Trust falls have merit. Who can you trust when your life is starting to feel like it’s falling apart again? It’s an experience only men who have struggled with addiction and gone to treatment to recover can understand. The peculiar mental state of addiction includes a whirlwind of catastrophic thinking, anxiety, and fear, in an instant. Fighting the thoughts from developing, a man understands that the next place his mind will take him is darker than fear. It’s characterized by drugs and alcohol, convincing him that the best way to make these other thoughts and fears go away would be to use drugs and alcohol. When a man has worked hard in treatment to get sober and find the passion for living sober ongoing, these thoughts are unwelcome and frustrating. Due to the nature of addiction, these thoughts can persist, becoming louder, physical, and unrelenting. Men learn to fall into the trust of one another through treatment. Recovery is built on the struggles of one addict being the strengths of another. Teamwork, team building, and shared experience in treatment brings men closer together, creating a bond that stands the test of addiction.
Communication
Learning to communicate with others is the way that humans survive and progress. Ideas are just ideas until they are communicated. When we talk, we share. When we share, we can relate. The therapeutic component of the treatment process gives men the opportunity to build strength in vulnerability by opening up about their feelings and experiences in addiction. The more men learn about each other, the more they are able to learn about themselves. A mirroring process plays out- as men watch one another speak up, show up, and share, they are inspired to do the same themselves. Watching one another communicate effectively inspires more mindfulness around speaking and listening.
Encouragement
People who go to treatment together have a unique perspective on one another. During the earliest phases of treatment, men are at their most raw. Discussing their trauma, their history, and their life, their treatment peers learn more intimate details of their life than perhaps anyone else. That knowledge is valuable in having a teen of strong, liberated men of recovery to support them. For the duration of treatment and beyond, participants in treatment grow from peers to friends, to priceless brothers.
Tree House Recovery is a men’s addiction treatment program offering long term plans of care. Creating sustainable change, our programs teach men how to find freedom from addiction through complete recovery. Call us today for information on our program in Portland, Oregon: (503) 850-2474
