Drug use and addiction occupy dangerous realms. Prescription drug use and addiction are no different, yet in many ways, these patterns of use do vary. Prescription drug use has a different set of roots, originating from drugs that are not illicit in origin, drugs that instead have been diverted to be used and used illegally. Due to the unique nature of many prescription drug addictions, a specific and focused dialogue on these forms of use may be vastly beneficial to a person working towards strengthening their recovery. Though a large amount of prescription drug use originates in medications obtained illicitly off the street, a vast amount of use stems from those that misuse their individual prescriptions or those that are diverted from someone close to them. Because of this, some individuals in recovery may yet have easier access to their former drugs of use after they finish treatment.
Every former user needs continued support; these individuals stand to gain even further benefit from support groups. Through these groups, as they are strengthened and informed in both coping skills and tactics that can be necessary for combating this accessibility, members can learn how to protect their drug-free lives. Contact Texas Recovery Center at 844.230.5931 to enroll in one of our addiction recovery support groups in Scurry, Texas.
Recovery Is A Journey
Sobriety is not a definitive point; rather, it is an ongoing goal. A person’s pursuit of sobriety doesn’t end merely the moment they become abstinent. Instead, it reaches outwards into their life for the long term as they strive toward maintaining a drug-free life. The truth is that relapse is an ever-present concern. Relapse happens. This is a truth both a newly recovered and more established person in recovery need to be consistently mindful of in a capacity that embodies a proactive approach to reinvesting and nurturing their sobriety.
Staying Engaged And Focused On Your Recovery Goals
Recovery falters in a state of inactivity, in a way that jeopardizes a person’s sobriety, putting them at high risk for relapse. To counteract this, a person needs to remain focused and invested in their recovery. Today, there exists a variety of support groups in various formats that are geared toward helping individuals recovering from prescription drug use stay constant in their recovery. Recovery support groups both engage and encourage individuals within this ongoing process.
12-Step Programs
Narcotics Anonymous is faith-based or secular, structured within a 12-step format. Though individuals suffering from alcohol addiction may attend, these 12-step meetings are for individuals currently addicted to or in recovery from other addictive substances, including prescription drugs. A counterpart to Alcoholics Anonymous, this organization adheres to the same 12 Steps. An excerpt from their cornerstone text, Narcotics Anonymous, succinctly sums up the group’s purpose, stating, “NA is a nonprofit fellowship or society of men and women for whom drugs had become a major problem. We are recovering addicts who meet regularly to help each other stay clean.” These groups begin with everyone introducing themselves and offer opportunities for individuals to share their unique journeys with addiction. A new member will also have the chance to take a sponsor or a person who has successfully overcome addiction and established a stable recovery. The group encourages reliance on a higher power, suggesting that individuals are not strong enough to succeed in recovery alone while encouraging increased measures of self-love, self-care, introspection, and the necessity of making amends. There is a 12-step program for just about any addiction.
Non-12-Step And Other Program Formats
The following programs do not adhere to 12-step formats; rather, each may have a structure that is unique to its organization or group:
- SMART Recovery—This international group offers a science-based approach to help a person find and/or maintain their recovery in a proactive and self-directed way while learning “self-empowerment and self-reliance.” Through the aid of various tools and techniques, the SMART Recovery 4-Point Program helps a member to: develop a more constant state of motivation, learn to cope with cravings, balance their emotional and mental states against their actions and create a more balanced and healthy life. This organization believes that members can salvage the positive aspects of their life and learn to live in a more fulfilling way. To encourage this, they are continuously educating during their group meetings and constantly updating their information to keep up with current addiction and recovery research. Lastly, they support mental health care and the use of prescribed medications in certain instances.
- Secular Organizations for Sobriety (SOS)—This anonymous, secular group has meetings worldwide. They focus on research-based information and “respect diversity, welcome healthy skepticism, and encourage rational thinking, as well as the expression of feelings.” They strive to remain separate from outside controversies and remain independent by relying on group contributions to continue. This group is based on self-help in that it encourages abstinence, self-actualization, and development, aided by the relationships and stories you are privy to within the meetings. They assert that “Honest, clear, and direct communication of feelings, thoughts, and knowledge aids in recovery and in choosing non-destructive, non-delusional, and rational approaches to living sober and rewarding lives.”
