Monthly Archives: June 2013

Repairing Life After Opioid Addiction

methadone-recovery-1Addiction is an uphill battle. We have heard this said many times before. Many who found themselves in the midst of a personal opioid addiction were swept along on a nightmarish roller coaster ride with seemingly no brake pedal within reach.

Fortunately, addiction recovery is real, and people do get off of the roller coaster ride to hell. This is accomplished in a variety of ways with one method sometimes being the decision to try opioid replacement therapy such as methadone or suboxone.

Once off the roller coaster, individuals have an opportunity to survey their surroundings, to reflect on what has happened in their lives, and to begin moving along a better, safer path. Inevitably, facing the consequences of one's past becomes part of this gradual recovery process as does repairing the damage that occurred.

It is important to remember that change does not happen overnight, and repairing one's life happens step-by-step a little each day. There is a popular saying in recovery circles that is profound in its wisdom. It's "progress, not perfection". What this means is that no one is perfect, and that chasing perfection is perhaps an unrealistic goal. The goal should be "progress". This … is achievable. In repairing one's life and in living a new life of recovery, pursuing "progress" is enough.

Another insightful saying is this … "A journey of a 1000 miles begins with the first step". Once you have committed to sobriety and living your life in a better way, you have already taken several steps in the right direction on your new journey. You do not have to reach your destination in 24 hours. The journey itself is a huge part of your personal healing & personal growth.

Repairing one's life after opioid addiction will require several things of you. One is to cultivate patience with the world. The world often moves at a different speed than we do, and it is in our best interest to adjust to that rather than to try and control the speed of the world around us. This will require patience. Patience can grow. We can develop patience through mindfulness, prayer, therapy, and in other ways.

Also important to repairing one's life is trying to live with a sense of purpose. We must be committed to something, or someone, in order to live with a sense of purpose. In active addiction, the daily purpose was to get by without becoming sick, and that defined many addicts' focus day after day. Life loses its purpose when one is reduced to chasing drugs to avoid being dope sick.

Recovery offers so much more in terms having a new and improved life purpose. I can't tell you what that should be. But for some, it's being a good son or daughter, or a good spouse or parent. Or regaining a renewed sense of pride in their job, or "giving it away" and helping another addict or person in need, or volunteering to help a child learn to read, or mowing the yard of an elderly neighbor who can't do for themselves as well anymore.

Your purpose may not be known yet. But you can certainly discover what is really important to you once you get off the roller coaster ride of opioid addiction. As always, recovery is a choice. No one can force it on you. But it is there, available to you … when you are ready. Call your local clinic today. Ask a friend to help you find local resources. Choose to take your first step.

Methadone Clinics Have Good Intentions

legaldomains_1A new methadone clinic in North Haven, Connecticut recently opened called APT. Lynn Madden, who is the acting CEO of APT Foundation, has made a concerted effort to connect with the local community in order to help citizens understand that methadone clinics can be operated safely and discreetly with no adverse effects to the surrounding neighborhood.

The clinic currently has about 800 patients. An article by the New Haven Register documents the comments of local residents and businesses who all report that the clinic has been good for local business and has resulted in no problems or increase in crime.

The article goes on to explain how the clinic is actually situated in close proximity to a large community development, but positioned such that neither is really aware of the other. This demonstrates how some clinics are expertly planned and managed.

At Methadone.US, we wrote two years ago about a New York City methadone clinic that is housed in a downtown church and serves many hundreds of clients per day. This clinic there is so private and quiet that local businesses did not even know it was in operation for years just across the street.

This type of well run facility and seamless community integration provides good evidence that the fears and criticisms of methadone naysayers are largely unfounded.

Lynn Madden of APT was quoted as saying that New England has a very high rate of addiction to opioids. We know that this phenomenon is increasing across the country, and consequently will demand more attention, and funding, in the years ahead if we are to adequately address the opioid addiction problem.

APT seem to have a good strategy for dealing with the unfortunate stigma that still exists around methadone. The key is education, outreach, and clinics staffed with professionals who are adept at explaining the benefit of drug treatment to the local community. Treatment solves problems. Treatment saves lives, reduces crime, and restores economic productivity on both a personal/familial level and a community level.