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Recovery What program worked for you? Any known programs/methods?

Seeotee

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Mar 12, 2024
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I'm into cars so I will give a car analogy to give you a better understanding on what my question means...

If someone asked what's the best car, I'd be inclined to say "it depends". Lots of variables to make the answer many different cars. What type of car is one question I need to know before I can give an answer...sedan?...SUV?...truck?... If they answered sedan...then I'd need to know the budget, driving style, passenger capacity...etc. If I can't know the specifics and the answer is " just generally what's regarded the best car?". Then I'd just say a Rolls Royce. Because that car is just synonymous with being "the best". Just like Michael Jordan is/was with sports.

So...what program is the Rolls Royce of rehab? The Michael Jordan. What type of car....rehab? Sedan...prescription drugs/narcotics rehab.
 
So the brand name is less important
 
So taking the car analogy...a Geely (a cheap Chinese car) is just as good as the Rolls Royce regardless of the road condition as long as I commit to the journey?
 
It can be - you'll make it what it is

The rolls Royce will get more expensive too id try focusing on your self and what you invision as your future off of drugs / alcohol.
 
In which universe is a Geely a better ride than a Rolls Royce? In what way, shape or form would it be better? The Rolls will get you there safer, faster and more comfortably no matter how you slice or dice it. Yes it is more expensive but where did I put that as a limiting factor?

Asking for a point in the right direction and you're basically telling me to "just walk"

Appreciate you input but I hope someone else comments in a more useful way.
 
If the driver can't handle the ride then it doesn't matter anyway.

I'll be more direct - do the work for you. If it's for you and genuine, you'll be able to do it in whatever rehab, given the right supports that you'll learn you need.

I will stop talking now my friend, feel free to ignore me!
 
Your analogy makes sense, but is ultimately irrelevant to the journey.

Change and sobriety come from within. Period. You can spend a million dollars on rehab and just spin those tires and go nowhere. It doesn't matter what kind of car you drive to the top of the mountain, as long as it eventually makes it there.

I'll compare myself to my best friend. We were both heroin addicts, alcoholics, benzo junkies, acid freaks... just general druggies.

I've been to literally over a thousand AA meetings. I've been to several detoxes, inpatient rehabs, outpatient rehabs, court ordered rehabs, rehabs rehabs rehabs... But my friend never went to any rehab or AA meeting in his entire life. He got sober by himself with no help. By comparison I still struggle.

Sobriety cannot be bought. It cannot be gifted. It is created within yourself.

There is no Ferrari fast track to sobriety.

In fact, it's almost a joke at many of those high end places. They coddle you. They try to make it as painless as possible, they pamper you, and in my opinion this is not conducive to real sobriety. It takes blood, sweat, and tears.

It's an individual journey. Someone once said to me "Even if I could gift you sobriety right now, I wouldn't, because it would rob you of the journey".
 
Appreciate your input, Snafu, but I am simply asking what are the options. You could say...there is the Rolls Royce, a Benz, a Ferrari...etc. and then let me decide which to try...or not. What do the stats say? Which method has the highest success rate? Which has the least (relapse)? Just objectively, going by stats...for research purposes.
 
Let me check my stat book on that I'll get back to you
 
Appreciate your input, Snafu, but I am simply asking what are the options. You could say...there is the Rolls Royce, a Benz, a Ferrari...etc. and then let me decide which to try...or not. What do the stats say? Which method has the highest success rate? Which has the least (relapse)? Just objectively, going by stats...for research purposes.
I'm not sure there is much good data on the matter, but I'd be curious myself. I would assume the relapse rate for ALL rehabs is 90% or higher. The sad truth about something like severe alcoholism is that only about 5% of people ever truly get sober. Most die from the disease.

The amount of people who get sober forever after their first visit to rehab is probably 10% or less. Pseudo-educated guess.

and as they say, relapse is part of recovery, not an end to it.

but AA 12 step is the standard model. Almost all detoxes, inpatient and outpatient rehabs follow the 12 step model and basically force you to go to AA meetings. The only real difference between rehabs is how much time you spend in their facility, and what other services they offer (like a gym / health services / random other shit)

- meetings are volunteer gatherings, better for maintaining recovery than starting out
- outpatient programs are for people who are still functional in life or need to maintain a job
- inpatient programs are for people who are no longer functional, about to go to jail, or about to die
- detoxes are like inpatient, except they give you nice drugs and only keep you for 5-7 days. A lot of people tend to go from detox straight into an inpatient program, because it tends to be a matter of life or death at that point.

success rate matters less than what works for you in your life, where you are at, etc...

most people can't maintain a 9-5 job and then spend 30-90 days in an inpatient, because you generally don't have access to your phone

The only other mainstream model is S.M.A.R.T. ... I've heard good things about it, but have no clue what its about. I've seen a lot of people who hate the 12 steps for whatever reason praise SMART... I think they mainly just do AA style meetings
 
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I've required medical detox several times and I usually follow that up with a 28-day residential rehab and/or an outpatient program.

I used to attend 12-Step meetings (mostly for the camaraderie, but I've also "worked a program" a couple times), but AA/NA is not really my thing.

The only way I've ever maintained any long-term sobriety is when my desire to quit exceeded my desire to use.
 
Looking for a non-Peer requiring method due to constant travel.
You could always find a substance abuse counselor that will talk to you over zoom. If you don't think you're in desperate enough condition to resort to one of the major methods snafu mentioned above, or are otherwise unable to, that could be a step in the right direction.

I've found that support from others is a big part of staying sober. Yeah, it's ultimately up to you, but it's a lot easier to get through hard days when you have someone to talk about it. It is easy enough to "get" sober or do detox, the challenge truly is "staying" sober.

Probably the two most important things with staying sober are finding a support network, and finding new ways to spend your time doing something that matters to you.

There are definitely a lot of rehabs and sober living houses that are just insurance scams. They just bill the insurance, and the care is lackluster. It's hard to provide specific examples, because there are just a lot that are like this.

If you are traveling a lot and unable to stick to one place to attend an inpatient or outpatient rehab, I would look for some kind of counselor or support group that you can see or attend remotely.

A lot of people poo poo 12 steps because they have some kind of misconception about the culture and dogma of them and they never actually gave them a fair swing, or they had a bad experience with one or two meetings and never came back. But honestly, they are a great place to meet new people that aren't getting high, and do inside work to figure out who you are and why you use. At the end of the day those things are important. And if you're traveling, well there's likely meetings wherever you're at, and its not something you have to commit your time or money to. If you're serious about getting sober it can't hurt to try.
 
Traveling internationally so availability of such programs...language...culture...etc
 
Our members are giving you greatly detailed information. I have stayed high-level because you're not really giving us much to work with.

Please clarify what your situation is @Seeotee or ask specific questions that are not in the form of a riddle. If your way of having a conversation is largely having the other parties do the work, that's not the best mindset to adopt going into recovery.
 
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