We know that treatment for addiction
is effective. However, relapse rates during treatment and soon after remain
high. As a result, we have many opportunities to improve the way we deliver
care.
Addicts are the experts in
themselves, and if recovery is not motivating and rewarding, if they don’t find
a heightened sense of meaning, they will not stay sober.
“Positive recovery ” therefore,
aims to fill the gaps in how addiction is treated through a balanced approach
that attends not only to the disease, but also to the elements that make life
most worth living. (more after the cut)
Addiction results when people are
misguided in pursuing those elements, a.k.a. happiness.
Happiness does not result from single, or even heroic, leaps, but is cultivated
over a lifetime of repetitively forging good habits, building character, and
adding to one’s own and other people’s well-being. Enduring well-being, then,
requires that positive habit-driving activities become automatic—and become who
you are.
To borrow from the PERMA Model for Well-Being developed by renowned
positive psychologist Martin Seligman, the building blocks for lasting recovery
from addiction, PERM, can be broken down this way:
Addiction develops when human beings
seek out the following through drugs:
- Feel positive emotions (P)
- Generate flow-like experiences (E)
- Be accepted, form relationships (R)
- Discover meaning in life (M)
Building the positives is at least
as important as eliminating the negatives. Here are just a few ways we can
build positivity into our lives:
“P”
Savoring. Savoring is defined as awareness of pleasure and a
deliberate attempt to make it last. “We are a lot that demands to have fun,”
says the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous. On that point, my spiel is if
recovery were not more pleasurable, nobody would stay sober long. Instead of
the cheap hedonic variety associated with quick thrills, pleasure in recovery
more closely resembles the eudaemonic type Aristotle extoled, which emphasizes
active engagement, mindful presence and excellent character.
Using your signature strengths. Character strengths are 24 things that go right with people
and that cultures and communities have valued throughout history. These traits,
such as creativity,
leadership,
love
of learning and curiosity, contribute to optimal human development. Research
shows that those who take advantage of their highest strengths achieve more
success than when they spend their energy trying to raise their deficits. For
example, University of Zurich researchers Claudia Harzer and Willibald Ruch
have found that a job is particularly revered if you are using at least four of
your signature strengths. Take the VIA Survey
to discover what drives you.
Character strengths are vital in
recovery because they help determine how individuals think, feel and
behave. In essence, our character determines how we react in certain
situations and whether we will make an appropriate decision in that situation.
Thus, addicts who invest time developing their character strengths may be less
likely to relapse. We can maximize our strengths by:
Creating high-quality connections. Any social interaction—the line at Starbucks, the front
desk of the hotel—is a chance to create a positive connection.
Directing attention positively. Break the grip of rumination and curb needless negativity.
Get your mind off your troubles. Distract the negativity bias
with meaningful thoughts and actions. These demand your full attention. Get
lost in the activity, get fully absorbed by it, and cleanse yourself of the
blues.
Meditating mindfully . Deepen
your mindful awareness with daily meditation.
Carve out 25 minutes. Sit comfortably in a quiet place, no interruptions. Rest
your hands lightly in your lap. Let your eyelids drift closed. Take a few
breaths. Practice being present. Catch your mind if it wanders. Let your mental
adventures travel. Start over when you find yourself ruminating.
Limiting stress.
Goals
can help reduce stress. Without goals to guide you, you may develop a tendency
to jump from one project to another instead of focusing on the most important
ones. As a result, you may come to realize that your overall production is
suffering and you'll be wondering what you're actually accomplishing, creating
a sense of worry.
Practicing gratitude.
If you would like one simple way to
increase your gratitude, try the “Three Blessings” exercise, a validated
positive intervention in which you describe people, events, places
or things, small or large, that you are thankful for. At the end of every
day for a month, write down three things you are most happy about. A crucial
piece of this exercise is to not only recognize the good things that happened,
but to explain why they happened. You get to decide.
“E”
Flow describes the state in which
we're fully engaged in an activity, losing track of time and place. We can
increase the likelihood of entering the flow state by setting compelling goals
and challenging ourselves, and, as a result, enjoy peak experience and peak
performance.
Flow can increase self-esteem,
which is associated with better treatment outcomes. Flow also facilitates
learning, helps build mastery (habit), and connects people.
Find things that challenge your
strengths in just the right amount so you're neither overwhelmed by too much
challenge nor bored by too little.
“R”
We are the results of ancestors who
were naturally driven to form social connections. Group membership increased
defenses, resources and opportunities to reproduce. Group belonging and group
survival have been hard-wired into our genes.
The benefits of grouping together exceed mere survival. Social relationships
improve health,
longevity and overall well-being.
These connections come with other
benefits. For instance, they increase oxytocin ,
a hormone that
produces pleasure, reduces anxiety and
improves concentration.
In addition, social connections lower cortisol, a stress hormone associated
with higher all-cause mortality.
Feelings of support correlate with
happiness. Indeed, many research studies document the link between society and
psyche: people who have good friends, kindly neighbors and supportive coworkers
are less likely to face loneliness,
sadness, low self-esteem, and troubles with eating and sleeping.
Several researchers have also found that AA works because of social networks.
“M”
Meaning is a personal and complex understanding
and feeling about our life’s value and impact. Meaning is what the mind does when
comprehending anything and everything in the world. Human beings are
meaning-makers: meaning is part and parcel of being conscious, aware and
surviving.
Leading researchers define meaning
in two main parts - meaning and purpose. Meaning is thinking, while purpose is
active. Meaning and purpose tell an overarching story that connects past,
present and future events, and guide us to act because we have a role to play
in that story. Life is then infused with goodness or positivity, and supports
specific types of behaviors. Meaning and purpose show us that we can make a
difference.
A life full of effective pursuits of
happiness makes recovery more rewarding and ultimately more motivating than
relapse. People who choose to see that they have at least some amount of
control over their own sense of well-being, and who believe that their choices,
efforts and strengths, rather than chance, dictate the experience of life are
predominantly happier, more resilient
and more successful.
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