Addiction Recovery is Freedom

Addiction is about Control — Recovery is about Freedom

Let us explore how recovery is addiction freedom. The desire for freedom is one of the most basic human emotions. From the beginning, young children assert themselves as independent choice makers and launch themselves into violent tantrums when their freedoms are denied or stifled. Later, in dramatic displays of sovereignty, teenagers rebel against authority at every turn.

Adults are no different. What we want and value most in life is pure and simple freedom. Rightfully so, we worship it as our god-given right. And like children, we too erupt in protest when our free will is threatened. No matter the age, we want control of our lives and we have little tolerance if someone or something encroaches on them.

Control

This is why addiction is torturous — for both those suffering from it — and for family and friends who are all indirect victims. The addict has lost control. He or she has become oppressed by substances, and is a slave to his or her own impulses. We see the wake of mistakes addicts leaves when they are out of control. For anyone struggling with addiction, we can relate to the hopeless feeling of having no self control.

Addiction and misplaced control tie a tangled knot. When we examine addiction and substance abuse, we immediately see a loss of self control and lack of impulse control in the forefront. Addicts struggle day to day, moment to moment. Their minds constantly clouded by craving, they make decisions mainly in favor of their addictions. They know the difference between right and wrong. But, as if propelled by dark invisible forces, they are strung along helplessly by impulse, only to make the same painful mistakes again and again.

Codependency and sabotage

An addict’s inability in active addiction to control himself is evident. But with addiction, we see an array of control issues beneath the surface. Codependency, for example, is common in addiction-ridden relationships. In such cases, we will see an insecure person who is close to or living with an addict.

This person, whose own identity has come to depend on the addict’s destructive behavior, will actually sabotage all efforts to treat the addiction. As both codependent and coconspirator, this person’s sense of self worth is wholly reliant on the addict remaining an addict. They reason if the addict recovers, then they themselves will have no purpose.

And so we see a destructive ebb and flow of control in these relationships, with both addict and codependent caught in an inadvertent, but dangerously manipulative dance.

Loss of control

What they share in common is what we call an external locus of control. Here, each believes that circumstances are beyond their control. Rather than drawing from internal strength and will power, they believe external forces determine the outcomes in their lives. Perpetual victims of outside forces, they believe controlling their own lives is off the table.

In abandoning control, they mentally relinquish responsibility for their struggles, failures, mistakes, and decisions. From one destructive episode to the next, instead of recognizing and admitting they lost control, they reason they were never in control to begin with.

Recovery is Addiction Freedom at Serenity Vista

When someone we love suffers from addiction, everyone suffers. As 40-year experts in addiction recovery, our mission is to help both addicts and their loved ones discover inner strength and learn to help, rather than hurt, each other. Indeed, recovery is addiction freedom at Serenity Vista. That is both our passion and our commitment to help people change their lives in magnificent ways. Our 90-day recovery program is ideal for addicts and codependents to completely re-engineer their own locus of control, gain self direction, and find their own path to freedom. To get away and recover.

Are you or a loved one trapped, controlled, and tortured by addiction? If so, read more about your path to freedom and why Panama offers you the perfect setting. Real change to total freedom is possible.