Progressive Recovery

This brief thought is dedicated to everyone dealing with some aspect of addiction recovery, whether for alcohol, drugs, sex, gambling or any of the many other mood-altering behaviors that can take over a person's life.

It's a well-known rule of thumb that addiction tends to be progressive, meaning that it inevitably becomes more severe over time. Even when a person stops abusing a mood-altering substance or behavior, the potential damage inherent to the addictive process continues its downhill process. It's typical for a formerly sober addict who relapses to pick back up not where he or she left off but instead to quickly descend just as far down the destructive spiral as if the period of abstinence had never happened. This is a staggering prospect of pain and loss.

However, recovery from addiction is more than just playing tug-of-war against the enemy of relapse. For a person who is truly committed to sober emotional growth, recovery is progressive as well: it gets increasingly better over time. Even with a "slip" (a brief resumption of addictive behavior), it is quite possible to return to the promises of recovery without losing all forward progress. People actively involved in 12-step programs often continue a steadily upward trend in emotional, cognitive, behavioral and spiritual growth in which they feel, think, act and exist along an increasingly healthy, productive and balanced manner of living.

In this sense there is little stagnation in recovery. A person is generally going either forward or backward. While some people can appear to "coast" and do quite well, ongoing application of the principles of recovery can allow continued benefits to unfold for the entire length of a person's life. This is the priceless promise of progressive recovery.
--------------
If you like this post (and I hope you do) please visit my primary professional website for related articles on emotional growth and development, individual and couples counseling, successful living tips, counseling and therapy trends and observations, sex addiction treatment and many other interesting and useful topics.