Early recovery! What does this mean to the LGBT individual who has made the decision to free him or herself from the addictive and abusive cycles of substance use? You’ve decided to embrace a new way of living. You’ve participated in local self-help groups, entered and perhaps completed treatment and have set the intention to live your life without the shame, guilt and trappings of addiction. You have become the architect of reclaiming your authentic self, and you are building a foundation for living without the use of substances. An addiction-free lifestyle is enticing for any member of our community, but the risk of going back to addictive patterns of use is very high, and relapse is not uncommon. Relapse is a return to problem behaviors related to substances. When you’re new to recovery, your risk of relapse will decrease as your capacity to self-regulate increases, and you’ll have a greater ability to manage disruptive emotions and behaviors.
In this stage of early recovery, you cease your daily routine of stopping off at the local bar for happy hour or dropping by the homes of using friends. You establish a new daily structure that includes paying attention to balance when it comes to healthy eating, exercise and managing stress. You also have regular meetings with treatment professionals and your community-based support groups. Recovery for you is a process, not an event, and connections to others who want to embrace an addiction-free lifestyle are essential. You understand that it’s predictable for irrational thoughts to re-emerge quickly and justify a relapse. You find it very important to maintain your newfound sobriety by reaching out and discussing these irrational thoughts with therapists, counselors, peers and support group members. Remembering the negative consequences of past substance use and developing new coping strategies becomes a valuable tool in maintaining early sobriety. It is not unusual for motivation to stay clean and sober to rise and fall in recovery. You need support! The dedicated professional staff of your treatment program, along with your peers in recovery, become your biggest cheerleaders. We are here for the good days and the bad days.
No doubt, once you’ve made the decision to quit using alcohol and other drugs, your path will not be easy. You may find yourself elated, free and on an emotional rollercoaster. In the past, when you’ve faced social situations and challenging emotions, the solution seemed to be found in using substances. Now, without this as an option, you have to make the decision to stay on the road to recovery in spite of your challenges. The journey of recovery is crowded with very common and usual dangers. Past acquaintances who happily joined you in drinking and drugging do not seem to understand the severity of your problem and continue to invite you out and offer alcohol and other drugs to you. Quick trips after work to your local bar to join your friends frequently jeopardize your recovery and can confuse the reality of your new lifestyle. Overconfidence, disappointment and justifying old behaviors can frequently lead to relapse for the most well-intended person seeking continual sobriety.
Relapse triggers can put you at risk for a return to alcohol and drug abuse. Powerful emotional states and compromised physical conditions can put your sobriety in danger. For the LGBT community, we may face additional feelings of discrimination and rejection by others. The feelings of sadness and isolation felt by the LGBT community have far too many times pushed our community members to self-soothe with substances. As you pursue recovery, you’re making a brave decision to abandon substances as a way to gain control. To succeed in life, you must take action, be willing to accept responsibility and give up alcohol and drug abuse.
In our Hillcrest community and in the surrounding areas, many helpful options are available to you. Making a phone call to a trusted friend or family member and making a phone call to a treatment program can be the beginning of a lifetime of balance. Along with traditional programs, our community offers alternatives. The outpatient program at Foundations San Diego offers SMART recovery meetings on Wednesday evenings at 6 p.m. and Refuge Recovery (a Buddhist path to recovery) on Thursdays at 7 p.m.
We welcome you to call our local number at 619-849-6010 to get a free assessment. You can do this, and we can help!
Patricia Bathurst, MFT is the director of Foundations San Diego, an outpatient recovery facility located in Hillcrest at 3930 Fourth Ave., Suite 301, San Diego, CA 92103. Ms. Bathurst is a certified advanced addiction counselor, as well as a licensed marriage and family therapist. Questions for Pat? Contact Foundations San Diego at 619-321-1575.
