The process of recovering from addiction begins before treatment, with the recognition that substance use has become unmanageable and needs to be changed. It continues through the treatment phase and into the new way of life that follows. \u2018Long-term recovery\u2019 describes what recovery looks like over time. It is defined by each person who enters it; there is no set time period that qualifies as \u2018long-term.\u2019 A person has entered long-term recovery when they begin to feel stable and secure in their recovery. While there is always a risk of relapse, a person in long-term recovery has built resilience and coping skills to handle their addiction triggers.<\/p>\n
The American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM) defines recovery as \u201ca process of sustained action that addresses the biological, psychological, social, and spiritual disturbances inherent in addiction. This effort is in the direction of a consistent pursuit of abstinence, addressing impairment in behavioral control, dealing with cravings, recognizing problems in one\u2019s behaviors and interpersonal relationships, and dealing more effectively with emotional responses. Recovery actions lead to reversal of negative, self-defeating internal processes and behaviors, allowing healing of relationships with self and others. The concepts of humility, acceptance, and surrender are useful in this process.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) defines recovery as, \u201ca process of change through which individuals improve their health and wellness, live a self-directed life, and strive to reach their full potential.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Betty Ford Institute in 2007 defined recovery as \u201ca voluntarily maintained lifestyle characterized by sobriety, personal health, and citizenship.\u201d [1]<\/a><\/p>\n Entering recovery can seem daunting. Giving up one\u2019s addictive substance can seem impossible. But, in recovery, new possibilities open up. Once in recovery, you can understand what substance use has taken from you, and find that life is easier and more rewarding without it.<\/p>\n SAMHSA has delineated four major dimensions that support a life in recovery:<\/p>\n \u201cIn 2013, Faces & Voices of Recovery<\/a> conducted the first nationwide survey of persons in recovery from drug and alcohol problems about their experiences in active addiction and in recovery. Survey findings document the many costs of active addiction to the individual and to society in terms of health, finances, work, family life, and criminal justice involvement. Most notably, the survey is the first to document the dramatic improvements people experience in all areas of life once they are in addiction recovery, and that improvements continue over time as recovery is maintained.<\/p>\n KEY FINDINGS<\/strong><\/p>\n Following are specific findings comparing recovery experiences with active addiction:<\/p>\n When looking at life experiences as a function of how long people have been in recovery, the overall conclusion is: life keeps getting better as recovery progresses. Reports of negative life experiences, a proxy for the costs of active addiction, generally decline as recovery gets longer, and conversely, the percentage of respondents reporting behaviors\/circumstances reflecting healthy functioning (i.e., the benefits of recovery) increases as the duration of recovery increases\u2026 Contrary to the stigmatizing stereotype society has of the individual in active addiction or recovery, survey findings show that people in recovery are employed, pay bills and taxes, vote, volunteer in their communities, and take care of their health and their families. These findings underline the fact that recovery is good not only for the individual, but also for families, communities, and the nation\u2019s health and economy.\u201d [3]<\/a><\/p>\n Faces & Voices of Recovery — Recovery Stories> <\/a><\/p>\n I Am Not Anonymous — Recovery Stories> <\/a><\/p>\n Definitions of Recovery><\/a><\/p>\n 2013 Faces and Voices of Recovery Life in Recovery Survey><\/a><\/p>\n SAMHSA Recovery & Recovery Support><\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" What is Recovery? The process of recovering from addiction begins before treatment, with the recognition that substance use has become unmanageable and needs to be changed. It continues through the treatment phase and into the new way of life that … Continued<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":9,"menu_order":10,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"page-treatment-landing.php","meta":{"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pgdf.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2252"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pgdf.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pgdf.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pgdf.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pgdf.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2252"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/pgdf.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2252\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2730,"href":"https:\/\/pgdf.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2252\/revisions\/2730"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pgdf.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/9"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pgdf.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2252"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
Faces & Voices of Recovery Life in Recovery Survey 2013<\/h5>\n
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