- LifeRing Recovery—This abstinence-based group also has worldwide meetings. Their outreach is based on peer-to-peer support that utilizes the strength and direction gleaned from members’ personal journeys through use and addiction into recovery. In sum, as their website explains, “Our approach is based on developing, refining, and sharing our own personal strategies for continued abstinence and crafting a rewarding life in recovery. In short, we are sober, secular, and self-directed.” To do this, they stress the “3-S” Philosophy, three fundamental principles that guide their meetings and members’ recovery journeys: Sobriety, Secularity, and Self-Help. They focus on two aspects of a person’s journey or perspective in offering their belief that each person has a Sober Self and an Addict Self that conflict, creating what could be a dangerous situation without the proper support and direction. It is by connecting with the Sober Self of other members that a person may become self-empowered to overcome the temptations and negativity of their Addict Self, thus maintaining abstinence.
These are, of course, just a few of many addiction support programs that do not adhere to the 12-step format.
Support For The Individual In Recovery And Their Family
Certain factors may be present in both the addicted individual and their family. This includes codependency, a harmful pattern of enabling behavior that is often present within relationships where one member (or both) suffers from addiction. Essentially, codependency exists when one or both parties depend on these patterns of unhealthy behaviors that are present within an addiction to create a sense of self-worth or self-fulfillment. Even after sobriety, these patterns may still be present. Because of this, a support group has been designed to help these individuals thrive and regain a balanced life.
Co-Dependents Anonymous helps members find freedom, develop better aspects of self-care and establish more fully developed boundaries—all of which may have fallen to the wayside at the height of an addiction. This group also utilizes a 12-step format. These principles help members overcome negative and compulsive behaviors, specifically specific harmful patterns, including denial, low self-esteem, compliance, control, and avoidance.
Helping You To Heal And Support Your Loved One
The stark truth is that drug use and addiction do not affect only the individual who uses them; a user’s loved ones also suffer at the hand of these addictive substances, experiencing changed and damaged lives, a host of negative or confusing emotions, and lingering doubts. Often, these elements are set against a backdrop of hope, the desire to learn how to best support their loved one within their recovery journey, and a need to heal their own emotional and mental wounds incurred from the toxic situation. Because of this, support groups exist to help these people.
This benefit is twofold; first, the family member can learn essential skills to help them better deal with their loved one’s addiction and recovery. Secondly, they may also learn coping skills and support methods that will help them engage their loved one better as they transverse the landscape of their recovery, so they can more fully help their addicted family member. Examples include:
Nar-Anon, like Narcotics Anonymous, stresses that it is spiritual in nature and not religious. It also follows a 12-step format; family members within the program work through the Twelve Steps of Nar-Anon, in order to better help them overcome their experiences with a loved one’s drug use. Within these meetings, you may develop your hope and perspective by connecting to others with shared experiences and lives altered by these types of addiction.
Adult Children of Alcoholics is not just for children of alcoholics; as explained by their site, it is also for anyone from a “dysfunctional household” who has found their adult life transformed by their experiences as a child of an addicted individual. This group will help you to better overcome the ways these happenings may have shaped how you live your life, relate to other people, or struggle with addiction as well. It can be exceedingly difficult for many individuals to create this positive and active mindset on their own; fortunately, resources exist to help combat this that engage and support individuals and their families during this critical time. You don’t have to commit to the first group you go to; instead, we recommend that you take your time in deciding and even visit several groups before you decide which one is the best fit for you.
Let Texas Recovery Center Offer You Further Support
At Texas Recovery Center, we want you to have every opportunity to become whole again and forge a more balanced and drug-free life. We know this isn’t always easy, so our compassionate staff is eager to speak to you. We can help you further develop a plan for sobriety or enhance your current recovery goals. Contact us today at 844.230.5931 and take control of your life.
