Portland Rehabilitation Center: Take Control of Your Life
The professionals that comprise the team at your local Portland rehabilitation center compassionately recognize the agonizing strain and pressure that accompanies the painful realization you are suffering from alcoholism. We want you to know that it takes courage, conviction and strength to admit it. Some of us have been in your shoes. Others have experienced it through the struggles of a loved one, a coworker or a mentor. No matter the experience, we are here to walk with you on your path to sobriety.
To acknowledge a shortcoming, a pitfall or an impediment is a challenge. As humans, we are programmed not to let the outside world notice weaknesses. We present ourselves as the best version of ourselves – projecting confidence, finesse and poise, refusing to appear disheveled. It seems taboo to admit downfall. “Can’t” is not present in our vocabulary when all we want is success, fortune, status and respect. We want control. We want to be in charge of our journey.
What happens when that journey becomes fraught with peril because a simple indulgence has taken hold of the reins? When we are no longer driving we over-correct. We tell those close to us that we will never create a spectacle again. We abstain, until not even the firmest resistance can conqueror the desire. The citadel falls again, louder and more raucous than ever before. And we repeat the same apology. Never again.
But it happens again. It’s a stubborn spot immune to water, to soap and scrubbing.
Innocuous habits can turn insidious when there is a predetermined sickness lurking deep within the recesses of our mind, of the programming that infuses us with ambition and lofty goals for our life. Some of us have it. Perhaps you are reading this and a painful realization is settling in.
Alcoholism is a disease. Nobody decides to be an alcoholic. Sure, we go through college phases where we are invincible, where we drink several nights a week, brazenly proclaiming we are alcoholics, what are we doing with our life? It is all in fun and games – it’s a rite of passage.
Some of us, however, are seized by a darkness that slowly puts pressure on us, until we are held prisoner in a vise first masked by comfort and indulgence; later poisoned by decay and desiccation of our dreams, our social life, and our families.
When control is no longer in your hands, you may feel:
❖ Uncomfortable when alcohol is not present at a gathering or function;
❖ A desire to change your plans, or switch your brands of drinks or type of drinks consumed;
❖ Pain, desperation or depression when drinks are not readily available to you;
❖ Shaky or unstable in the morning, resulting in drinking to quell the nervous reaction;
❖ Lack of memory regarding the previous night’s events;
❖ Worry or stress about growing problems with finances, at work or in the home;
❖ Inclined to stay drunk for several days at a time without reprieve from alcohol;
❖ A need to self-medicate with alcohol after having a bad day, an argument or a particularly poor day at work.
Recognizing the symptoms is the first step to recovery. Your local Portland rehabilitation center can help. If you are suffering from addiction, Lifeline Connections is your local partner in rehabilitation. Call us or email us to discuss your options.
