Are you a fan of crossword puzzles? Lots of people are. In fact, tens of millions of people in the United States solve crosswords regularly—and you might be surprised to learn that 50 percent of Gen Zers say they do crossword puzzles. That is the highest percentage of any generation.
Perhaps you are among the millions of crossword enthusiasts, solving your way through puzzle books, online challenges, or in your daily newspaper.
Speaking of newspapers, there is a good chance that you are among the loyal solvers of The New York Times crossword—especially the Sunday puzzle—which is, perhaps, the most iconic version of this sort of challenge.
Why are we sharing all this information about crossword puzzles? This is a blog about treatment for and recovery from substance use disorders, right? Those are fair questions—and the answer is that we think crossword puzzles serve as a good metaphor for the recovery journey. How so? Let’s solve the clues and find the connections together.
There Is More than One Way to Find an Answer
When you are trying to solve a crossword puzzle, you may encounter clues that you cannot figure out at all. Sometimes it can feel like solving that particular clue is the key to unlocking the whole puzzle. But there are other ways to work toward that elusive answer. You can, for example, work away at the clues that have answers that cross the one you are stuck on. Figure out enough letters that way, and you can often unlock an answer.
In this blog, we offer lots of solid advice for your recovery. We are also aware, however, that different people will have different approaches to solving the recovery puzzle. And that is perfectly okay. It is essential that you find routines, strategies, and resources that help you keep your recovery intact. Doing that may unlock other options you would benefit from but were not ready to pursue at first.
A Shift in Your Thinking Can Move You Forward
Many crossword puzzles involve wordplay, which means the first answer that pops into your head when you read a clue might not fit in the grid—or might fit but be wrong anyway (more on that in a moment). When this happens, you can crack the clue by thinking about the words in it in a variety of ways. The word “home,” for example, might appear in a clue about housing options, but it might also indicate a clue is referring to baseball.
Sometimes in recovery, a similar flexibility in your thinking can be helpful. While routines can serve you well, falling into a rut can become a problem. When you can think nimbly, you can keep your recovery moving ahead.
Sometimes You Have to Backtrack
Sometimes the answer to a clue seems obvious—and it is still wrong. When that happens, you can find you have been filling in the puzzle grid in ways that are not going to work out at all. When that happens, you are going to have to go back and fix the error or errors you have made.
That is true in recovery, too. Sometimes, you get headed in a dangerous direction that could lead to relapse and you have to find your way back to a better path.
It Is Always Okay to Ask for Help
There are crossword purists in the world—folks who will twist themselves into knots before they will seek out help to solve even a single clue in a puzzle. A broad scope of all kinds of knowledge, the patience to figure an answer out by using the crossing answers, and so on can make this single-minded approach to solving possible.
But most solvers are going to need help from time to time. A dictionary. A website that offers alternative clues that might unlock an answer. The Internet Movie Database (IMDb). A map or globe. A friend who happens to have extensive knowledge of some obscure topic (or even some popular topic) you know nothing about.
Getting a bit of help can be the difference between solving a puzzle or leaving it unfinished. And when you get the help you need, you also have the opportunity to learn something that might help you in future or puzzles—or might just be something interesting or fun to know.
You can probably see how all of this applies to your recovery journey. Some people—perhaps you among them—want to try to go it alone in recovery. But the simple fact is that recovery is hard (far more like a Friday NYT puzzle than a Monday), and turning to others for help can be the difference between continuing to leave substances behind and sliding backwards. Your sponsor and other members of your recovery community, your close friends and family, a good set of affirmations, and more can help you keep moving ahead in recovery.
Come on Down (or Across) to The Aviary Recovery Center
Located near St. Louis, Missouri, The Aviary Recovery Center is regularly recognized as one of the top substance use disorder treatment centers in the country. When you are ready to make a transformative change for the better, we are ready to help you solve the puzzle of lasting recovery.
