One of my biggest problems was not being able to deal with minor everyday issues, and learning various tools of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) helped me tremendously. Now I’m almost two years clean, and I handle life in a much different way. I used the change in location to give me a break from life and take care of the things that were keeping me using. The main thing was that I was ready to work on myself and recognized that I had to if I wanted any sort of long-term recovery. I checked into treatment – a place I would have a full support team and the time to work on some of the core issues of my addiction. I realized that all of the outside influences – work, location, and friends – were not what was causing my addiction, it was me. So what did I do differently? For starters, I used relocating as a tool for recovery instead of an entire solution. Thankfully it wasn’t, and I used the change of scenery to my advantage. When considering it, I was very scared that it would be just like the other times, and just turn out to be another failed attempt at getting clean. Before my move to Thailand, I was beaten, broken and down in a completely foreign country. My last geographical change was the only successful one. When considering a move, it’s important to examine the motives – are we truly looking for a solution, or are we just trying to escape? All of the little things that we were unable to deal with still exist, and we simply do not change. Bills and rent still need to be paid on time. We react to the same way when someone rejects us. We will react the same way to a boss telling us we need to work harder. No matter where we go, we will always handle life the same way. All we are doing with this is blaming our addiction on outside influences, and strongly believe that without them – with different life circumstances – we would not need drugs and alcohol. We insist that one particular family member or friend is contributing to our addiction. We tell our self that there are too many bars, or my dealer lives too close to me. When considering moving, the focus is on all the negative aspects of our current living situation. I used drugs I never thought I would and did things I never thought I would to get them.Īll I was doing was getting away from my old problems in one area, and starting to create a whole new set of problems in a new location. Just like the first time, I fell much harder than before. I began seeking prescription pills and even though I knew the path it would take me, I didn’t have the tools to say no. And this is what happened to me yet again. The problem here is that once those replacements stop being effective – when a new job becomes mundane, or you have a problem with your partner – the only solution is to drink or use. Drugs were replaced with the adrenaline of working and being in relationships. What I realize now is that every time I moved, I was switching one addiction for another. For a few months, I did extremely well, focusing on work and living my life. I had that same thought – I got this, and I repeated that critical error – I brought myself along. I moved overseas and settled into the new culture well. I got an opportunity to work in Southeast Asia, and immediately took it as my chance to clean up.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |