Mastering Recovery: 5 Strategies for Sobriety & Success

Mastering Recovery: 5 Strategies to Sobriety & Success

5 Strategies for Sobriety & Success

The college experience is often synonymous with freedom, exploration, and self-discovery. For many, it’s a time filled with social gatherings, late-night parties, and an abundance of opportunities to indulge in the temptations that surround us. I was well into my recovery journey when I decided to get  my master’s degree. My sponsor urged me to aim high and work hard; if I could master sobriety I could take on any graduate program; and I was accepted to the University of Chicago. As I reflect on my own journey, I am compelled to share the story of how sobriety became a catalyst for personal growth, resilience, and the cultivation of authentic connections amidst the vibrant chaos of college life. Earning a graduate degree and mastering recovery is possible if you follow these 5 strategies for sobriety and success. 

Establish a Strong Support System

One of the most crucial aspects of maintaining sobriety in college is building a supportive network around you. Seek out like-minded individuals who share your commitment to sobriety. This can be achieved by joining campus organizations or clubs centered around activities that do not involve alcohol or drugs, such as athletic teams, volunteer groups, or academic societies. Surrounding yourself with individuals who understand and respect your choices will provide a sense of community and make it easier to resist peer pressure. I found that when you seek out clubs that are focused around your area of study, people are committed to the content and substance use is typically not a part of the network. 

Utilize Campus Resources

Colleges and universities often offer a variety of resources aimed at supporting students’ well-being. Take advantage of counseling services, support groups, and substance-free events provided by your institution. These resources can provide a safe space to share your experiences, seek advice, and connect with others who are also on a sober journey. Additionally, many campuses have student health centers that provide confidential counseling and medical assistance for substance-related issues. Reach out to these professionals whenever you need guidance or support. These people are there to help you, and you don’t need to be in a dire situation to utilize resources made available to you. 

Engage in Healthy Activities

Filling your schedule with healthy and fulfilling activities is an effective way to stay sober in college. Engage in regular exercise, as physical activity has been shown to improve mood and reduce cravings. Join a gym or participate in intramural sports to keep yourself active and meet new friends who share your interest in a healthy lifestyle. Explore hobbies and interests outside of the party scene. Whether it’s painting, writing, playing an instrument, or any other creative outlet, these activities can provide a sense of fulfillment and help distract you from the temptation of substance use.

The great thing about being on a college campus is that there is always something to do. If you fill your time with substance free activities, you won’t have time for anything else. Additionally, there are AA meetings everywhere, including your college campus. Attending a program is often a nice break from studying. 

Plan Ahead for Social Events

Attending social events can be daunting when you’re trying to stay sober. However, with proper planning and preparation, you can navigate these situations successfully. Before heading to a party or gathering, consider driving yourself or arranging a safe and sober ride home. Offer to be the designated driver for your friends. This will reinforce your commitment to sobriety and allow you to contribute positively to the group. Additionally, have a few non-alcoholic drink options in mind. 

You can always fall back on your need to get more rest or study time in. There is no need to apologize for dipping out of an event when you start to feel overwhelmed. Learning the art of the “Irish goodbye” and leaving without notice is a perfectly fine way to step away from potential substance use. 

Seek Professional Help When Needed

Finally, if you’re struggling with maintaining sobriety in college, don’t hesitate to seek professional help. Substance abuse counselors, therapists, or addiction specialists can provide the guidance and tools necessary to overcome challenges and build a solid foundation for long-term recovery. Reach out to your college’s counseling center or consult with your primary care physician for referrals to qualified professionals. At Adam Banks Recovery, we can assess your situation and point you in the right direction. I certainly understand how it feels to balance the pressures of graduate school and sobriety. 

While staying sober in college can be demanding, it is certainly achievable with the right strategies in place. Surrounding yourself with a supportive network, utilizing campus resources, engaging in healthy activities, planning for social events, and seeking professional help when needed are all effective ways to ensure a successful and sober college experience. Remember, your decision to stay sober is a powerful one, and it will pave the way for a brighter future filled with personal growth and academic success. These “wins” in life prove that your recovery will be followed by success. 

 

About Adam Banks

Adam Banks is a certified interventionist and the owner of Adam Banks Recovery. After receiving an MBA from the University of Chicago, Adam built a company acquired by United Health Care. His discipline and attention to detail come from his former career as an airline pilot, holding an ATP, the FAA’s highest license.

Today, Adam is dedicated to helping others achieve long-term sobriety. His work has guided executives, pilots, and physicians on paths to recovery. Adam brings families together through a loving and inclusive approach. Adam has authored four books on addiction. His recent work, Navigating Recovery Ground School: 12 Lessons to Help Families Navigate Recovery, educates families on the entire intervention process. He also offers a free video course for families considering an intervention for a loved one.

