Addiction Treatment and a Clear Mind

Often, people in early recovery from addiction tell me one of the things they value most in recovery is a clear mind. For so long, they tell me, every morning was a fog, then during the end of their drinking/using even the good feelings from the drug were short-lived. They lived in a state of mental impairment. In today’s world, a clear mind is vital.

In treatment we get clients to re-evaluate their value judgements. It can seem to someone addicted that life is painful, and alcohol/other drugs are necessary to ease the pain. What the addict can’t see is that the drug is causing the pain, or preventing them from dealing with emotional pain. Living in the foggy world of booze and drugs can create a faulty view of self, others and the world. In treatment, we seek to stabilize the person, clear their minds and then have them assess their thoughts and emotions. The client also works with their counselor to develop a treatment plan.

This process helps the person to stop the noise and hectic activity of day to day life and verbalize what’s going on inside their head. Actually, it’s good for all people, even if they don’t have an addiction or mental health problem, to stop and assess thoughts and emotions, to re-evaluate your life plan. We all get so tied up in work, family issues and financial pressures, we don’t take time to stop and center ourselves. What is our purpose? What do we want? Are we going in the right direction? Are our relationships on solid ground? It’s really a good thing that someone in treatment has taken the time to reassess their life and make necessary changes.

It feels good to clear the mind. It’s hard to recover in a constant mental fog.