“I don’t want that to take me out”, a man might say.
“Things like that take me out every time,” a man might explain.
“I always go out during times like these,” a man frets.
“How could I go out now?” a man asks. “Things are so good.”
Going out is a term used among men in recovery which is recovery slang for relapse. When a man talks about something that takes him out, he is referring to a life circumstance which caused him to relapse. However, there is something amiss about that simple definition. Life circumstances can contribute to relapse, more specifically, relapse thinking. Relapse thinking ultimately leads to relapse decision making, which is what relapse truly is: a decision to pick up drugs and/or alcohol again. The reasons for picking up and turning to substance abuse, are just parts of the story.
What men learn through treatment and recovery is that addiction, that is abusing drugs and alcohol, needs no occasion. Good weather or bad weather, great relationships or poor relationships, everything going fantastically or everything falling apart- addiction never needs an invitation. Of course, there are some circumstances which better contribute to maintained abstinence than others. Men are taught to create healthy, holistic, fulfilling, grounded lifestyles for themselves in order to avoid chronic undue emotional stress which can trigger cravings for addiction in the brain. Still, even in the most ideal recovery lifestyle, cravings- unbearable cravings- can come up, threatening everything life in recovery has created, even though that life is so good.
Why?
Addiction is destructive.
Destroying everything that is good feeds addiction the shame, guilt, and negativity it needs to start the cycle of craving and using again. Essentially, addiction can create the problem which it seeks to use drugs to ‘solve’. This cycle is not inevitable. Everyday, men can make choices which push them further and further away from the tendency toward self-destruction.
At Tree House Recovery in Orange County, we focus on helping men learn how to make sustainable changes in their lives which contribute to sustainable recovery. Recovery needs to be sustainable in order to stay abstinent through the good times, the better times, and the best of times, in addition to the bad times, the challenging times, and the worst of times. Sobriety is the foundation from which men learn to “live life on life’s terms”, which are never guaranteed to be pleasant.
Just as addiction needs no occasion, there is no one right moment to reach out for help if you are struggling with addiction. Call Tree House recovery today for information on our men’s treatment programs, where men are finding freedom from addiction: (855) 202-2138
