When I entered treatment, I was a wounded animal. I was only in my mid-thirties, but my body was ravaged by alcohol. I was extremely nervous to enter detox. I had heard all about withdrawal, and I did not want to go through with it. I was even more worried that after going through the whole process, I would slip up and it would all be a waste of time.
A lot of people think recovery is the same for everyone. It’s much different for alcoholics than it is for drug addicts. What is an alcohol treatment program? How is it any different? First and foremost, alcoholism is a physical addiction. Once you are a chronic alcoholic, it can be very dangerous to stop using without medical supervision.
Why choose an alcohol treatment program in Arizona? I’ve lived in Arizona all my life and never knew it was such a popular spot for recovery. The recovery community in Arizona is vast. Once I got clean, it was a huge relief to know that the recovery community in Arizona is vast.
To get myself started, I chose the Pathfinders Alcohol Treatment Program as my first step to recovery. One thing people don’t realize is that recovery is just the beginning. It’s the first step among many. Once you achieve sobriety, it still requires maintenance. The good people at Pathfinders made me aware of that very quickly. They were so good at being upfront and honest with me about what it was going to take.
There are many benefits of alcohol treatment programs in Arizona. Arizona is one of the most beautiful states in the country. We have widespread landscapes, national monuments, and not to mention a whole lot of sun. There’s nothing like a dose of Vitamin D to lift up your spirits. It’s been statistically proven that spending time outside can help with depression and an overall better mood.
Arizona has a lot of options when it comes to outdoor activities. Hiking, climbing, biking, rafting, the list goes on and on. Working on your physical health is greatly beneficial to your mental health. When you’re on top of your game mentally, your sobriety is much easier to maintain.
I have known multiple people who chose Pathfinders as well and it worked wonders for them. They offer treatment programs for all ages. I’ve heard a lot of success stories about what this particular treatment center has to offer. I am one of them, and I talk them up any chance I get.
There are a lot of other great treatment facilities in Arizona, but none quite like what Pathfinders has to offer. Arizona is a recovery haven. A quick search of Arizona rehabs will give you literally hundreds of results. If you are lucky enough to be in this state when you decide to get clean, you are in luck.
I first drank alcohol when I was ten years old. My older brother and his friends had gotten a hold of some cheap vodka and thought it would be funny to get me drunk. The fact that I was finally getting to hang out with older kids made me think I was so cool.
From that moment on, I was convinced that in order to be seen as cool, I would have to drink. I bragged to my friends that I got drunk with my brother and his friends. They ended up telling their parents, who called my parents. You’d think that would have been enough for them to hold me accountable, but it wasn’t.
My parents were drinkers. They were upset, but ultimately, they didn’t think it was that big of a deal. They were angrier at my friend’s parents for telling them about it. They thought they were trying to tell them how to parent.
I was disciplined slightly, but not enough for it to have any kind of impact. I got drunk with my brother and his friends a week after that. From that point on, I was hooked. I quit going to school and I dropped at age seventeen. Drinking had become my main priority, and by my early twenties, I was a full-blown alcoholic.
It took years for me to realize the negative effect alcohol had on my life. I was in denial. I didn’t want to accept the fact that I drank away my youth. The drinking eventually led to harder stuff, as I dabbled with cocaine and opiates off and on. Drinking was always my number one.
The hardest part of being an alcoholic is that it is embraced. We see comedic ads on TV that make it seem like you have to drink in order to be cool or accepted in a group. We are tricked into thinking that the only way to have a good time is if there is alcohol involved.
A lot of people struggle to be accepted as they grow up. For me, it was very important to be seen as cool. My insecurity was glaring, yet I didn’t notice. Drinking eventually became the only way that I could communicate or hang out with people. Going to the bar. Going to the club.
Going to a concert and spending more time at the drink counter than watching the show. I couldn’t go out with people unless there was alcohol present. I remember one occasion where a friend asked me “Do you invite us to go out just so you can get wasted?” I felt attacked.
It cut deeply into my insecure self. I felt like such a loser. That’s when the seed was planted. Maybe I do make plans with people as an excuse to get drunk. Maybe I have a problem.
I take a lot of pride in helping educate other people on sobriety. Whether you are sober or not, it’s something everyone should know at least a little bit about. There aren’t a lot of families out there with zero addiction issues. No matter who you are or where you come from, you probably know someone who is struggling or has struggled with addiction.
Addicts can get pretty good at hiding their problems. There are people you’d never know had a drug or alcohol problem. This is one of the things we work on the hardest. I was a pro at hiding my problems from others. Eventually, you lose that ability. Once you do, the floodgates open up.
If you aren’t educated on the issue there isn’t much you can offer in the way of advice. That is something we can change if those of us in recovery take it upon ourselves to teach someone. I try to be an open book.
If a family member or friend asks me a question about the topic, ignorant or not, I try to give the best answer I can. I try to be transparent. I also try not to be pushy. We make up our minds. Something I learned early on in this process is that people don’t want to be preached to.
You have to approach people with a combination of honesty and compassion. All of us addicts make excuses when we are weak. We try to blame whatever thing we can on where we’re at in life.
If you can make someone understand that excuses aren’t going to help them, you will be making progress. Recovery is all about embracing solutions, not excuses. Once you get to that point and rework your brain into that way of thinking, you are going to succeed.