Drug Rehab Center

“I TOOK A LONG, DEEP BREATH AND WONDERED AS USUAL, WHERE TO START. YOU START WHERE YOU ARE, IS THE SECRET OF LIFE. YOU DO THE NEXT RIGHT THING YOU CAN SEE. THEN THE NEXT.” ~ Anne Lamott

In this fourth and final instalment of this video series, Geoff sums up his talk on moving beyond thinking about recovery and taking action. To use a popular recovery metaphor, it’s about putting the tools in your toolbox to use. In his book, Not God, Ernie Kurtz records the history of the Alcoholics Anonymous movement. This account is not about the theory of addiction but, rather, is a historical account of tangible actions people in the early days of the recovery movement took to stay sober and support one another. What these early pioneers of the AA movement did was what saved them and helped build AA.

However, it is important to remember that action must have a purpose and a direction. Action cannot be a mere distraction, as a trick to keep us from thinking about drugs or alcohol or to make us feel important and useful. If people find themselves incapable of taking action, it is important to remember the advice of Anne Lamott who encourages those who are stuck to, if they don’t know what to do, do the next right thing. Finally, as Irvin Yalom tells us, it is important to make a commitment to action. Once one really commits, everything changes.

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe once said:

Concerning all acts of initiative and creation, there is one elementary truth the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then providence moves too. All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred. A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one’s favor all manner of unforeseen incidents, meetings and material assistance which no man could have dreamed would have come his way. Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it. Begin it now.

Naysayers may say that talk like this is a set-up which can end up in failure. Geoff reminds us that in baseball a .333 average can make a ballplayer a very wealthy man, even though they fail 2 out 3 attempts. We learn by our failures.

By Geoff Thompson, Ph.D. (cand.), CCC
Program Director

It’s very interesting that most research in the addiction field—at least, research in the US and Canada, though not so much in other places — ends up with the same conclusion.

Here’s the conclusion: The drug takes over the person, leaving them more or less powerless to control themselves. Some of the bad things about addiction are that it mucks up the chemicals in the thinking part and in the reward part of the brain, it empties bank accounts, it breaks up family, it causes liver damage and other problems, it causes problems at work.

If this is true, then why do people continue to use drugs? The answer: People succumb to drugs because of some defectiveness. In the old days, this was a moral defectiveness. Addicts were sinners and irresponsible lay-a-bouts. More modern interpretations of defectiveness say that addicts have a brain disease or disorder or that they have maladaptive learned behavior.

Here’s an example from a textbook on Abnormal Psychology, by Durand and Barlow. The authors quote an alcoholic explaining why alcoholics drink: “When I drink, I don’t care about anything, as long as I’m drinking. So when I’m not drinking, the problems come back, so you drink again. The problems will always be there. You just don’t realize it when you’re drinking. That’s why people tend to drink a lot.” As the book title suggests, this is an example of those who are not normal.

What is odd about this is that it’s a pretty weak explanation of why millions of people continue to drink and use drugs, and have done so for thousands of years. When we listen to addicts themselves and when we read about addiction in works written by addicts we find a much different story. The famous drug users in Victorian England did not reduce addicts to being defective. They described many of the positive experiences of intoxication. A typical example is Charles Baudelaire, who even wrote a poem about hashish. A more modern example is Eugene O’Neill, the Nobel-prize winning addict-writer. O’Neill provided us with an in-depth understanding of addiction that had nothing to do with being powerless over alcohol or self-medicating some mood disorder or being irresponsible or suffering from a disease. O’Neill explained the reason why he drank was that he could never find a sense of belonging, except when he was drunk.

What Baudelaire and O’Neill and hundreds of others have in common is that they examined drug use at a human level. They did not reduce the addict to having a disease or a defective personality or a bad habit. They saw them as normal human beings who were searching for something to feel whole, feel more energized and vital, make more sense of their lives. Many of them talked about intoxication as a spiritual experience.

And, of course, Bill W., the main force behind the development of Alcoholics Anonymous, was convinced that the thirst of the alcoholic was his thirst to feel whole and find some connection with the universe. Remember that speech he gave in 1948 at the Shrine Auditorium: “An alcoholic is a fellow who is ‘trying to get his religion out of a bottle,’ when what he really wants is unity within himself, unity with God. . . .”

In this blog article, we’ll examine the pervasive idea that addicts are addicts because they are defective. If you or a loved one are struggling with addiction, this idea will help you appreciate the influence that the stigma has had on your or a loved one’s recovery.

Part One: Hollywood Movies & Stigma

Believe it or not, researchers have examined how Hollywood movies have portrayed addiction and its treatment. Curt Hersey, for example, has written on how Hollywood portrays addiction and recovery from addiction. In an article examining 28 Days, Clean & Sober, and When a Man Loves a Woman — which take place mainly in treatment centers — he concluded that the films offered only “one conceptual framework for addiction” and that the portrait of recovery was “unrealistic, when compared with the availability and realities of real-life programs.”

Addicts portrayed by Sandra Bullock in 28 Days and Michael Keaton in Clean & Sober are presented as suffering from defectiveness. This defectiveness means that once the drug enters their brain, they lose control. This is, of course, the disease model of addiction. They are selfish, intolerant, in denial, and so on. It’s not that Sandra Bullock is a horrible person; she’s just got a disease. And Michael Keaton’s lying and manipulating is not because he is evil; he, too, has a disease, and he will do anything to get the drug.

Part Two: Popular Opinion & Stigma

Popular opinion sees the addict, even in treatment, as defective. When treatment centers open in neighborhoods, it is inevitable that the neighbors are against it. The typical excuses for wanting to shut it down are that the center will make property values drop, that it is too close to schools (don’t want all those nasty addicts near vulnerable school kids), that the clients will make the neighborhood “unsafe,” that the clients will get up to all kinds of mischief in the neighborhood, and so on. (FYI. Research studies on these complaints have shown they are not valid.)

Even many of those who agree that addiction is a health issue, often carry with them this idea that addicts are out of control. There is a famous documentary called The Fix: Story of an Addicted City about Vancouver’s notorious downtown eastside. In the film, a non-addicted person said that she believed addiction was a disease and addicts needed help — just not in downtown Vancouver. She suggested they should go to Surrey! (I’ve often wondered what the mayor of Surrey thought when she heard this.)

According to popular opinion, one of the biggest problems with the addict is that he or she appears to be out of control. Many experts have recognized that people in our society are very uncomfortable around others who appear unable to control themselves. We tend to like the John Wayne or Sarah Palin type of person, or someone like Terry Fox, who overcame his struggles. We tend to shy away from people diagnosed with mental disorders or HIV or, even, cancer.

