A New Resolution: A Fresh Approach from an Orange County Drug Rehab

January is a great month to start taking care of yourself. Maybe a resolution to stop eating fattening foods, not watching so much television, giving up alcohol, or even the dreaded diet plan. These are all challenging behaviors or addictions to stop, but there are different approaches that might help.

Working in our Orange County drug rehab has brought a lot of clarity on how I 'kicked' drug and alcohol abuse. I can really only speak for myself and maybe someone might find it helpful. My experience, strength and hope is mine alone. It is unique to me, but it didn't just pop into my head one day. It took time. Looking at my character defects was helpful.

One of my character defects is setting personal goals with a negative slant to them. I give up this, or I have to stop that, or even that I am out of shape. I don't do it on purpose. It is something I work with, and it challenges me every day. Most times, I only see the defect when I come up short or the plan doesn't seem to layout like I hoped. I normally become angry, which is always a good sign that my ego and defects are taking hold again.

I remember that I tried to curb my: drinking or drugging only the weekends, with an occasional Thursday thrown in so that I wouldn't go crazy -- Monday through Friday can be along time when you're 'jonesing;' drinking only certain alcohol, nothing hard like whiskey, scotch, or gin, which was a snap. I didn't like the taste of them. My theme was to give up this, stop that, or even eradicate this from my life.

My life became unmanageable and I broke promises to myself, my family, and friends. An awful cycle of physical, emotional, and spiritual abuse daunted me. I couldn't stop. A new approach, a shift in my train of thought, was needed.

I attended my first therapy session and then shortly thereafter my first Alcoholics Anonymous meeting.

Drinking and using other drugs lost their appeal over time. It wasn't about stopping for me, it was about taking care of myself today. I wanted to live a better life. One without hangovers, empty bank accounts, and wondering if the police were knocking on my door.