I think the most important part of recovery begins with surrender. In my case, I didn’t actually surrender. I didn’t think I had a problem. I thought it was not uncommon or unusual for a person to consume massive quantities of alcohol and illegal drugs on a nightly basis to “relax”. Forget about the fact that I neglected my responsibilities as a husband, father, employer and was slowly killing myself. All I was doing, I convinced myself, was unwinding.

Fortunately for me, my wife saved my life by orchestrating an intervention. During the intervention I fought, lied and argued vehemently proclaiming my innocence. The mountains of evidence against me strongly suggested otherwise and, reluctantly, I gave in to her request that I check into treatment.

An amazing thing happened to me on the very first night while I was in treatment. I realized that I did not have to live the life I had been living. I did not have to relive the constant physical and emotional pain I had endured for years. No longer did I have to resort to lies to cover up my dirty secret of addiction. And, no longer did I have to hurt those who loved me the most; my family and friends. I was presented with an opportunity to live a life devoid of drugs and alcohol and was treating at a facility that would help me through the process. At that point, on the very first night of treatment, without having talked with any counselors, I made my next major decision. Commitment.

At my intervention, I “signed on” for 30 days of treatment. That seemed like an eternity at the time. I recall trying to convince the interventionist that 30 days was for losers and that I could probably cure myself in a weekend or two. That plea fell on deaf ears. It was either treat for 30 days or suffer some heavy consequences (divorce, custody issues, etc.)

Near the end of my 30 days of treatment, I began having meetings with various staff members regarding continued treatment/aftercare. I was anxious to get out and resume my life clean and sober. While my eagerness to get on with my life was viewed as admirable, the treatment team reminded me just how sick I was when I checked into treatment and that the more treatment time I had under my belt, the better chance I had at long term sobriety. I certainly did not like the prospect of continued treatment. I put up a bit of resistance to their suggestions, but finally agreed. I was bound and determined to remain sober and if it meant more treatment time, then so be it.

I ended up treating for sixty days inpatient, four months outpatient, and, at the suggestion of my counselors, went to hundreds of AA meetings during my first year. In a few months I will celebrate 3 years of sobriety. Does this mean every person has to follow this formula in order to have a chance at sobriety? Of course not. But it was necessary for me. I needed to surrender (even though it took an intervention for me to ultimately surrender) and I needed to make the commitment to do whatever the treatment team felt was necessary in order for me to get sober.

Some people have the ability to arrest addiction on their own with little or no treatment at all. Some rely solely on AA and its fellowship to maintain sobriety. Others need six months to a year of intensive inpatient followed by years of therapy. The point is that treatment plans vary from A to Z and recovery differs from person to person. I had made numerous decisions to stop using on my own all ending up with the same result. Total failure. I figured it was time to surrender to the wisdom of treatment professionals who understand addiction and know how to treat it. And, so far so good.