Part Three: Mainstream Research & Stigma

Tens of thousands of research studies seem to confirm that addicts are defective. Studies have shown that those trying to overcome their addiction have high levels of anxiety and depression, low self-confidence, poor image of themselves, have mucked up the thinking part of the brain that controls, for example, not acting on impulses, and so on.

It’s possible to argue that all the studies are simply discovering the “truth” about addiction. They have similar conclusions because all this defectiveness is what addiction is all about. But then how do we make sense of, for example, Eugene O’Neill, that Nobel-prize winner? Even though he won the Nobel Prize, do we simply dismiss him because he suffered from a disease or maladaptive learned behavior? Do we conclude that all his ideas on addiction were just plain wrong? That all his ideas were just excuses to justify his drinking?

To understand how all these studies come up with the same conclusion, it is necessary to understand how this research is conducted. Basically, the researcher comes up with an idea then designs an experiment to see if the idea is true. What this means in real life is that it is the original idea that is the key, so researchers design studies to discover level of criminal involvement, anger and aggression, antisocial personality traits, and so on. If the researcher thinks that addiction is a disease, he or she will design an experiment that focuses on disease. But what happens if that is not really what is going on? Unfortunately, the method does not allow for other interpretations.

This is one of the reasons why many experts, such as XXXX, have lamented that “the prohibitionist spirit is still strong.”

Part Four: Other Research & Stigma

Another kind of research does not use statistical analyses. This research is interested in understanding the subjective experience of, say, addiction. Usually, the researcher talks to a handful of people to understand their experience of addiction and recovery. The odd thing is that even most of this research focuses on defectiveness.

A typical example was a study of an alcoholic woman by two researchers, Drs. Shinebourne and Smith. The woman talked about how she was a different person when intoxicated and that she did not like this person. At least, that’s what the researchers focused on. But it is interesting that she also talked about the benefits of being intoxicated: “feeling creative, you know, some feelings of like fun and excitement. . . like unlocking some sort of artistic feeling.”

But the researchers didn’t pay attention to these feelings of creativity, fun, and excitement of intoxication. Rather, they dismissed this and focused on the bad stuff. After all, if addiction is bad and the person out of control, then the woman’s comments on fun and excitement and being more creative probably were not all that important.

Conclusion: Stigma as a Barrier to Recovery
In this article we’ve examined remarkable power that “addict = defective” holds on people. This sort of thinking is at the root of the stigma of addiction.

Almost all clients at our residential program, Sunshine Coast Health Center, have internalized the stigma. They call themselves “drug fiends,” “drunks,” and other derogatory labels. Many clients think that they must have a mental disorder because this is the only way they can understand why they keep using substances, even knowing that this behavior was causing them serious problems. And, of course, there’s always the declaration, “Of course I lie and manipulate. I’m an addict. That’s what addicts do.”

But here’s the problem. If you believe in this idea that you are defective, then your recovery will suffer. Several researchers have shown that the stigma of addiction is a problem. Jason Luoma is one such researcher who has written about how the stigma of addiction causes problems for those who want to clean up and actually can weaken their recovery.

By Geoff Thompson, Ph.D.(cand.), CCC
Program Director at Sunshine Coast Health Center

We can learn a lot about addiction and recovery from our current fare of drug prevention programs.

Here are some statistics: According to a 2007 published survey by the Government of Canada, most Canadian youth, aged 15 to 24, reported that they used illicit drugs. Only 39.7% said they have never used, 38% said they used only cannabis, and 23.7% said they used an illicit drug other than cannabis. Almost all youth reported using alcohol, and 82.9% in the last 12 months. Of past year drinkers, 13.8% reported getting drunk weekly and 40.6% at least monthly. (By the way, if there is such a thing as a ‘gateway drug’, then these numbers tell us that it’s alcohol.)

To combat these numbers, communities, schools, and parents spend a lot of energy trying to keep youth away from drugs and alcohol. Most prevention programs are simply local efforts, which have no basis in psychology research or practice. But both the US and Canadian governments tell us that many programs have been studied and have “scientific evidence” that they work. These programs generally use some basic psychology principles to help people learn how to ‘just say no‘, how to deal with peer pressure, how to deal with stress, how to deal with anxiety and depression, and so on.

The key to all these programs is that they point out that drugs are a poor way to deal with what makes us uncomfortable in life. And there are lots of things that make us uncomfortable. Booze is great if you’re going to a dance. It helps you get over shyness. Being intoxicated is a great way of dealing with boredom. Getting high is a great way of dealing with loneliness.

The problem with using drugs for this kind of uncomfortableness is that they can backfire. Having to rely on drugs every time you go dancing, for instance—and having to use more as time goes on because of tolerance—can lead to disaster.

Pointing out the risks involved seems entirely reasonable. But here’s the problem: Regardless of what program designers and governments tell us, top-of-the-line research has shown that our current prevention programs don’t work very well.

It’s important to remember that Bill W., the driving force behind the development of the 12 steps, also understood the benefits of using. He said that intoxication is a substitute for satisfying the urge for wholeness and connection with God. In 1943 at the Shrine Auditorium in LA he told the audience that the alcoholic was a person who was looking for religion in a bottle. But, of course, seeking fulfillment through intoxication always backfires, leading to great suffering.

In this blog article we’ll explore prevention programs to see why they are not very successful. Knowing this can help you understand the power of drugs and, if you are struggling with drugs or alcohol, what you will likely have to do to recover from addiction.

Part One — Our Current Approach to Prevention: “Drugs are bad”

Drug prevention programs operate according to the principle that “Drugs are bad, so don’t use them.” Typically, they tell us that using drugs will inevitably cause any number of problems. Studies of the effects of drugs on the brain, physical deterioration of the body, lost jobs, depleted finances, broken families, risk of arrest and incarceration, and so on are marshaled up to convince people to abstain. And many programs invite recovering addicts to tell their story to young people about how drugs destroyed their lives.

It all seems like a good way to keep young people away from drugs. Unfortunately, this approach doesn’t work very well.

Many big-shot researchers have studied the “evidence” of programs that claim to be successful—the ones that the US and Canadian governments have said were scientifically proven to be effective. The researchers discovered that the “evidence” was not very good.

