Addiction is a perplexing enigmatic conundrum. At once, the man who is addicted has been robbed of his ability to make good choices. Despite the relentless and guaranteed negative consequences which take place every time he picks up another drink or drug, he continues to pick up a drink or a drug. Yet, sobriety, recovery, and treatment are all choices. Men have to choose to ask for help, choose to call a treatment center, and choose to be sober. Moreover, the very day a man becomes “sober” is the day he somehow, somewhat miraculously, chooses not to pick up a drink or a drug. Suddenly, what seemed to be a chemically, emotionally, physically impossible choice becomes a very simple and stern one. He simply doesn’t pick up that drink or drug, and every minute of every hour of everyday from that moment forward, he continues choosing not to.
Relapse rates are high in the communities of drug and alcohol addiction. Men of all ages struggle to maintain long-term sobriety, for a large variety of reasons. It is said that relapse is a choice, as much as sobriety is a choice, and that simultaneously, relapse is a spontaneous event as much as the result of a long build up. Whatever the “reasons” or the “triggers” for relapse, relapse is only one thing at its core: making the decision to pick up a drink or drug again.
Men return to drinking and using drugs to numb difficult feelings, feel something they can’t feel, self-sabotage, spite others, fear, habit, and much more. Recovery from drug and alcohol addiction is learning about all of these “why’s” for drinking and using then replacing the brain chemistry which holds these associations with the “why’s” for not drinking and using. For every reason there has been for a man to drink and use, sobriety will provide him with infinite more reasons not to. Whether he comes to believe in those reasons or not, a man can in the least come to believe that a drink or a drug is not the solution in his life any longer. As such, with each day’s passing, he comes to understand that the worst case scenario is not any one of the “why’s” to drink, but losing sight of the “why” to not pick up a drink or a drug again.
Tree House Recovery of Portland, Oregon is a men’s addiction treatment center that teaches our clients how to roll with life’s punches and use the tools they’ve learned throughout the treatment process to stay on top of anything life throws at them. Call (503) 850-2474 to see how we can help you today.
