Dishonesty, then Relapse?

A client who overstayed a pass to his home by two days talked of his dishonesty in group when he returned to TLC.

He said he lied to his family about how long he was allowed to be away from the program. And when they found out he wasn’t telling the truth they told him to return to complete his commitment.

On the ten hour bus ride back, he agonized about his dishonesty and wondered whether he’d be kicked out of the program when he returned.  He had dark visions about using drugs again on Van Buren Street in Phoenix.

Someone in group asked why he hadn’t told his family the truth, rather than concealing his schedule by not saying when he was supposed to return. He said it was nice to be with family after living for so long at TLC. So nice, that he immediately fell into a comfort zone after having been away from them for two years. He really didn’t have an answer, but speculated he might have been planning a relapse.

The idea that he made it back clean and sober after such a struggle with himself helped the rest of the group members gain a little more insight into the power of our addictions.