For example, four of the most famous prevention programs are Strengthening Families, Life Skills Training, Project ALERT, and DARE. Researchers examining the evidence for Strengthening Families and Life Skills Training wrote: “Far from supporting the evaluators’ claims concerning the rigour of the findings and their generalisability and public health significance, the results were very fragile, of little practical significance and quite possibly analysis-dependent.” What this means is that the so-called “evidence” that the program worked did not meet basic research standards. Other researchers studied the evidence behind Project ALERT and DARE and found that these programs were of little or no value.

Part Two — Problems with the “Drugs are Bad” Approach

It seems so reasonable to try to stop people from using drugs by telling them all the dangers. And the dangers are not little: lost families, major health problems, lost jobs, mucking up the brain chemistry. And there is the real possibility of death.

But there are a growing number of experts in the field, who are showing why this “drugs are bad” approach is not very effective in preventing drug use. Here are some of their reasons.

Prohibition doesn’t work—The idea that drugs are bad is based on, as one researcher said, “the persistence of prohibition as an ideological force.” What this means is that trying to scare people into abstaining is based on ideas of the prohibition movement that helped make drinking illegal in the United States in 1920 and in Canada in 1918. You probably know that prohibition did not work. It was based on a moral stance and not on any scientific understanding of human nature.

People don’t believe the message—Surveys of school kids exposed to the “drugs are bad” message have shown that they don’t believe it. They know kids who have used crystal methamphetamine and who didn’t end up in the emergency ward of the hospital. They know kids who use substances and are straight-A students. They know athletes who smoke marijuana. They know kids who get drunk at parties, and the most they seem to be affected is a hangover the next day.

Kids like to take risks—One of the pleasures of teenagers is to take risks, including doing things that are illegal (small things, mainly). There’s an excitement involved. A drug prevention program that displays illegal drugs is likely to inspire more curiosity than fear. Interestingly, when addicted famous people talked to kids about drugs, the kids usually thought they could do drugs and then clean up—just as these celebrities did. (By the way, when researchers discovered this, they stopped asking famous people to talk to kids about drugs.)

These are just a few examples; there are many more. But they show that perhaps our current drug prevention programs are wrong-headed.

Part Three — New Research on Prevention

A handful of researchers, knowing that current prevention programs do not work very well, have said that we need to re-think the logic that we use to try to prevent drug use.

Most of these researchers are in England, but a growing number are in Canada and the United States. For example, British researchers have been studying why young people in Britain use ecstasy and ketamine. They have discovered that many young people find positive benefits from intoxication.

The idea that intoxication has rewards is not new. You may recall your time at Sunshine Coast when we talked about the great psychologist and philosopher William James (the guy who impressed Bill W. so much). James was convinced that being drunk or stoned helped the user connect with the universe, find insight into perplexing problems, and generally feel more energized and alive. And, of course, some of the great addict-writers, such as Thomas De Quincey, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, William S. Burroughs, Eugene O’Neill, and Jack Kerouac said more or less the same thing.

Young people we’ve studied have told us that using ecstasy and ketamine at dance clubs has helped them connect with others in a positive way. They even tell us that they have found long-term benefits of being more empathic (the ability to appreciate what others are feeling).

The second thing they tell us is that intoxication allows them to connect with something greater than they are. In previous articles, I have talked about how addicts often get high in order to feel a sense of belonging. Researchers in the United States have studied 18 to 24 year olds who experience the benefit of ecstasy as “transforming the everyday.” The researchers concluded that ecstasy highlights “the extraordinary or transcendental nature of the experience.”

Part Four—Drug Prevention has to Account for the Benefits of Drugs

Modern drug researchers have come up with a “new” idea. As one researcher put it, “Research has failed to explore a significant and integral feature of drug use, primarily the reasons why people use and the benefits they receive.”

People use because they find some rewards for getting intoxicated. Researchers have concluded that we need to understand these benefits if we are to design drug prevention programs that work. In fact, one researcher has pointed out the obvious: The reason why our current drug prevention programs don’t work is precisely because the benefits that users tell us they get from being intoxicated make them resistant to programs that are based on the approach that “drugs are bad.”

Here are some of the rewards that users have told us about substances. Alcohol is great for dealing with shyness. Ecstasy can make users feel closer to others. Heroin users tell us that the whole world can be exploding and everything’s still okay. Young users of dextromethorphan tell us that it aids in creating a trans-personal experience. This trans-personal experience means that that intoxication moves the user beyond paying attention to himself and puts him in a state that is beyond time and space.

So, this is good information for you to know as part of how to stay away from drugs and alcohol. If the benefits of intoxication are this feeling of community and this trans-personal experience, then it makes sense that you will have to figure out how to find a sense of belonging and how to finding something in life that makes you feel alive.

This is, of course, the entire purpose of the 12-step program. And it is one of the main themes of your treatment at Sunshine Coast.

By Geoff Thompson, Ph.D.(cand.), CCC
Program Director at Sunshine Coast Health Center

When we ask clients what an addiction is, they provide any number of answers: “It’s a disease”; “It’s not a disease, I just made bad choices”; “It’s a bad habit”; “I was irresponsible”; and so on. Everyone seems is a bit baffled. Of course, the experts are just as baffled. William R. Miller, a world-renowned addiction expert, told us in 2006, “Addiction is not well understood.”

In previous blog articles, we’ve provided you with lots of different interpretations of addiction. Here are three we’ve looked at:
1. Psychologist Jeff Singer says addiction is a response some people use when they really don’t know who they are or how they fit in the world.
2. Neuroscientist Nora Volkow says addiction is a “brain disease.”
3. Nobel-Prize winning economist Gary Becker says addiction can be understood in terms of rational economic theory.

In a sense, all of them are right. It depends on what perspective you take. For example, if you believe that everything about you can be reduced to chemicals interacting in your brain, then you would likely agree with Nora Volkow. But if you believe that you are more than chemicals interacting in your brain, then you might think that addiction is something other than a disease.

If you adhere to the philosophy of the 12-step program, then you likely think that addiction is a “spiritual disease.” Bill W., the driving force behind Alcoholics Anonymous, said that this spiritual disease had caused alcoholics to become disconnected with themselves, with others, and with a higher power.

Of course, at Sunshine Coast we interpret addiction in line with the great psychiatrist, Viktor Frankl, who said that addiction is a response to living a life that has little personal meaning. In real life, this means that those at risk for addiction are the people who find daily life dull, boring, lonely, uncomfortable and perhaps feel that they are different or don’t fit in. And once the addiction sets in, then, as Narcotics Anonymous says, life becomes “meaningless, monotonous, and boring.”

