Recovering From Addiction
You do not recover from an addiction by just quitting. You recover by creating a new life where it is easier to not use. If you do not create a new life for yourself, then all the factors that led you to your addiction will eventually catch up with you again. AA teaches that you must change people, places and things.
You do not have to change everything in your life, but there are a few things and behaviors that have been getting you into trouble and they will continue to get you into trouble until you let them go. The more you try to hold onto your old life, the less successful you will be.
Some important common things that people need to change in order to achieve recovery are high risk situations. Knowing yourself well enough to identify loneliness, tiredness, hunger, anger, is key in maintaining an addiction-free life.
We help you be proactive and provide the tools and skills you will need using cognitive and behavioral techniques to focus on things like preventing relapse. We work with the entire family and provide family members with tools for coping. We address enabling behaviors.
What is enabling? Enabling is any person who reacts to the dependent in such a way as to shield the dependent from experiencing the full impact of the consequences of his/her behavior. As family members, we are part of the family illness of chemical or co-dependency, but we are not “crazy”, our thinking and behaviors can become “crazy” – throwing out drugs/bottles, covering up, etc.
Enabling behavior is a normal human response of caring to an irrational non-caring illness, alcoholism, drug addiction or co-dependency. As the disease progresses it becomes more and more important in the life of the family. In our struggle to control our dependent’s behavior, that very behavior begins to govern the family’s lifestyle and behaviors. We become bound up in destructive, recurring and predictably painful situations, but continue to believe we can control our dependent’s behavior and eventually change him/her. At the Hellenic Therapy Center we offer individual and family therapy. We have a team of licensed professionals who can assist you in recovery whether it be alcohol, drugs, gambling, shopping, internet, sex addictions, or even people, etc. Call us at 908-322- 0112 for further information or visit our website @ www.hellenictherapy.com. We are available, day, evening and weekend hours.
