There is a huge misconception about addiction in the world. Substance abuse is seen as the cause of the problem. But if you dive deeper, you’ll see issues like mental health, society, family, and financial difficulties are triggering addiction.

“Surrender, Surrender, but don’t give yourself away, hey, hey”

When I was introduced to recovery and the 12 steps, I only knew that surrender was the name of my favorite Cheap Trick song. I had been hustling and grinding through life for forty years with no clue how to admit that I was struggling or how to ask for help. There was no way I would willingly surrender to anything, or so I thought.

In my volunteer work with a local service entity, I occasionally will have a volunteer come to me in frustration over working with a treatment center, outpatient clinic, detox or the like.  The conversation goes something like this, “They’ve asked for speakers, but I can never get them to return my calls or emails to coordinate.”

There was a group I attended occasionally whenever I felt like I needed an extra meeting.  I joked that the only membership requirement for this group was that you had to have a desire to stop drinking and twenty years of sobriety.  They had about twenty regular members and if you added up the collective sobriety dates of the attendees, they would have had over 400 years of sobriety.  The room was full of old timers, but seldom attracted newcomers.  

In the corporate world there is a phrase that is often used when it comes to bringing “bad news” to management.  It is called, “Speaking Truth to Power.” It is a behavior that is expected of all corporate officers. It is the idea that management and senior executives can sometimes be oblivious, for a variety of reasons, to problems within the organization. Thus, it is the moral and ethical obligation of the juniors, subordinates, and peers of the organization to speak up and say something if they believe there is a serious problem within the organization. It is a sound philosophy and one that is grounded in the principle of acting for and on behalf of the greater good. This philosophy and behavior is also a sound principle of recovery.  

“You have to get involved in service. You have to get involved in service. You have to get involved with service.” The phrase seemed to echo off the walls of our meeting room.  Well intentioned recovery members repeated the phrase incessantly to me in my early sobriety.  And much to their credit I did get involved and I did stay sober.  Afterall, they told me, “nothing will so much ensure our immunity from the first drink as intensive work with other alcoholics. It works when all else fails.”  

When I was growing up, I learned about Chicken Little who ran around telling everyone that the “Sky is Falling!”  The point of the story was to teach young children not to put too much stock in absurd beliefs*. I was reminded of this story when I read all the social media chatter about the new Plain Language Big Book that has been approved for publishing by AA World Services.  

Recovering from addiction is a long process, especially for women. It can be hard for women to put their own recovery first because society often expects them to be selfless caregivers. That’s why they need an effective approach to recovery that prioritizes them by treating them as a whole unit. This is exactly what a holistic approach is all about.

Men usually think of traditional therapy programs first when they think of rehab. They mostly cover segments like one-on-one, group, and family therapy. Even though these are important parts of rehab, people also benefit from other services. A holistic approach to drug dependency recovery for men can help those who are using drugs, for instance.

Think about a journey that promises support, guidance, and a chance at a better life. That's exactly what the 12 Step program offers to those who are seeking recovery from alcohol addiction and substance abuse.