All this is important because, generally, you will do things for your recovery based on what you think your addiction was caused by and how it affected you. Those who follow a 12-step program for their recovery (at least as Bill W. had interpreted the problem) see addiction as a spiritual problem; therefore, recovery demands a spiritual solution. Those who interpret addiction as only a matter of excessive use of substances often focus on relapse prevention techniques. Those who interpret addiction as a disease follow any program (usually a 12-step program) that will help them keep away from the drug; since there is no cure, they need to learn to live with the problem and get support to do it.

(There are some clients who really don’t care what the addiction is; all they know is that they’ve got a problem with substances and they just want to know how to get over it. This is also a good tactic. After all, in real life, who really cares where it came from? The key is to get over it. But even if you don’t care what caused it, you still have to figure out a way to overcome it.)

But we know this because we often talk to alumni on how well their recovery is going. A lot of the alumni give us reports that they’re beginning to live the life they wanted to live. There may have been a few surprises when they left Sunshine Coast, cleaning up some of the wreckage of the past, but they are doing well.

Others tell us that they are struggling. (Just to remind everyone that we like to hear from you even if you are struggling.) It’s interesting that most of the fellows who are struggling have told us that life in recovery surprised them. They were taken off guard that the way they thought recovery would go didn’t actually work out that way.

In this blog article, we’ll look at some of the surprises that those alumni who have been struggling have told us about. You can learn a lot by what didn’t work for others.

Part One: Just say no

At any given time at Sunshine Coast, we find several clients have decided that their recovery will consist of just saying no to the drink or drug. Some of the ways the clients say: “Drinking is just not an option for me” or “I know that I can use anymore” or “If I just don’t use coke, I’ll be fine.” This seems like a good idea; after all, Nancy Reagan told us that the solution to addiction was “Just say no.”

For these fellows, addiction equals using drugs or alcohol; therefore the solution to addiction is abstinence. It seems reasonable; this is certainly how most family members and the public interpret addiction. But we have experience seeing what happens to those who believe this, and lots of research to confirm what we see. The idea that recovery means putting a cork in the bottle or just saying no seems to be a recipe for relapse. In fact, clients who follow this as their main strategy for recovery seem to be the ones who relapse quickly. Thankfully, most of the clients at Sunshine Coast who believe this change their minds in a week or two here.

When someone says, “Drinking is just not an option for me,” it often quickly becomes an option. So, what happened? Was this person lying to us? We don’t think so. Most of the fellows seem genuinely honest; they don’t want to use anymore. Usually, drinking becomes an option for the alumnus because he doesn’t actually understand his addiction. He blames the using, forgetting to look at what it is about himself that makes intoxication appealing. So, this is a good lesson. If your strategy for recovery is to just say no, then you’ll likely be very surprised when you discover it isn’t enough.

Part Two: Life sucks

Here’s a common story we hear from alumni: “I don’t get it. I haven’t used. My family is thrilled that I’m clean and sober. My boss is thrilled that I haven’t missed work. My parents tell me they’re so proud of me for kicking the drugs. Everyone seems happy about my recovery … except me. I think my life sucks.”

Although everyone who tells us this is unique, there is a common theme we find in these sorts of stories. We often find that they are not being true to themselves. You know that on the AA chip it says, “To thine own self be true.” We generally discover that the alumni who tell us that their life sucks have not paid attention to themselves, have not been true to themselves. They have usually been doing what other people tell them to do.

This really isn’t a big surprise. If you attended Sunshine Coast, you probably discovered from listening to various life stories of your peers at Sunshine Coast, few have insight into themselves. If you don’t know who you are, then how can you be true to yourself? This is why we use Viktor Frankl’s eulogy exercise at Sunshine Coast. It’s a good way to learn what is really important to you. (The eulogy exercise is the one where you pretend that you’ve lived a good life and then passed away. The exercise is to write down what you want someone to say about you at the funeral service.)

This is why we incorporated mindfulness meditation into the program. It is a proven way of helping you to be self-aware—what’s going on for you right now. And this is why we asked you what you were feeling; how aware are you of your feelings at that moment. Most clients are so dissociated from themselves that they have lost this sort of self-awareness. It takes practice to get it back. (Watch infants. They have no problem letting you know how they are feeling right now.) We don’t expect you to discover who you are at Sunshine Coast, but we hope that you will begin the process of discovering it.

Part Three: I just have to go to meetings

It is one of the more baffling things in recovery that many people in 12-step programs think that recovery consists only of going to meetings. You probably remember from the 12-step workshops at Sunshine Coast that meetings are not very important in the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous. We reminded you that, according to 12-step programs, the key to recovery is doing the steps.

In fact, research has shown that those who only attend meetings don’t do all that well in staying away from the booze or drugs. Researchers have concluded that “involvement” in the 12-step program is the key. If the person is actively involved—has a sponsor, does the steps, focuses on the speakers at meetings, does 12-step volunteer work, spends time socializing before and after the meeting—then he succeeds.

If you think about it, how can going to meetings help you achieve what Bill W. and the Big Book said are essential for recovery? Can going to meetings give you “an entire psychic change”? How often does going to a meeting help you achieve a “spiritual awakening”? How does going to a meeting promote the idea of “To thine own self be true”?

Some experts have suggested that those who only attend meetings—and don’t do the steps—let themselves off easy. If all you do is attend meetings, then you don’t have to take any real action, such as making amends or challenging yourself to change behaviors or taking risks to be true to yourself.

Part Four: I just have to keep from being stressed out

Here’s a common comment we hear from an alumnus who has had a slip: “I had a lousy week, and I was so stressed that I just had to have a drink.”

Thinking that the key to your recovery is to protect yourself from getting stressed out is always a bad strategy—simply because the odds are overwhelming that you’re going to have a bad day or bad week or bad month and be really stressed out. If your recovery depends on lack of stress, you’re pretty much doomed.

At Sunshine Coast, we give clients a test to see how stressed out they are. Clients mark off all the items that applied to them, and then added up the scores to see how stressed they were. However, we point out to clients out that lots of people who are happy in recovery face many things that are stressful. A marriage may end, they may have contracted a serious disease, they may have lost a job, they may have been in a car accident, they may have trouble with their family. But they don’t need the drug to deal with these stressors.

So why do we get an alumnus who tells us he “just had to have a drink,” when other alumni didn’t seem to need it? Usually, it’s because the life he is living in recovery is missing something. To borrow an idea from Alcoholics Anonymous, he isn’t being true to himself. Those in recovery who have a slip because of some stressful event are usually living lives that are primed for relapse. The stressful time is often just the last straw.

