There are people out there who will jump down your throat and scream bloody murder for not preaching the traditional recovery strategies of Alcoholics or Narcotics Anonymous. This is unfortunate because it is arguable that those programs are not very effective to begin with, and it is very hard to get good data concerning their success rates. The fact is that there is no easy addiction solution, no matter what program you think is the ultimate in substance abuse treatment.
If you ask twenty different people in AA what the success rate of AA is, you will get twenty completely different answers. Some of them may quote the big book, saying something along the lines that “half recover, and then a quarter recover after some struggle, and a quarter never get it at all.” You might then hear other people say “5 percent will make it to a year sober, and another 5 percent will make it to 5 years sober.” And on and on and on. No one really has super quality data regarding this because it is darn difficult to get a proper study organized and followed through with, without having half of your participants stop responding after a year or two. It is a difficult thing to measure.
Therefore, anyone who claims that they have superior data on this sort of stuff is a dangerous moron. They do not have superior data, what they have is a loose statistic that fits their world view, so they ran with it like an idiot. The fact is that 12 step programs are not completely effective, nor are they completely useless. The reality is that most of the large and well organized studies show some seriously depressing rates of success (in the 3 to 5 percent range for anything longer than six months).
This does not mean that 12 step programs are terrible, or useless, or bad. It just means that they are not a magic bullet. They are not the ultimate answer for everyone. And they certainly are not the only way to get clean and sober for real addicts and alcoholics out there.
There are other paths. Many of these other paths have huge benefits to them, some of which go far beyond the typical dogma that you find in 12 step recovery.
It probably sounds like I am trying to steer you away from AA or NA. I’m not. I’m merely encouraging you to think for yourself, to base your recovery on something real, and to chase after the life you really want to live by pushing yourself to grow in recovery. I do all of these things without the dogma of 12 step programs, and I see others who do the same.
Sometimes people get stuck in their recovery. This can happen to anyone. It can happen regardless of what type of recovery program you are working.
The key is always action.
You might be working 12 step recovery, get stuck in a rut, and find a way to take action anyway. That’s great. If that works for you, then that is fantastic.
But many people get stuck in 12 step recovery, and they relapse.
One way to avoid this is to focus on holistic growth. Why? Because broadening your horizons and how you are willing to grow in recovery beyond just spiritual growth is an awesome way to life your live, an also it is great insurance for your recovery.
Let me explain.
Holistic growth is all about growing in all areas of your life. You may work on fitness, nutrition, relationships, spirituality, and so on.
Don’t limit yourself to just spiritual growth. That is a mistake (one that many people in traditional recovery often make).
For example, I started to worry about my physical fitness in my recovery at some point. So I started jogging with my dad. This was about 5 or 6 years ago.
Since then my recovery has benefited tremendously from a new found habit of regular running. I started running and built up to doing 6 mile runs, 4 or 5 days each week. This has had the most tremendous impact on my life, and my recovery. Seriously, I can think of nothing else in my recovery that has as profound an impact.
“Blasphemy!” some will say, I am sure. “How can he place running above spiritual matters?”
I got news for you: running is spiritual. If you don’t think so, then that just means you are out of shape.
Once you can go out on the countryside and take in some fresh air and actually feel good while you are sprinting across the hills for an hour or two, you have not truly experienced running as it was meant to be.
A wise monk from ancient times once observed: If you have to choose between meditation and exercise, choose exercise.
Now why would he say that?
I can tell you why because I have experienced both (I used to meditate for up to an hour at a time, and got great benefit from it):
Running is meditation. It includes meditation. It is absolutely spiritual.
People are basically lazy creatures and they would rather not hear this sort of thing, as a general rule. They would rather sit in 12 step meetings and smoke their cigarettes and drink their coffee and claim to be on a spiritual path, when in reality they are just staying clean and sober through a basic form of group therapy. Where is the challenge in that? Where is the push for personal growth?
Recovery can be so much more than what traditional treatment would have you believe.
Overcoming an addiction is about living, not about spiritual growth.
Overcoming your addiction is about holistic growth, not about spiritual growth.
Overcoming addiction does include spirituality. But it is so much more than that. It is holistic growth.
It is you, creating an incredible life for yourself, through positive action.
