Wednesday, February 8, 2012

Pain? Or change?

A new client from out of state called his mother yesterday and asked her to send him a plane ticket home.

He told her there was a lot of drug use in the program and that he was afraid he would relapse. 

 She called our corporate office to complain and was told to not pay attention to him - that he was simply trying to manipulate her so he could return home and continue using. We suggested she save her money unless she wanted to continue to support his drug habit. Our staff member also suggested she attend 12-step meetings that are for those in relationships with substance abusers.

It isn’t uncommon for us to get these kinds of calls. When some addicts get to our program and realize we’re serious about recovery they find every reason in the world to get back home.

They food's terrible.  It’s too hot in Arizona. They want me to work. It’s all about money. The staff is rude. The list goes on and on…

But the reality is they’re not ready to give up their drug of choice. And because our organization – top to bottom – is managed by recovering addicts we understand not wanting to quit. Most of us weren’t ready to quit either until we could no longer stand the pain.

Live in pain? Or change? Eventually, when the pain became great enough we took the simple steps that brought us to where we are today. 

Until our unhappy client suffers enough pain there’s not a lot we can do for him…

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