Addiction Recovery and Recovering Careers

Many people avoid getting the addiction help that they need because they are concerned about how it may affect their careers. The paradox is that without getting the help they need, their careers are most likely going to suffer significantly more. When it comes to addiction recovery and recovering careers, the reality is that taking action is always better than letting things go.

Understanding Addiction and Addiction Recovery

Millions of people struggle with addiction every year. This includes both in the U.S. and around the world. Addiction is one of the most prevalent diseases in the world, and, yes, addiction is most definitely a disease.

Many people are misinformed about the nature of addiction. People often think of addiction as some type of moral failing or “choice.” This is simply not the case – once addiction has set in, the choice of whether or not to drink or use has been taken away. Without help, it is almost a certainty. Addiction is closer to chronic diseases like cancer, diabetes, or heart disease than it is a choice. 

Also, addiction is considered a family disease. This is because addiction affects everyone involved, not just the person who is struggling. As is often said in 12-Step recovery, “Addiction is like a tornado that destroys everyone and everything in its path.” The good news is that both the individual and the family can be healed. With the right type of treatment, they can even be healed at the cellular level.

What Does It Mean to Heal at the Cellular Level?

Healing at the cellular level is all about healing the entirety of the capital “S” “Self.” This is holistic (meaning “whole”) healing that focuses on treating the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual.

Healing at the cellular level is also about connecting to one’s innermost self and admitting that there is a problem. Without this admission, there can be no growth. However, admission is not enough, there has to be acceptance and willingness too. These components can arise when one starts to focus on the underlying root/core causes of their problems.

The Importance of Getting to the Underlying Issues of Addiction

It is important to understand that addiction recovery is about a lot more than simply putting down the drink or the drug. It is about getting to the underlying issues that cause that individual to pick up the drink or drug in the first place. As is often said in 12-Step recovery, “It is about the thinking more than it is about the drinking.”

Also, many people don’t realize that they have these deep-rooted issues. This is often because they are being covered up by years of alcohol and/or substance misuse. Also, many of these issues are related to deep-rooted traumas or post-traumatic stress syndrome (PTSD).

Better Understanding Underlying Trauma and PTSD

Millions of people struggle with trauma all over the world. Also, many people who struggle with trauma are unaware of how affected they are by it. This is why many people are surprised to discover trauma once they get sober – it was long covered up by their behaviors.

It is also important to understand that trauma can affect people very differently. According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), “Some individuals may clearly display criteria associated with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), but many more individuals will exhibit resilient responses or brief subclinical symptoms or consequences that fall outside of diagnostic criteria. The impact of trauma can be subtle, insidious, or outright destructive. How an event affects an individual depends on many factors, including characteristics of the individual, the type and characteristics of the event(s), developmental processes, the meaning of the trauma, and sociocultural factors.” 

It is also important to understand that many people struggle with co-occurring issues of addiction and mental illness (which may include aspects of trauma). According to the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), “People with a SUD may also have other mental health disorders, and people with mental health disorders may also struggle with substance use. These other mental health disorders can include anxiety disorders, depression, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), bipolar disorder, personality disorders, and schizophrenia, among others.” Also, “though people might have both a SUD and a mental disorder, that does not mean that one caused the other.” 

The Signs and Symptoms of Addiction

Now, of course, the signs and symptoms of addiction are always going to vary based on the individual. It is a very personal disease. However, one can look out for many universal signs and symptoms. The following are just a few of those signs and symptoms:

• Having trouble with sleep cycles, including sleeping too much and not sleeping enough (hypersomnia and insomnia)
• Losing interest in activities once enjoyed
• Isolating away from family and close friends
• Feeling anxious, nervous, or overly “stressed out”
• Experiencing physical ailments such as headaches, body aches, and gastrointestinal problems
• Having feelings of worthlessness, hopelessness, and helplessness
• Not being able to stop once starting drinking or using
• Experiencing trouble at work or school
• Loss of appetite and a lack of care regarding physical appearance and wellbeing
• Exhibiting excessive mood swings
• Causing harm to oneself or others
• Having suicidal ideations

Now, many people can minimize addiction or falsely categorize it as a “choice.” However, as one can see, these signs and symptoms are significant and can even be deadly. This is why reaching out for professional help sooner rather than later is critical. Doing so could mean the difference between short-term side effects and long-term consequences. Also, recovery and recovering careers often go hand in hand.

