If you are someone who struggles with addiction issues and find yourself mystified by how cunning and baffling your own situation is with your own ‘drug of choice,’ I am presenting my own condensed version of my latest book on the topic: The 5 Pillars of Addiction Recovery. This month’s pillar or installment is about the role of community in overcoming addiction.
Community is What is Missing Most These Days in Fighting Addiction
We are now entering our third year of the Covid pandemic and you may be feeling like you have to work extra hard to connect with others in your life outside of your immediate household. Combine that with how more Americans are reportedly struggling with alcohol dependency issues and we keep setting new records for overdose deaths, and it seems like having support from others to battle addiction issues is an almost impossible task to deal with. You may not even know where to look for support.
Why is Community Important in Recovering from Addiction?
It is usually important because people who have addiction issues have a virtually unlimited capacity to isolate themselves from others. When I say isolate here I don’t mean people are ‘shut-ins’ or hermits and never go out to see other people, but that certainly can be the case at times. What I mean by isolating is more about emotionally isolating from others, because when you have an addiction you usually medicate emotions. When I say emotions, that most often means both good and bad emotions. This is because people with addictions have trouble coping with both good and bad feelings and emotions. When you talk to others, you find out how common this is and rebuild your ability to relate to others on a personal and feeling level. You also need others to help you when your willpower to not use or act out in your addiction isn’t very good.
What Does Community Look Like for Addiction Recovery?
There are several features of recovery communities that help each other recover. Some of them are listed below:
Each of them have similar issues: in this case it is a common foe, which is the addictive substance or behavior.
Each member of the recovery group wants to improve, or at least the collective body of the group as a whole wants to improve. It only takes two who have this common goal and focus, but having more certainly helps.
They are supportive of each other, which translates into regarding each other with mutual respect and positive regard. Personality differences happen everywhere, but they don’t need to undermine how the group functions.
The group as a whole is non-shaming, meaning they don’t demean each other or cut each other down as a matter of course. Shame is toxic to recovering people and to dole this out to each other is simply poison to the group and each other.
There is a focus on making amends or restitution to those harmed by each other’s addiction at some point in the process, but it is never the starting point for anyone’s journey.
What If I Can’t Find a Recovery Community Where I Live?
These days there is little reason to be scrambling for support out there. If you have an internet connection you can find help in phone meetings, Zoom meetings, etc. If you don’t like 12-step support groups there are others that are non-12-step based out there. If you need professional help in recovering there are treatment centers and facilities out there, but they won’t be there for the long haul of long-term recovery. This means you need to keep reaching out for help. If I can be of help in addressing the root cause of your addiction, I’m happy to lend my support as I do with many of my male clients who suffer from compulsive or problematic sexual behavior. You can call the number at the top of the page or fill out the form below and I can arrange a free 20-minute consult with you (or a full session one if you have problematic sexual behavior). The main thing is that you don’t continue to feel alone and struggle without the support you need and deserve. Help is out there and is waiting for you to be a joiner instead of a loner.
Visit our page on sex addiction therapy to see how Scott can help you be a part of the addiction recovery movement.
About the author: Scott Kampschaefer, LCSW is a private practice therapist in Frederick, Maryland. He has an extensive background in working with depression, anxiety, and bipolar disorder at a clinic for older adults with these disorders in Austin. He now works with adults and adolescents 12 and up in private practice. His most recent book is titled The 5 Pillars of Addiction Recovery and is available for purchase on Amazon and in paperback on this website.