It’s interesting that when we talk to those in recovery who decided to get loaded that the actual drug use was the last thing on the road to relapse. All sorts of things were going on for them days and even weeks before the actual drug use. Although everyone is unique, the common theme is that what they were doing in recovery did not make them feel alive and vital and energized. Some typical things we hear from these alumni are “I was putting in a lot of hours at work” or “I was bored with everything” or “my family was on my back all the time” or “I just sat on the couch all day.”

By Geoff Thompson, Ph.D.(cand.), CCC

Program Director at Sunshine Coast Health Center

For the past few decades, researchers have trying to figure out what is it about therapy that helps people change. In the old days, we used to think that the therapist was somehow responsible for any change in the way a client felt, thought, or acted. Clients would often lie on a couch or sit in a chair and talk, while the therapist listened, analyzed their problems, and prescribed solutions.

We don’t do that type of therapy anymore, though it’s interesting that many of our clients at Sunshine Coast often think this is the way therapy “works.” And a lot of the general public thinks this as well … maybe from watching Dr. Phil. Today, we believe that the client does most of the work in therapy; therapists walk alongside the client, helping the client change what he or she wants to change.

Sometimes when we study how well programs work, we focus on what we think is happening in therapy to see if our ideas are accurate. If we were to study meaning therapy in this way, we would single out what we thought was effective in the therapy and then check this out with the client.

The problem with this type of evaluation is that we may be blind to what is actually going on for clients. For instance, perhaps what really helped a client was that he gained hope for the future. If we just focus on whether he changed some behavior or learned new coping skills, we may miss just how important his newfound hope is.

Because they don’t want to miss important information from clients, a growing number of researchers ask clients what they think they got from therapy and then see if these answers match what the researcher thinks. To let you in on a secret, it is well known from research that therapists and clients disagree at least 90 percent of the time on what was important in a therapy session. At Sunshine Coast we listen to clients because we believe that each client is the author of his life. In any case, however the client makes sense of his life will lead to the quality and type of life he lives.

In this article, we’ll examine five things that we’ve learned from research on what clients tell us is important in therapy. If you are in recovery (or know someone who is), some of their answers may be helpful to you. They might even help you figure out how well you are doing in your recovery.

Part One: Personality Change

The idea that we could use a change in personality as a way of figuring out if therapy helped people is an old idea. Sigmund Freud, generally regarded as the father of psychology, believed that only the therapist could decide if a client changed and made this decision based on whether the person changed his or her personality characteristics.

Although the idea of personality change took a backseat in psychology for decades, it has recently made a comeback. Today, some researchers give clients some tests that measure certain components of personality (not personality itself) to see if they have changed. A typical example would be coping styles. Perhaps a person who tended to react without thinking might experience a change if he or she thought about something before acting.

A change in personality is a common idea in the treatment of addictions. We’ve talked before in the online program about those who believe, with Dr. Silkworth in the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous, that recovery demands “an entire psychic change.” Other experts have different names for this. William White calls it “transformational change.” William R. Miller calls it “quantum change.” Miller interpreted this personality change as a change in values—what the individual believes is important to him or her. He conducted research which showed, among other things, that the values of people before and after recovery were different.

You should know that whether personality changes in adults or stays the same is a topic of great debate in psychology. But regardless of what you believe, the idea that we can change core things about ourselves in treatment is important to know. Sunshine Coast alumni who are doing well in recovery often tell us that they are more open to new ideas, less impulsive, are slower to anger, rely more on their intuitions, and so on.

Part Two: Behavior Change

Most of the public determines how effective treatment is based on whether the client abstains from alcohol and drugs.

Interestingly, this is not a big priority for researchers. The researchers have a much broader way of looking at behavior change. They are, of course, interested in discovering if clients abstain, but they are much more interested in learning whether clients reduce drug use after treatment, even if they don’t quit entirely. A typical survey asks for the number of days per month a client used before treatment and then after treatment. In terms of drug use, they are also interested in the amount and frequency of the drug use and whether the person lapsed on his or her drug of choice or used some other drug.

But drug use is just one of many behavior changes the researchers are interested in. They are also interested in learning if the person’s physical health is better after treatment, whether the person went to work everyday instead of calling in Monday morning with the “flu,” whether the person’s emotional/mental health improved, and whether the person’s family relationships were getting better. In the US, particularly, researchers usually want to know whether treatment clients had fewer problems with the law.

Sunshine Coast alumni who are doing well in recovery usually tell us they have made new clean and sober friends, started working out, have a safety plan in place when they go to places that serve alcohol (weddings, hockey games), make sure they keep in touch with other alumni, built up a good support network, faced their fears such as speaking in public, and so on.

Part Three: Relationship Change

A more recent trend to determine if treatment helped is to ask clients what they think is the most important thing responsible for their more positive mood, attitude, behavior, etc. Interestingly, the most important component always seems to be building trusting relationships with the therapist or other members of a group. It doesn’t seem to matter what the therapy does, this relationship building is consistently reported as the key.

This makes sense. One of the damaging consequences of addiction is that it isolates the individual. The typical pattern that occurs in addiction is to keep pushing people away. It’s easier to hang out with others who use than to keep relationships with non-addicts. And the addict’s own guilt and shame over his behavior usually makes him feel less than worthy to be around others.

Bruce Alexander, one of Canada’s foremost addiction experts, said that “Addiction in the modern world can be best understood as a compulsive lifestyle that people adopt in desperation as a substitute when they are dislocated from the myriad intimate ties between people and groups—from the family to the spiritual community—that are essential for every person in every type of society.” This points out that all of us have a need to form relationships.

Alumni who run into trouble usually tell us that they feel isolated and alone. Those who are thriving seem to have formed trusting relationships with others.

Part Four: Making Sense of Struggles in a New Way

A well-known indicator of helpful therapy is the client’s ability to make sense of a personal struggle in a new way. The fancy term that psychologists use for this is “cognitive restructuring.”

A typical example is the client who discovers that addiction has a physical basis in the brain. A client might have thought that he was making a clear choice in using drugs, without realizing that the brain adapts to the drug, thereby making it much more difficult to abstain. With this new knowledge, he might feel less guilt and shame. Similarly, many new Sunshine Coast clients seem to think that they are at the mercy of their cravings—they won’t be able to deal with a severe craving. But they learn that they can control cravings by using techniques they discovered at Sunshine Coast.

