The Success of Your Inpatient Recovery Depends Upon Your Honesty

Deciding to seek inpatient care is a big step and it is one to be commended. But, just because you have decided to go into treatment, don’t assume that you will move forward from that choice with complete honesty and willingness to fight your addiction.

The National Institute on Drug Abuse defines addiction as “a chronic, relapsing brain disease that is characterized by compulsive drug seeking and use, despite harmful consequences.” That means that your brain will keep wanting drugs and it will keep trying to get you to go back to the behavior of an addict.

For help supporting you in your desire to break the cycle of addiction honestly, contact InpatientDrugRehabCenters.com at 800-430-1407Who Answers? and look into the various inpatient programs available to help you.

Lies

Being honest with yourself and those helping you will bring about the most positive outcomes.

What behavior qualifies as the behavior of an addict? Well, lots of them actually. But, the number one behavior shared by all addicts is lying.

On a fundamental level, all addiction depends upon a single behavior. Despite the millions of different people with addictions and their variety of personal traits and living situations, their differing ages and cultures, and their varied genders and upbringings, all addicts lie.

Addiction does a key thing: it creates conflict. When addiction makes you unable to go to work and you call the office to let them know, there is potential conflict. You can’t say you were on a bender; you have to claim to be sick. When addiction makes you spend your rent money to get high, you can’t call your parents for money and say where yours went; it creates conflict. You have to claim an emergency bill you didn’t expect. You see the pattern? Conflict is dealt with by lying.

Honesty

As much as addiction depends upon lies, recovery depends upon honesty. A lot of people in the recovery community term this: “rigorous honesty.”

What is rigorous honesty? When you tell the truth, even though lying would be more comfortable, that’s rigorous honesty. When you share your feelings and thoughts even though there will be consequences, that’s rigorous honesty. When you take a fearless personal inventory and promptly admit to untruths, that’s rigorous honesty.

In any 12 step program, the first step is being honest with yourself. But, even later steps deal with being honest to your higher power, to other people (family, health care providers, therapists, peers, etc.). And the final steps have to do with pursuing honesty on a daily basis. There simply isn’t a 12 step program without a foundation of rigorous honesty and that goes for other treatment methods as well.

It’s Not Easy

Recovery isn’t easy and neither is the honesty it needs.

You won’t become rigorously honest immediately. You must commit to the practice and make a daily commitment. Even then, you won’t achieve 100 percent honesty 100 percent of the time. You are human and you will make mistakes. Don’t let a mistake or a moment of denial throw off your entire practice. Forgive yourself for the error and immediately recommit to being honest.

Remember that honesty isn’t meant to punish or hurt. Being rigorously honest does not mean being cruel or harshly critical. Be sure to focus honestly on the positive as well as the negative and to practice forgiveness for yourself and others. Often, people become do wrapped up in themselves and their honesty that they beat themselves up to the point of triggering a relapse. Don’t fall into that pattern.

Coping Methods Learned in Inpatient Drug Rehab

Even when you have achieved level of continual honesty, it won’t magically fix all of your problems. The lies that you told during your addiction will cast long shadows. You have to rebuild trust with the people you once had relationships with. It will take time, but following through on commitments and promises will demonstrate a positive change.

The National Institute on Drug Abuse reports: “In 2013, an estimated 24.6 million Americans aged 12 or older—9.4 percent of the population—had used an illicit drug in the past month. This number is up from 8.3 percent in 2002.” Are you one of them?

If you are prepared to embrace honesty and treatment, contact InpatientDrugRehabCenters.com at 800-430-1407Who Answers? to access resources and to inquire about inpatient treatment centers that match your needs.