simply choose to quit, why would we need treatment centers? The abstinence violation effect occurs when a person attributes their relapse to a personal moral failure. Typically, shame and guilt result. In binge-eaters, AVE remained the most stable predictor of future relapse. In other words, people who felt the most responsible felt the worst. As a result, they tended to relapse faster.

Not Addressing Root Causes Or Underlying Problems

Substance use disorder (SUD) doesn’t occur in a vacuum. Granted, not everyone who uses drugs develops SUD. But often, SUD develops alongside a mental illness. Researchers refer to this as comorbidity. If you stop consuming a substance, you’ve done well. But abstinence isn’t the goal. In recovery, wholeness is the goal. Abstinence doesn’t make you whole. It doesn’t heal you by itself.

Alternatives To The Abstinence Model 

For most people, the strengths of the abstinence model also comprise inherent weaknesses. Treatment models demand a lot of you. They set their standards quite high. But you’ll find that abstinence sets impossibly high standards. Therefore, familiarize yourself with alternatives to the abstinence model. Alternatives include:

• 12-step programs
• Outpatient therapy
• Harm reduction treatment

12-Step Programs 

If you choose abstinence, at least don’t abstain alone. Seek the support of 12-step programs. 12-step programs like Alcoholics Anonymous have been helping people for a long time. In these settings, you’ll at least have the company of others on a similar journey. Though AA and NA advocate for abstinence, they don’t require it.

Outpatient Therapy

Seek out a therapist or counselor. Make scheduled visits. If for nothing else, just to check-in. Even quarterly visits will help you continue your abstinence.

Harm Reduction Treatment

For many people, complete and total abstinence presents an impossibility. Harm reduction treatment works in degrees. Let’s say that last month, you consumed once a day. Every day. For thirty days. You enroll in harm reduction treatment. Thirty days after you begin treatment, you’ve only consumed twenty-five times. We call that progress. That’s how harm reduction treatment works.

How To Determine If The Abstinence Model Is Right For You 

Abstinence may indeed work for some people. The severity of dependence seems a strong predictor of future relapse. Harmony Treatment And Wellness supports evidence-based treatment models. We’re here to help you recover. We offer treatment plans customized to fit your unique situation. No single treatment model works the same for everyone. But recovery is possible and hope is real.

Call Harmony today at 772-247-6180 for more information!

If you’ve achieved sobriety for even one day, take a moment. Moments can lead to long-term sobriety. Exercise gratitude. Feel thankful for your sobriety. For some, dealing with sobriety presents a completely new way of life.

Sobriety challenges us. It means setting boundaries. Telling ourselves “no.” Developing new habits and untangling old ones. It means taking time to evaluate the past. To learn what led us to our current place.

In this article, you’ll learn the following methods for how to achieve long-term sobriety:

● Finding a why
● Understanding the consequences of substance use
● Setting appropriate boundaries for yourself
● Investing in positive relationships
● Caring for the whole you

Finding A Why

In Twilight Of The Idols, Friedrich Nietzsche wrote, “If a man knows the wherefore of his existence, then the manner of it can take care of itself.” Or, to paraphrase Viktor Frankl’s Man’s Search For Meaning, we don’t ask life for meaning. Rather, life asks us to provide the meaning. Life presents us with circumstances – good, bad, and all points in between. In these circumstances lie opportunities. Opportunities for us to define what matters most.

Finding a why helps you understand what’s at stake in your recovery journey. Sobriety gives you clarity. Clarity to think and plan. To discern where you’ve come from. And to aim at where you’re going. Defining this meaning forms the bedrock of your long-term sobriety.

From that bedrock, you can cultivate concrete actions that will improve your life. A person doesn’t become sober simply because they like being sober. You need a reason. Sobriety is the means. Your reason is the end.

Understanding The Consequences Of Substance Use

Having established the why for your sobriety, you’ll have something to strive for. Something to protect. Something worth fighting for. Your reason for sobriety represents something you’re ready to stand in front of. To defend. One research study indicated that 46% of participants viewed escalating consequences of substance use as their main motivation for long-term sobriety.

Physical Consequences

Effects of long-term substance use manifest in the body. Even prescription medications can harm the body. As an example, consider benzodiazepines. Diazepam (Valium) works best in increments no longer than 4 weeks. Anything longer could result in dependence and/or benzodiazepine withdrawal syndrome.

Long-term substance use can result in heart and lung problems. Opioids, when used for too long, can compromise your immune system. Prolonged use of cocaine puts consumers at higher risk for strokes and seizures. These kinds of physical consequences present a threat to your why. And as a result, they present a threat to your long-term sobriety.

Mental And Psychological Consequences

Drug use physically changes the structure of the brain. These changes occur as a result of neuroplasticity, your brain’s ability to alter and adapt. Historically, this trait helped our ancestors survive in hostile environments. But long-term drug use does not equate with long-term survival.

Long-term drug use interferes with neurons in the brain. Over time, the brain begins to work much differently. Severe effects of some drugs, like opioids and benzodiazepines, include psychosis and hallucinations. Furthermore, mental illnesses also occur comorbidly with drug use. So, while drug use may not cause mental illness, it can certainly aggravate a pre-existing mental illness. And make it much worse.

Interpersonal Consequences

Long-term sobriety makes you more employable. Using drugs at work, or coming to work after using, can get you terminated. Furthermore, even those who have undergone treatment may face difficulties finding gainful employment.

