Drug Rehab Center

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.”

Cathy Patterson-Sterling, MA, RCC

Cathy Patterson-Sterling, Director of Family Services for the Sunshine Coast Health Centre, talks about a grieving period in early recovery and why it can be dangerous to bargain with your addiction.

Cathy Patterson-Sterling, MA, RCC

Cathy Patterson-Sterling, Director of Family Services for the Sunshine Coast Health Centre, discusses her new pamphlet “Giving Your Adult Child the Gift of Adulthood.”

By Kye Taylor, B.Sc.(Kin.)
Resident Kinesiologist
Sunshine Coast Health Center

For our clients in the beginning stages of addiction recovery, this is a common question that confronts them as they begin to paint a picture in their minds about what life will look like following addiction treatment.  For many, the prospect of living life without their substance can sound painfully bland by comparison. In fact, for many, the thought may stand in the way of a successful recovery.

In addiction, life get’s pretty one dimensional pretty quickly.  Day to day life becomes focused around using, and most everything else is secondary.  So, despite it being a destructive force, when this central component is removed, a major void is left.  Thus, a well-rounded recovery plan becomes vital to the success of those in recovery.

At Sunshine Coast Health Center, we understand that a recovery plan must be multi-faceted and encourage more than just merely abstinence from the drug of choice.  As part of their daily programming, clients are afforded the unique opportunity to take part in a fitness program that offers them the chance to rekindle their relationship with their bodies as well as take part in a variety of recreational activities that perhaps have been long absent from their lives.  Restoring an excitement about the many zests of life that can fulfill the mind, body, and soul, is an important component in our clients’ post-treatment success.

When working with those in recovery, it is important to provide an appealing alternative in comparison with their previous lives.  If the whole package looks like a less tempting alternative to what they had before, odds are that they will decline it.  It might be, for instance, that being sober, attending meetings, and having an improved relationship with friends and family is not an appealing enough alternative to entice them to break free from the stranglehold that their substance has upon them.  However, perhaps offering them the life of sobriety described above, as well as incorporating fulfilling recreation activities that promote health and vitality, might be an appealing enough alternative for them to give it a shot.

It’s important that this point is not misunderstood.  It’s not that a sober life with healthy and loving relationships is not enough.  It is, however, our stance that one of the great pleasures of life is shared recreational activities.  We try to instill this value within our clients by offering a wide variety of recreational experiences during their treatment.  Being located in Powell River, we are fortunate to have near limitless possibilities of outdoor recreation to choose from regardless of the time of year.  Some of our recreational activities include: kayaking, hiking, swimming, golfing, beachcombing, scuba diving, fishing, and many more.  If we don’t offer it as a facility sponsored activity, during non-program hours, clients who are designated senior peers are able to apply for day passes to accommodate activities of their choosing.  If approval is given from the clinical team, they are free to take part in the activity, responsible for any incurred cost.

Everyone needs something that feeds their soul and rejuvenates them when they become weary.  That being said, that “something” won’t be the same for everyone.  We encourage our clients to test the waters, both literally and figuratively, to see what works for them.  Whether it is with family or friends, a common passion a great way to network and broaden your social circle to include others that share your same interests. 

Our clients at Sunshine Coast have an un-rivaled opportunity to seek and explore what recreational activity enriches their life most.  They get to share these experiences with their “band of brothers” that they are a part of at our center, and narrow in on what it is that they want to include as part of the tapestry that will make up their aftercare plan, and the beginning of the rest of their life.

Geoff Thompson, MA, CCC

Geoff Thompson, Program Director for the Sunshine Coast Health Centre, discusses Martin Buber’s key to good relationships and the “I-thou” idea.

Geoff Thompson, MA, CCC

Geoff Thompson, Program Director for the Sunshine Coast Health Centre, talks about the importance of connecting with others to overcome feelings of isolation. He shares ways to connect with others on a deeper level.

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).

Cathy Patterson-Sterling, MA, RCC

Cathy Patterson-Sterling, Director of Family Services for the Sunshine Coast Health Centre, discusses how to handle adult children that wait for you to fix everything for them, rather than taking responsibility.

Cathy Patterson-Sterling, MA, RCC

Cathy Patterson-Sterling, Director of Family Services for the Sunshine Coast Health Centre, shares why it isn’t always a good idea to have adult children return to living at home with parents after finishing addiction treatment.

Cathy Patterson-Sterling, MA, RCC

Cathy Patterson-Sterling, Director of Family Services for the Sunshine Coast Health Centre, talks about exercise and recovery; what is a healthy form of stress release compared to an obsession.