Looking at Addiction Recovery and Recovering Careers

Many people are “functional” when it comes to their addiction. However, this “function” is not a benefit or some type of positive attribute. Rather, it simply means that one gets to stay in pain for longer because no one is recognizing or telling them that they have a problem. The key is to take action as soon as an individual or loved one shows that they may be struggling with addiction.

Now, as previously mentioned, many people avoid recovery because they are worried about what will happen to their jobs while they are away getting help. This is the wrong way to look at the issue. A better way to look at it is how much one’s job will suffer if one doesn’t get the help that one needs.

It is also important to remember that the workplace is protected when it comes to issues of addiction. One can not be discriminated against because they are sick with the disease of addiction. Also, the reality is that most employers want to get their employees the help that they need because they know that they will be that much more productive once they are healthy. Addiction recovery and recovering relationships are also a topic that many people fret over.

Addiction Recovery and Recovering Relationships

Many people get worried that they are going to lose their marriage or partnership once they go and get help. Again, the reality is that relationships suffer more when someone does not get the help that they need.

Recovery and recovering relationships is also about getting the other person affected the help that they need. As previously mentioned, addiction is a family disease. Thus, it needs a family cure that addresses all members of the family.

This help may come from individual, group, or family therapy sessions. It may also come from connecting with recovery groups like Al-Anon (a 12-Step program for loved ones of individuals who struggle with addiction).

Addiction Recovery and Recovering Self

More important than fixing a job or fixing an external relationship is fixing the relationship that one has with oneself. This is where the healing must happen. Addiction recovery and recovering self is the essential cornerstone needed to start the broader healing process.

However, there are many recovery centers that don’t focus on healing the internal self. These are often recovery centers that focus on “cookie-cutter” recovery plans that don’t take the individual into account. They also rarely offer comprehensive treatment plans that utilize multiple means, methods, and modalities.

Here at Exclusive Hawaii Rehab, we know that this type of recovery rarely works. This is why we utilize the multi-angled approach that uses modalities from all the areas of recovery. This includes experiential recovery methods like nature immersion therapy and surf therapy, holistic healing methods like yoga and massage, and “traditional” therapies like cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) and dialectical behavior therapy (DBT).

Addiction Recovery and Recovering With Traditional Therapies

Traditional therapies like CBT and DBT can be particularly effective because they help get to the underlying issues that were previously mentioned. These types of therapies help individuals see the negative way in which they have been viewing themselves and the rest of the world around them. Once an individual sees this, they can then begin to make the proper changes to adjust their negative behaviors. Psychodynamic therapy can also be particularly helpful in making this happen.

Psychodynamic therapy focuses on the unconscious mind to help an individual better understand their innermost selves. It can also work well when integrated into a bigger recovery plan. According to SAMHSA, “Short-term psychodynamic therapies can contribute to the armamentarium of treatments for substance abuse disorders. Brief psychodynamic therapies probably have the best chance to be effective when they are integrated into a relatively comprehensive substance abuse treatment program that includes drug-focused interventions such as regular urinalysis, drug counseling, and, for opioid-dependents, methadone maintenance pharmacotherapy. Brief psychodynamic therapies are perhaps more helpful after abstinence is well established.”

