Way back in the 1980s, an action-adventure series called The A-Team was wildly popular. Each episode started with a quick review of the team’s origin story:
In 1972, a crack commando unit was sent to prison by a military court for a crime they didn’t commit. These men promptly escaped from a maximum-security stockade to the Los Angeles underground. Today, still wanted by the government, they survive as soldiers of fortune. If you have a problem, if no one else can help, and if you can find them, maybe you can hire The A-Team.
The leader of the A-Team was John “Hannibal” Smith, who was played by George Peppard. Hannibal had a catchphrase: “I love it when a plan comes together.”
If you are a person struggling with drugs or alcohol, you need a plan to reclaim your life. And just as was true for the A-Team, it can be easier to execute that plan if you have a team of support. Let’s take a look at the steps you might take toward treatment and recovery—and who can help you along the way.
First Step: Find Someone Who Can Help Move Forward
Let’s face it: Drugs and alcohol limit your ability to think clearly and to make (let alone follow) plans. When your thinking is muddled, your decision-making ability is impaired, and your capacity for keeping track of details is undermined, it can be mighty difficult to think your way through a plan of action. That is why it is important to find a close friend or family member who is willing to help you navigate your plan toward recovery.
Asking for help can be difficult, but when it comes to pursuing treatment and recovery, it is an essential step toward achieving your goal. You need someone who can think clearly about how you can move forward and put drug or alcohol use behind you.
Second Step: Find a Recovery Center Where You Feel Comfortable
Because it is so difficult to give up drugs or alcohol on your own, it is important that your next step be finding a suitable recovery center where you can access medically supervised detoxification and a rehabilitation program that includes therapy and skills building for the future. Ideally, that recovery center would also provide a continuum of care—meaning that you would have ongoing access to resources and support as your recovery journey gets underway.
The Aviary Recovery Center provides all of those things. What’s more, The Aviary is consistently recognized as one of the best substance use treatment centers in the country.
Third Step: Clear the Way for Going to Treatment
It would be great if you were in a position to simply drop everything and head to a recovery center for the help you need. But there is a good chance you will have to lay some groundwork first. That might involve talking with your boss or to an official at your school. If you have kids, you might need to arrange childcare. And you should review your insurance coverage to be sure it covers the treatment you are planning to pursue.
Remember the person you enlisted to help in step one? These are the sorts of details they can and should help you with so that you are able to accomplish them quickly and effectively.
Fourth Step: Go to Treatment
This might seem like a no-brainer. But many people know they need to go treatment and even make the plans to do so—and then don’t. They might be fearful or ashamed or overwhelmed, and so their plan falls apart at this stage. By keeping this step firmly in mind, you and your support person or people will be better able to make sure it happens.
Fifth Step: Do the Work to Support Your Recovery After Treatment
Wouldn’t it be great if you could go through treatment for a substance use disorder and come out the other side with the assurance that you will never struggle with drugs or alcohol again? Unfortunately, that is rarely how things turn out, so this step of your recovery plan is all about doing the various things that support your ongoing recovery. Those include (but are certainly not limited to) going to recovery meetings, eating healthfully, exercising regularly, sleeping restfully, and focusing on positive relationships.
Sixth Step: Have a Contingency Plan in Case of Relapse
Obviously, a relapse is not part of your plan for recovery. But you should have a plan for dealing with a relapse should you experience one. Fortunately, at this point, you already have a plan in place: Repeat the steps above so that you can restart your recovery.
If You Have a Problem, We Can Help
When it comes to providing individualized care for those struggling with a substance use disorder and co-occurring mental health disorders, the staff at The Aviary Recovery Center is the A-Team. You can count on us to help you start your recovery journey with confidence and to be here to support you no matter what challenges you may face in the future. Located near St. Louis, Missouri, The Aviary is easy to find and always ready to help.