New clients to Sunshine Coast generally bring with them all sorts of ways of making sense of things that went wrong in their lives and what they need to do to get over hurdles. Many of these ideas are not really based on reality. In fact, they can often be a barrier to living a good life. For instance, a remarkable number of clients seem to believe that their recovery depends on their family. “If my family would just get off my back, I’d be okay” is a typical statement. After discovering in treatment that they are the authors of their lives, they may start making sense of their struggles in a new way—one in which they rely on themselves and not their family for recovery.

Another example are those new clients who believe they have no choice over whether to use drugs. After learning about the famous Rat Park experiments (where rats avoided morphine if they were free to be themselves), these clients might appreciate that recovery demands that they be true to themselves.

Sunshine Coast alumni confirm what the researchers have found. Those who are doing well actively change how they make sense of things in their lives. They tell us they listen rather than jump to conclusions, they reflect on alternative ways of understanding a person, and so on.

Part Five: Finding Meaning in Life

Of course, at Sunshine Coast, we pay a lot of attention to how clients discover or create a meaningful life. Last week, we pointed out that clients often report a helpful part of treatment is to make sense of their struggles in a new way. We called this “cognitive restructuring.” Finding meaning in life is not the same as cognitive restructuring; it’s much deeper. It’s not so much about making sense of this situation or that situation; rather, it is about making sense of the big picture view of life.

The big picture depends on how the person makes sense of his life. And how the person makes sense of life—the big picture—will be reflected in the little things he does. If a person believes that the world is a dangerous place—a big picture view—then he will carry this idea everywhere in his life. He may get very defensive if someone questions him, but he’ll also get very defensive in any situation where he feels a threat, such as in his car, at work, and, even, at home. If a person doesn’t think much of himself, then this will color how he interprets situations and people in his life.

But what if the big picture was more positive? One participant in therapy put it this way: “Therapy helps because you see yourself and your situation in a new way. It helps you to see your history a little bit from above, or from the outside, or from a different angle.”

This comment is typical of those we ask about how therapy has helped them. They gain perspective on their lives. Narcotics Anonymous says that addicts are famous for making mountains out of molehills. Therapy seems to help them keep the molehills as molehills.

By Geoff Thompson, MA, CCC
Program Director
Sunshine Coast Health Center

In this article, we’ll take a look at some of the tools we give Sunshine Coast clients in their recovery toolbox. Lots of alumni have told us that life is great now. They’ve blown the smoke off their lives and had a good, long look about what it is they want out of life. And they are putting in the time and effort and creativity to achieve goals.

But some alumni are struggling, even if they have not had a slip. They usually tell us that they have lost sight of goals, are dwelling on a family conflict or problem at work, afraid to take risks that will challenge them, are living life for others, and so on. This article is an overview of what clients learn at Sunshine Coast.

The bottom line for all these tools is this: we all have one life to live. No thunderbolt from the heavens is going to save us. That’s our job. Our alumni who are already taking charge of their lives know this is true, because they tell us it is. Those who are struggling also know this is true — they suffer because they don’t do anything about it. We typically hear from those who are struggling, “I know what I have to do but I’m not doing it” or “I’m not following my aftercare plan.”

Whatever we choose, the question to ask ourselves is this: How is my life working out for me? If we are unhappy, or feel that something is missing, then this is a sign that we need to do something to change things. The great addict-writer William S. Burroughs said that no one ever wants to be an addict. This is one of the main reasons why addicts suffer. They spend a lot of time and effort pursuing a life that they really don’t want. So, the job for those in recovery is to find a life that they do want.

In recovery, this life isn’t going to just drop into our laps. We actually have to work at it.

Recommendation # One: Take Charge of Your Life 

                               
1.1) Be the author of your life – Some of the greatest psychologists remind us that each person is in charge of his or her life. Each of us makes decisions that result in how we live. The 12-step version of this is: “To thine own self be true.” A recipe for suffering is to willingly give up control. One of the most famous examples in the recovery world is to play the victim. Adults who choose to be victims suffer unnecessarily. And they certainly don’t inspire admiration. Watch just about any Hollywood film, and you will see the hero that faces great problems but who overcomes them with creativity and determination. We admire people who refuse to be victims.

1.2) Ask Life what it demands of you – Lots of people try to take control of their lives by attempting to control others and life. This is where all that manipulation and lying comes from. But, as life may have taught us already, this is not a good tactic. People do what they choose regardless of what we want them to do. Things happen regardless of what we want them to do. The 12-step version of this is: “Live life on life’s terms.”

1.3) Live comfortably in the gray areas of life – It is simply reality that often there are no black and white answers to life’s problems. If you struggle in this reality, it’s likely because you feel the need to be in complete control—a typical sign of great insecurity. Taking charge means accepting reality. (Those of you who are parents know that there are lots of gray areas with kids.). The 12-step version: “Do your part and leave the rest up to God.”

1.4) Be flexible – You are on a journey, and no one can predict the future. If your thinking is rigid, you’ll suffer unnecessarily. When (not if) a wrench is thrown into your plans, figure out a way around it or change your path.

Recommendation # Two: Live with Purpose

2.1) Set goals for yourself – Focus on today, but keep an eye on the future. Psychology is showing that happiness depends on moving forward toward what you want out of life. Unfortunately, many in recovery think that they have to focus only on keeping away from drugs and dealing with their personal “issues” of depression, guilt, anger, and so on. But we now know that if you don’t make progress toward some goals, your quality of life will suffer.

2.2) Live for more than yourself – The old idea of focusing only on yourself doesn’t work. We now know that living for something bigger than yourself is very important for happiness. Whatever that looks like is up to the individual. It’s a personal choice. Sunshine Coast alumni have reported various things they are living for: family, the environment, helping youth, playing music for audiences, volunteering with the homeless, and so on. Actor Christopher Reeve who, in spite of paralysis from the neck down due to a equestrian accident, lived for his wife, child, and for doing his part to raise money for spinal research.

2.3) Don’t get suckered by intensity – One of the key themes at Sunshine Coast is that addicts substitute living intensely for living meaningfully. Addicts love intensity. They love the adrenalin rush. They love excitement. Boredom often comes quickly and a great way to eliminate boredom (but only temporarily) is to do something intense. A much better tactic is to find something personally meaningful to fulfill.

Recommendation # Three: You are the Story You Tell Yourself

3.1) Change the Story You Tell Yourself – The way in which you make sense of life becomes your reality. If you think that recovery will be really difficult, then it will be difficult. If you think that having cravings is unacceptable, then they will be. If you think that it’s too embarrassing to go dancing clean and sober, then it will be. If you think you cannot have a good life until your parents change, then this will be your reality. The stories that we tell ourselves become our reality.