There are also other types of “traditional” therapies that can be particularly effective at helping individuals recover from addiction. This includes eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) therapy. According to the Permanente Journal, “Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) is an empirically validated psychotherapy approach that medical personnel can employ to treat the sequelae of psychological trauma and other negative life experiences. Its ability to rapidly treat unprocessed memories of these adverse experiences has important implications for the medical community, as they appear to be the foundation for an array of clinical symptoms. Clinical applications of EMDR include a wide variety of psychological problems affecting patients and family members, as well as stress-induced physical disorders and medically unexplained symptoms.”

Addiction Recovery and Recovering With Experiential Therapies

There are also many other types of therapies that can be particularly helpful when it comes to addiction recovery. This includes nature-based experiential therapies like nature immersion therapy, surf therapy, and horticulture therapy. 

It has long been widely understood that nature has many benefits. According to the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, “Individuals living and interacting in green spaces (GS) report being more energetic, in good overall health and, have more of a sense of meaningful purpose in life. Current scientific findings are illuminating what humans intuitively know: nature has great benefits for the human brain and this is shown through increased happiness, health/well-being, and cognition. Historically speaking, Cyrus the Great intuitively built lush green gardens in the crowded urban capital of Persia 2500 years ago to increase human health and promote a sense of ‘calm’ in a busy city.” 

Another nature-based way of finding calm is via water sports and water-based activities. Water-based (aquatic) activities offer a myriad of benefits. According to the peer-reviewed journal Frontiers in Psychiatry, “Aquatic exercise, as a special aerobic exercise, has been shown to potentially benefit mood and anxiety.” Also, “aquatic exercise has many physiological benefits compared to land-based workouts because of the water’s unique properties, such as buoyancy, pressure, resistance, and protection from skin irritation due to temperature and touch. As a result, when compared to other forms of exercise, aquatic exercise may prove to be the most effective in terms of its positive impact on mood.” Other helpful aquatic activities include surfing and boogie boarding.

Addiction Recovery and Recovering With Holistic Healing Methods

Holistic practices like yoga and meditation have been around for thousands of years. Originally, they were solely utilized as spiritual or religious practices but have now moved into more secular arenas. This includes the recovery realm. 

The renowned yogi and spiritual leader B.K.S. Iyengar famously said, “As animals, we walk the earth. As bearers of divine essence, we are among the stars. As human beings, we are caught in the middle, seeking to reconcile the paradox of how to make our way upon earth while striving for something more permanent and more profound.” This is especially true regarding those in recovery because a profound experience is something that has always felt just out of reach. In recovery, those experiences become available yet again.

Now, there are many types of holistic healing methods that can be effective. These include yoga therapy, mindfulness meditation, reiki, and acupuncture. However, massage is also a highly effective holistic healing modality that is often forgotten. Massage can help to relieve pain, bring a sense of serenity, and reduce stress. This can be particularly useful when it comes to reducing the stress caused by one’s career.

Connecting With Others for Long-Term Recovery

Another highly beneficial way to fully recover at the cellular level is to work with others in recovery. This is so important that it is even discussed in the primary text of 12-Step recovery (commonly referred to as the Big Book).

The Big Book states, “Practical experience shows that nothing will so much ensure immunity from drinking as intensive work with other alcoholics. It works when other activities fail…. You can help when no one else can.” It can also be particularly helpful to connect with other people in recovery in the same occupational field.

Healing at the Cellular Level With Exclusive Hawaii Rehab

Here at Exclusive Hawaii Rehab, we believe in long-term success over short-term “fixes.” This is why all of our recovery plans are individualized and comprehensive with a focus on the future.

Recovery is waiting. It’s time to go out there and get it.

Many people run into career struggles due to their addiction. The good news is there are many treatment means, methods, and modalities that can help bring careers back from the brink, as well as help people excel beyond their career expectations. If you feel like you or a loved one is struggling with issues of addiction mental illness, or co-occurring disorders, we can help get you on the right road to recovery right away. You don’t have to go through this process alone. For more information about recovering at the cellular level and getting to the root/core causes of addiction, please reach out to Exclusive Hawaii Rehab today at (808) 775-0200.