The First Step: The Phone Call

So you don't want to tell your family or friends you have a problem with misusing substances or medication...OK. It's your life, but if you want to take that next step towards a BETTER life, then you need to talk to professionals who can help you with tackling this disease and head towards recovery. So it is a matter of making that first phone call. NOT always a  simple task!  You might feel a rush of all kinds of feelings that are very uncomfortable. Feelings you have numbed and shoved back inside of you all this time. One way to help minimize this experience is to have someone with you when you make that first call. It can be someone from a recovery group or local community service. Heck it can be a firefighter or a social worker or nurse in the local Emergency Room. All public service professionals will be willing to sit with you for a few minutes as support while you make your first phone call for help with your disease. If you have someone in your personal life with you at the time of the phone call, make sure they are stable, sober, not impaired and have your best interest at heart. FYI:  The first phone call will 1) give you basic info on the service,  2) info on insurances accepted or cash payment and either 3). make your first appointment for an Intake or put your name on a wait list. ***This phone call, entire conversation and any info given is completely confidential.  NO ONE can call and see if you called, NO ONE can check to see if you have appt or are on the wait list. NO ONE, period. Not even your mom! This is the law! A violation of this law can get a person jail time. So congratulations if you made your first phone call :)  I will talk about the first Intake appointment in another section with the word Intake in the title.

Do I have to tell anyone?

Have you ever tried to explain the mechanics of what is wrong with a car and how to fix it to someone who doesn't have a clue?  That is what you will get trying to talk addiction to friends and family who are not educated on the subject. It is a foreign language and a foreign land. Not their fault and not their problem. It's your problem and your recovery. Some family are open to the subject and if they are ....well, you are very lucky!  Not everyone is open to the subject when it comes to family. Could be pride, or maybe they are addicts/alcoholics themselves! Who wants to look in the mirror? If you don't have the support of family and/or friends then there are plenty of support groups and others in recovery you can turn to. If it's one thing I know to be true:  addicts will always accept other addicts and be there for that 2 am phone call when you really want to use. You don't have to be BFF, but some type of support is needed in recovery. Someone who understands exactly what you are going through and can listen without judging. With the opioid crisis going on there are many new hotlines, support groups, treatment centers and professionals in this field. If one doesn't suit you, there are plenty more to try.

"I'm getting clean...now what....I still have problems!"

Problems, problems, problems! You had a problem and turned to drugs/alcohol to fix it, then got addicted. You had a problem and did drugs to distract you or numb you, then got addicted. You did drugs/alcohol, you got addicted, and it caused problems in your life. Addiction ruins every aspect of your life: personal, family, social, employment, legal. It is a vicious cycle: problem....drugs, drugs....problems...back to drugs etc...Your mind makes up excuses and reasons to continue using drugs. In the old day it was called, "Stinkin Thinkin". Your mind wants to win, and your mind is strong! That's where Addiction Counseling comes in with Addiction Focused Problem Solving to break the cycle. It is a specialized approach to .....everyday shit.  You need Addiction Counselor to show you how it works. With focus and 100% effort it can be done!

HOPE

Like the Phoenix, the addict can rise from the ashes of  the old self into the new self!

Recovery CAN be successful!

YES it can work!
But I have often heard these statements:
"i can't"
"I've been doing this for x years, I can't stop...recovery won't work for someone like me...it's my life".
Yes you can!
But don't expect it to happen in 1 day or 5 days. Patience is NOT a virtue of any type of addict!

**So you must PUT IT INTO PERSPECTIVE:
It took ____yrs to become addicted to opiates. It didn't happen overnight. So it will take a little time for recovery. Like something that has been out in the rain for years and has lots of rust....it takes more time to get all that rust off. But if you don't START cleaning it, it will never get clean! So, think about it, and decide what it is you want to do. Everything is a choice that YOU make. Start cleaning or let it rust some more