3.2) Just do it! – It is a remarkable fact that alumni who are thriving tell us one thing: they are doing things to help themselves. Action is more powerful than anything in recovery. Evidence of this is found in the Big Book of AA, the history of AA, and simply by talking to people who are happy in recovery – the story of AA is the story of men and women who took action to find a better life. This was not merely going to meetings. This was action in the home, at work, with friends, volunteering, and so on.

3.3) Never give up – You’ve probably heard this one on the television, in magazines, in movies. Psychologists call it various things, but a popular label right now is “resilience” or “hardiness.” This is the idea that when the going gets tough, the tough get going. (And it is one of those interesting facts that the typical millionaire in this country has gone broke six times before striking the jackpot. They didn’t give up.)

3.4) Making sense of success – Listen to how Kevin Spacey makes sense of success, the story he tells himself:

Recommendation # Four: Accept Reality

4.1) Accept suffering as natural – Despite all those advertisements that tell us suffering is bad and that we can fix it with a pill or whatever, the truth is that all people suffer. Suffering is not a bad thing. It’s how we grow as human beings. What’s bad is unnecessary suffering — suffering for no good reason.

4.2) Happiness is not the absence of suffering – Again, we seem to have this peculiar idea that to be happy, we must not suffer. If your remember your time at Sunshine Coast, you probably remember hearing about the great Viktor Frankl, who said that happiness is the byproduct of living the life you want to live. We really don’t have to work at being happy; it comes naturally as long as we are following our bliss.

4.3) Making a decision means you will lose – Most people who have a hard time making a decision recognize that deciding on one thing means they lose the other. If I go back to school, then I lose my paycheque. If I keep with my job, I don’t get trained for a new job. If I choose to have a better relationship with my family, I have to give up being the center of attention. If I choose to be assertive, I have to give up the safety of being passive. Losing out on something is not a bad thing; it is how the world works.

4.4) It’s not what happens to you, it’s how you deal with what happens to you – we find that most Sunshine Coast clients have not figured out this truth. In life, sh*t happens. People will say “no” to us, life will often be “unfair,” people will hurt us. This is simply reality.

Summing Up: Recovery Tools from Dr. Wong

Much of the new program at Sunshine Coast is based on the work of Dr. Paul Wong. Dr. Wong comes up with all sorts of little sayings. If we think about them, though, we’ll see that there’s a lot of truth in them. Here are some:

“Everybody has a racehorse and a donkey. If you don’t pay attention to the racehorse, you’re stuck with the donkey.”

“If you look at your life and it’s like you’re always in the shadows, turn around, and start looking into the light.”

“If you don’t want to be criticized, then do nothing, say nothing, and be nothing.”

“Why do couples quarrel? Most of the time, arguments and getting angry with each other serve the function of (a) communicating their unhappiness and (b) avoiding to confront & resolve the real issues that underlie their dissatisfaction.”

“Conformers do what others do. Cowards do what is safe. Fools do what their desires dictate. Wise people do what is right.”

“All your striving, suffering and setbacks are worth it if you are pressing towards the worthy goal of a higher calling.”

“People may not know what kind of success will make them happy, but they do know that failures and rejections do make them feel unhappy. The best way to maintain a sense of peace and contentment is to rise above success and failure and focus on doing what really matters at the present moment without expectations.”

“When tragedy strikes, we may begin by asking WHY, but at some point we need to move on to ask: What can I do to give meaning to my suffering or what can I do to make life worth living in spite of pain?”

By Geoff Thompson – MA, CCC
Program Director
Sunshine Coast Health Center

Geoff Thompson discusses the commonly held belief that just going to AA or NA meetings is enough for a fulfilling recovery. Geoff argues, however, that the real power in meetings is to get involved, get connected with others, work the steps, etc. So, simply showing up is not enough. You must work at your recovery when going to meetings.

Geoff Thompson, Program Director for Sunshine Coast Health Centre, discusses why it is so important to find work that is satisfying and gives a sense of achievement and how to do it even in such uncertain times. Bill Wilson is profiled as someone who switched from being a stock promoter to co-founding Alcoholics Anonymous with Dr. Bob Smith. In doing so, Bill W. discovered a life of meaning, a sense of achievement, and helped ease the suffering of many thousands of people.

When Geoff has asked clients what they like about work, many respond that they like the excitement or danger of the job, or the fact that it’s always changing. These clients often also use drugs or drink while on the job. Geoff asserts that these people often mistake intensity for meaning and do not necessarily having a sense of personal fulfillment.

Geoff Thompson, MA, CCC

Geoff Thompson, Program Director for the Sunshine Coast Health Centre, talks about dating in recovery and why it is important to connect with a significant other on a level playing field. Geoff also explains the phrase “13-stepping.”

By Geoff Thompson – MA, CCC
Program Director
Sunshine Coast Health Center

Recently, I had a discussion with the clients at our residential treatment center about work. Some fellows said they were at work only because it gave them a paycheque. They didn’t like the job, but they had kids to put through school and a mortgage to pay. Others said that they were near retirement and were just counting down the years: “I’ve got seven years left to retirement, so I just have to suck it up and hang in for a few years more.” Others said they were unhappy at their jobs and so just quit.

Many of the clients who spoke seemed to think they were doomed, victims of their jobs. Many seemed resigned to the “fact” that they just had to suck it up and survive. But making sense of work like this is not very helpful in recovery—or in life, for that matter. There are ways to make work more interesting and satisfying, if you decide to take action.

Sunshine Coast Health Center is sponsoring a major international conference this month in Vancouver on finding meaning in the workplace. The official title of the conference is “Creating a Psychologically Healthy Workplace: Meaning, Spirituality and Engagement in the 21st Century” (visit www.meaning.ca for more information). What this means is that we now have very good research on how to turn a dull job into an interesting one.

Some of the world’s foremost experts will be letting us in on the secrets of transforming your working life, and, if you are a manager, how to create a workplace that will inspire your employees. It’s especially important right now because many people are simply surviving at work. There seems to be a general feeling that we are just hanging in because of layoffs and the downturn in the economy. And lots of our alumni tell us that they are working at jobs simply because of the paycheque and not because they are excited about work.

At Sunshine Coast Health Center, we stress the importance of working at a fulfilling job or of doing something that will allow our clients to reach this job, such as getting training. Each of us spends an enormous amount of time at work, so it’s important that it be a major source of fulfillment and significance.