Relationships with friends and family can suffer as well. Excessive alcohol consumption has adverse effects on marriage and parenting. Research demonstrates a very strong link between alcohol abuse and domestic violence. Look at long-term sobriety as a way to repair interpersonal relationships. Or even to form new ones.

Setting Appropriate Boundaries For Yourself

Sticking with long-term sobriety means setting boundaries. It means saying “no” to some things, and saying “yes” to others. As earlier established, you’ve found a why. So you’ll need to keep potential threats at bay.

In practice, this might mean that you recognize cues. Cues, or triggers, act as signals that cause you to crave something. Long-term sobriety gives to the space to become aware of these cues. Your cues might be specific places, people, or circumstances. Once you’re aware of them, you can put strategies in place for eliminating them from your life.

Investing In Positive Relationships

In recovery, you found social support among others. You entrenched yourself in relationships that encouraged your long-term sobriety. You weren’t dealing with sobriety alone. For long-term sobriety to last, you must form relationships that contribute to your new lifestyle.

Research indicates that positive relationships predict long-term sober living. Relationships require investments of time and emotional capital. As part of your recovery journey, you may need to rectify relationships with those closest to you. You can strengthen relationships you already have. You also have the power and agency to form new ones.

Caring For The Whole You

You have a body and a mind. You have a self. Some might call it a spirit or psyche. You must view yourself as someone who deserves care. And that care must encompass the whole you. Your long-term sobriety must involve measures that address all of you.

When taking care of your body, find a sustainable healthy diet. Recent research suggests that ketogenic diets help alleviate alcohol withdrawal symptoms. But ketogenic diets might not be sustainable for everyone. Try different ways of eating and find one that works for your lifestyle. Apply the same metric to physical training. An exercise program like yoga helps reduce stress and depression.

Your mind needs care as well. One of the best ways to care for your mind is to give it rest. Protect your sleep. Set up safeguards so that you get adequate sleep nightly. Your long-term sobriety will thank you. Meditation has positive mental effects for sobriety as well.

Still, Have Questions About How To Achieve Long-Term Sobriety?

Don’t hesitate another second! If you’d like to know more about how to achieve long-term sobriety, call Harmony Treatment & Wellness now at 772-247-6180.

Sponsorship is an integral part of any 12-step recovery program. Most people begin by simply attending meetings and for some, that may be all they ever do. It is important to understand however that going to meetings alone does not constitute “working a program”. In terms of the 12-step recovery programs, the work is in the steps themselves. And to work the steps, you need a sponsor.

What is a Sponsor?

Simply put, the role of a sponsor here is to take you through the 12 steps. A sponsor will provide guidance and may ask you to read certain sections of text or to do some writing or journaling along the way. The purpose is to help you gain a greater understanding of the meaning of each step as you take it. It is the sponsor’s responsibility to help you understand the steps and to encourage you to think, ask questions and engage the material. Doing step work is intended to introduce new ways of thinking and generate insights. A large part of it is about understanding your own behavior and thinking and learning how to change for the better. You should feel comfortable being honest with your sponsor, and you should feel you can trust them implicitly. Trust and honesty are essential for the sponsor-sponsee relationship to work.

What a Sponsor Isn’t

A sponsor is not a therapist or a marriage counselor. A sponsor is non-professional. They may give you advice, but their primary role should always be focused on the literature of the program you are in. Ideally, there should be a clear separation between what is simply their opinion and what is actually in the literature. An effective sponsor will more often try to lead you to find your own answers in the literature and program. An effective sponsor will ask you just as many questions as you ask them. Their role is as a guide through the material and in working your steps. They may share wisdom and insight they have picked up along the way, but a sponsor is not a guru or a saint. They are not infallible. A sponsor isn’t your “higher power”. You should not choose a friend or a buddy as a sponsor. You should not choose an employee of a treatment facility you attended. You should not choose your employer or superior at work. The primary relationship should be sponsee (you) and sponsor (them). Any other relationship dynamic can potentially complicate matters. Steer clear of people who do not exhibit humility and do not put the program, literature and higher power first. Avoid narcissists and blowhards.

How to Choose a Sponsor

In most cases, you will find your sponsor through the meetings and fellowship. A great place to start is simply by listening. Listen to people who speak at the meetings. Look for people who demonstrate the qualities you aspire to in yourself. That means spiritual and character qualities. Honesty. Integrity. Virtue. Humility. Not the guy or girl who drives the nicest car or has the most impressive career. A sponsor should have worked all 12 steps and should have a sponsor of their own. Time in recovery is relevant, but not as relevant as character and knowledge of the program. You are likely better off with a sponsor with 3 years who applies the principles of the program in their life and knows the material than a sponsor who has been going to meetings for 20 years but does not work a serious program. Take care in choosing a sponsor, but do not spend months without one trying to find the “perfect fit”. You have the right to choose another sponsor if the first one does not work out. Just keep your focus on the primary purpose of a sponsor. It is to introduce you to the program, take you through the 12 steps and inspire thought and insight. Choose a person who you believe is of good character and will do a good job of those things for you.

In Conclusion

The relationship between sponsor and sponsee is a sacred one. You must be able to tell your sponsor things in complete confidence. Your sponsor should be someone you respect and trust. Remember that your primary goal in a 12-step program should be to work all 12-steps to the best of your ability. Meetings are about fellowship and support. They are an important part of the program, but they are not the program itself. Get a sponsor. Work all 12-steps. That is what 12-step recovery is at its core.