Tim’s Story, Dual Recovery

Dual Recovery Anonymous has offered me what I had lost or been unable to find in my sobriety. It offers me believable hope and steps to apply to both my chemical dependency and my psychiatric illnesses. It also offers me a way to heal the emotional and psychic damage that I experienced as a result of my dual disorders. This is just as true for me today as it was when DRA first began to develop. In 1973 I made a decision to seek professional help for my chemical dependency. I had started drinking and using drugs when I was 13. By the time I was 18, I was using every day. I drank, swallowed, snorted and shot as many drugs as I could try, and rarely met a drug that I did not like. Gradually, I began to experience problems in every area of my life. There were times when I desperately wanted to stop. I was unable to stop or control my use. I didn’t know how. Eventually, I accepted the truth — that I needed the help of other people. The plan was for me to go to a psychiatric program for evaluation and referral on to a treatment program. The problem was that they were trying to determine if I was chemically dependent, or if I was experiencing a psychiatric illness. They did not seem to consider the possibility that I was affected by both disorders. They neglected to recommend psychiatric follow-up as a part of their treatment referral. I accepted the diagnosis and treatment because I desperately wanted to recover. It would be many more years before I would learn that my accurate...
Source: Recovery Is Sexy.com - Category: Addiction Authors: Tags: 12 Step Fellowships Addictions Alcoholism Drugs Dual Recovery Emotions Sobriety Spirituality Treatment chemical dependency psychiatric illness treatment program Source Type: blogs