The Addiction Dilemma: Is it really possible to be fully recovered from any addiction in life?
Addictions are everywhere, and during this pandemic, they are increasing at lightspeed.
People are overeating, over-drinking, using medicinal marijuana as a way to escape reality, watching too much television, arguing too much…
Which are all signs of addiction!
I am asked constantly on radio and television interviews from all over the world if it’s possible to be fully recovered from any or all addictions?
As a counselor, number one best-selling author for the past 42 years, who has dedicated a huge portion of his life to helping people heal from any and all addictions, I can tell you it’s possible to be fully recovered and that should be the goal!
But let me share with you a bunch of fallacies, they keep people from becoming fully recovered in life:
Number One. Once an alcoholic, you’re an alcoholic for life. A complete lie! It cannot be proven as true! There are millions of people that used to be alcoholics, like myself who was an alcoholic for 30 years, that has fully recovered.
We need to get rid of these ridiculous notions.
Number Two. Relapse as part of recovery. This statement makes me so angry!
Who the hell came up with this ridiculousness? Every time that statement is made it gives an individual a foot out the door… “Well I relapse because it’s part of the process of getting sober.“
What a bunch of crap!
Number Three. Addictions are a disease.
Wrong! Addictions are a choice. It’s not a disease. Cancer is a disease. Muscular dystrophy is a disease.
Addiction is a choice.
You choose whether it’s peer pressure low self-confidence low self-esteem… I could care less what the answer is you choose to become an addict!
The only exceptions? Children born addicted to opiates or alcohol.
Thank God that’s rare, but when it happens it’s one of the most terrifying things that you’ll ever see, a newborn baby struggling for life craving the drugs that the mother had been consuming before birth. It’s really, really hard to watch.
So how do we become fully recovered for life?
Number One. We tell everyone in our addiction recovery programs that there’s no such thing recovering as “one day at a time“, if you’re going to work with us we want the attitude to be “I am ready to get sober for life!“
This one point can help you immensely to create a serious commitment to sobriety, instead of fooling around with this one-day at a time concept that does not work for most people.
Number Two. In our holistic addiction recovery program, we tell people that after 365 days in a row of complete sobriety, using daily rituals that could take up to an hour a day 365 days a year, when a person reaches that milestone we say they are now “in recovery.“
But there’s a catch: there cannot be any cross addictions if you want to say that you are in full recovery.
When I got sober from alcohol years ago, I cross-addicted immediately for 12 months to sugar! I ate so much sugar every night because it went to the same pleasure center of the brain that alcohol goes to, and it allowed me to feel completely relaxed in the evening.
After a year of consuming sugar instead of alcohol, I finally let sugar go and I can tell you that I am fully recovered.
Being fully recovered also says that we don’t use statements like “I’m a former alcoholic” or “I’m a former addict.“
Those statements are not true, and they’re not healthy, and they get submerged in the subconscious mind and we start thinking about how as a former alcoholic I was a jerk… As a former addict, I hurt people… So why do we want to carry these titles around?
As a fully recovered individual, I don’t call myself a former anything… I call myself surprisingly, David Essel!
We don’t need labels we don’t need titles we don’t need identities that tie us to our past … That’s insane!
I believe, and the people who have taken our holistic addiction recovery program from anywhere in the world agree, that once you hit that 365-day mark with no addictions, no cross addictions, that means that you have learned the art of emotional regulation and you can handle life on life’s terms without turning to any thought, substance or behavioral Addiction.
Congratulations!
Now the only thing is? You must keep the daily rituals going for the rest of your life, they must become part of your lifestyle.
And what are daily rituals in regards to being fully recovered?
We teach our clients emotional regulation, cognitive behavioral therapy, contemplation, meditation, emotional journaling for the positives in life, emotional journaling for the challenges in life, reading inspirational messages first thing every morning, decreasing the amount of news and social media we are on……
These are the rituals that we teach our clients, plus, a thousand more like brain chemistry supplementation and the use of aromatherapy to decrease cravings… In other words, our program works so well because it’s incredibly holistic in nature!
if you can agree with the above, that you are not cross addicting, that you have been completely sober from your main addiction for at least 365 days in a row, and you have a daily program of recovery that takes probably about an hour a day, you can say you’re fully recovered.
And then the next statement we should say when someone asks us about our past addictions is “I’m not sure about the past all I know is today I’m free and I’m David Essel.“
We can boost our self-confidence and self-esteem by dropping titles and labels of negativity around addiction and just becoming… Us.
If you need help, we work with people from all over the world via phone or Skype, whether it’s sex addiction, social media addiction, food addiction, video game addiction, alcohol, nicotine, drugs… It doesn’t matter work with us from anywhere at www.davidessel.com ”
David Essel’s work is highly endorsed by individuals like the late Wayne Dyer, and celebrity Jenny McCarthy says “David Essel is the new leader of the positive thinking movement.”
His work as a counselor and minister has been verified by so many organizations, such as Psychology Today, Theravive, Therapy Tribe and marriage.com has verified David is one of the top counselors and Relationship experts in the world.
To work with him one on one from anywhere, to help you heal from any addiction, please visit www.davidessel.com