Why all this is important for your recovery is obvious. Alcoholics Anonymous says that a key to recovery is “To thine own self be true.” And Viktor Frankl, the guru of leading a meaningful life, said that addiction is one response for those whose lives are unfulfilling and unsatisfying, including their working lives.

In this article we’ll take a look at some of the ways to make work more meaningful. As always, remember that you are the author of your life, so finding meaning at work is your job.

Part One – The Job as Meaningful vs Intense

Some clients tell us that they love their job. They go to work everyday, happy to be there. But when we talk to these clients, we discover some very interesting things about this job they love.

A common example is a job that is filled with pressure, such as managing a multimillion dollar project. Or perhaps it is in the financial world, where the client invests millions of dollars each day. Or perhaps it’s a job in at some remote industrial plant where the client has to do some welding while tethered to a safety harness 100 meters above the ground. Or perhaps it’s a job that changes every day and has no real routine.

When we ask our clients what the appeal of the job is, they often tell us, “It’s a rush.” Exciting. Risky. High stakes. Or, as we phrase it at Sunshine Coast, it’s filled with intensity. And addicts love intensity. Counsellors find it interesting that the job itself is often not that appealing—it’s the rush, not the job itself, the client likes. As one client said, who flies around the world first-class on business trips and gets invited to all the best parties, “I could care less whether I’m doing what I do now or whether I’m selling eggs. As long as I get to be a rock star!”

If you recall from previous articles, I talk a lot about the appeal of intensity for addicts. Our main point is that addicts substitute living intensely for living meaningfully. This is one of the most important dynamics to understand addiction. But the key to recovery is to live a life that fills you up, that matches what you truly want out of life. The intense jobs don’t seem to accomplish this goal; but they are intense.

Psychologist Mike Csikszentmihalyi studied people who thrived at work and discovered that the key factor was they loved the work itself (not the paycheque or perks, but the work). This was true of artists and scientists and business people. Pursuing a job because one loves the job itself is a key to finding fulfillment in work. Many artists are content holding down a minimum-wage job so as to ensure they have enough time to work on their craft. Many people donate time in the community to help out organizations or to help their company become a good corporate citizen.

Part Two – The Job as Part of Life, Not the Whole

A few years back, ABC News featured a documentary on the addicted actor Daniel Baldwin. This is the one where ABC News follows Baldwin during his stay at a residential treatment center in California.

In one segment, his psychologist suggests that being a Hollywood actor may not be the best job for Baldwin because it is a life through which Baldwin has used drugs regularly. The ABC interviewer asks Baldwin if he would be willing to change careers, and he replied, without hesitating, that he would never even entertain the idea.

It is interesting that he refused to spend even five seconds thinking about it a career change. Why? The documentary makes it clear that Daniel Baldwin may have no life without his acting. Perhaps the reason Baldwin cannot conceive of having another career is that any sense of who he is hinges on the career. He talks in that segment that he could be a lawyer or real estate agent if he wanted to (which is very true), but it seems obvious that these jobs would be far too dull for him. No limelight. No excitement. No showing up at the Academy Awards. Being successful according to his own standards of wealth and fame is how he judges a job. He does not talk about being a lawyer because he loves the law and wants to help people. He does not talk about being a real estate agent because the job has intrinsic meaning. He is only interested in winning cases or in making money.

One wonders what would happen to Baldwin if he suffered the same fate as the actor Christopher Reeve, who had to give up acting after breaking his spine. Could Baldwin gain success as Reeve did? Who is Baldwin if he were not famous or wealthy or the life of the party? Perhaps it is the job that allows him to survive, that provides him with his identity, with a sense of who he is as a person. Not a very balanced life.

Part Three – Changing Jobs

According to some research, most heart attacks happen on Monday morning, right after the days off and just before going back to the grind. This should give you some idea of how important work is for your health.

O, Oprah’s magazine, often contains articles on how people transformed their lives by changing jobs. Of course changing jobs is not realistic for everyone. But the articles in Oprah’s magazine are about those who are capable of changing jobs. The only think that prevented them was fear.

One woman wrote about her experience of overcoming fear. She and her husband made six-figure salaries, and both were regarded at work and in their communities as very successful. But what they truly wanted to do was to get out of the business world, buy a sailboat, and sail around the world. No more worries about appointments and the high pace.

But to do this obviously meant quitting their jobs. It meant selling their house to pay for a sailboat. It meant giving up their upper middle-class lifestyle. Their neighbors and colleagues at work thought they were a bit nuts. But sailing around the world was what they truly wanted.

The woman said that it was scary, but she said it was the best thing they had ever done. They realized they didn’t need six-figure salaries to be happy. They didn’t need a big, expensive house to be happy. All they needed to be happy was to be true to themselves (and realistic, of course).

Their willingness to act in spite of fear is a good lesson for those in recovery. Remember that Bill W. and AA tell you, “To thine own self be true.” And, of course, Viktor Frankl would not be the least bit surprised to learn that the couple were much happier sailing about the world.

Part Four — Examples of Meaningful Work

In this article we’ve been examining the ideas of finding meaningful (not intense) work, not allowing work to become your identity, and facing fear of changing careers. Eric Clapton’s autobiography provides a good example of someone who transformed his work into something that provided meaning and purpose. He didn’t change jobs, but he did transform his job into something personally meaningful.

As you know, Clapton suffered from addiction. In active addiction, he became a famous and highly respected musician. He describes this time of his life in his book. There was the joy of music, but equally there was the distraction of drugs, party girls, soap opera life, photographs and television, audiences of screaming fans, hanging out with other famous rock stars, money, and so on. And he describes it as a rather narrow life and also that despite the fact that he was surrounded by people, he didn’t feel all that close to others.

Then, after two stays at a residential treatment center, he found recovery. He now has his work in perspective. It is there, but his family and friends are equally important. What is really remarkable is the way he describes his work (music). Now, clean and sober, he describes the power of his music is to heal those who are suffering. This is a long way from the rock musician in active addiction.

Bill W. offers an example of a different route. He did change jobs. In active addiction, he was a business man. In recovery, he spent his time getting AA on its feet. He was the coach, guru, diplomat, and promoter of AA. He turned from a self-centered alcoholic businessman to a man who followed his passion to help other suffering alcoholics and their families.

In both cases, there are several common factors. Each had to take action. Each had to be creative. Each had to follow his bliss, that is, be true to himself. Each had to look at work as something of substance, rather than as simply a way to money (or in Clapton’s case, fame).