Adam is available for alcohol and drug intervention services in New York, Long Island, and the Hamptons as well as nationally and internationally.

The Potato Chip: Can They Ever Drink Again?

The Potato Chip: Can She Ever Drink Again?

The Big Question

‘The Potato Chip’ is a response to a question that I get from every family and addicted person. They always ask, “Can they ever drink again?”

We don’t really know if someone can return to drinking. That is a decision that will be made down the line, in early recovery. There should be a commitment to abstinence. It is safe to assume that returning to use is a bad idea. Most successful people need to be completely abstinent.

The Potato Chip

Let’s draw an analogy to something that we all have experienced. The lowly potato chip.

I can go months and months without thinking about eating a potato chip.  That is until I walk by the big back of salt and vinegar chips at Costco.  In a split second, I justify to myself why I should be the bag, ‘The kids are coming this weekend’ or ‘I will get them for BBQ hamburgers’. 

I have already told myself a lie or I made a veiled attempt to justify my purchase.

Once the bag of chips is on my kitchen counter, I begin to think about chips more and more, I start to crave them.  I know chips are bad for me, but man-o-man, I want one.

A Small Concession

“I will just have one”, is the lie that I tell myself.  The second I have one, that bag is going to be half-eaten.  I have one, and I can’t stop, I will eat as many as are on my plate, I will eat a quarter of the bag. I may try to stop after taking a nibble and stepping away for a while. However, all I can think about is potato chips. Like an animal eating a raw stack, I need more chips and it’s all I can think about.

I return to the panty, careful to open the bag without anyone else seeing me, and I eat a bowlful of chips.

Once I had the first chip, my obsession, and cravings for chips reignited.  Once I have one chip, I can’t really tell you what I will do next, I might stop at one, or I might finish an entire bag.

From Snack to Obsession

Potato chips are designed to be addictive, and the crunch, taste, fat content, and salt; millions of dollars of research have been put into chips to make them addictive.  Our minds stand no chance of overcoming the addictiveness of a chips recipe.

Having one drink of alcohol is much like attempting to have one potato chip.  Once the door opens, I have triggered a craving response in me that I can’t control. For me, it is safer to never attempt having “just one drink”.  I bet I would have one the first day, and after a few days, I would be obsessed about having more.

Can He Control his Drinking in the Future?

It is the desire of every person that has an addiction that they can “get it under control” and have an occasional drink.  I am often asked, “will he ever be able to have a drink in the future?”

Think about not eating a potato chip for 4 years, you get your potato chip addiction under control.  What would happen to you after a 4 year potato chip hiatus?  Would it taste the same?  Would your desire for more immediately come back.

Think about how miserable you would be if you forcibly allowed yourself only 1 potato chip a day?  I know that I would spend an inordinate amount of my day thinking about that one chip, almost drooling for it and looking forward to it all day long.  I would eat 1 chip, and I would want more.  In fact 1 chip sounds awful to me, I would be short tempered after my 1 chip, snapping at people in displeasure.  My cravings for more chips would be all that was on my mind.

It wouldn’t take me long to figure ways around my 1 chip rule, I would stop by 7-11 and eat a bag of chips in the car, I would sneak some out of the bag in the house, I would lie to my spouse about eating extra chips.  It wouldn’t take me long before I was eating way more than one chip a day.

Want Some Chips?

What are your thoughts right now?  Has reading this triggered a craving for potato chips in you? If you went to a grocery store right now, would you be more or less likely to buy chips?  Will you think about chips as you go to sleep tonight?

 

About Adam Banks

Adam Banks is a certified interventionist and the owner of Adam Banks Recovery. After receiving an MBA from the University of Chicago, Adam built a company acquired by United Health Care. His discipline and attention to detail come from his former career as an airline pilot, holding an ATP, the FAA’s highest license.

Today, Adam is dedicated to helping others achieve long-term sobriety. His work has guided executives, pilots, and physicians on paths to recovery. Adam brings families together through a loving and inclusive approach. Adam has authored four books on addiction. His recent work, Navigating Recovery Ground School: 12 Lessons to Help Families Navigate Recovery, educates families on the entire intervention process. He also offers a free video course for families considering an intervention for a loved one.

Adam is available for alcohol and drug intervention services in New York, Long Island, and the Hamptons as well as nationally and internationally.

Goals

Goals

Goals get our loved one into treatment. However, there are many secondary goals, critical to recovery, that need to be addressed. During the intervention families need to reflect on the true goals they have for the addicted person. This exercise will help families define what changes need to be made, and what support actions need to happen after treatment. 

  • Sobriety is a primary goal, but what other issues need to be addressed in order to support recovery. Ask yourself these tough questions. 
  • Define goals so that the family can draw boundaries and support recovery in the most effective way possible. 
  • Adjusting to a new life will be difficult. Spend time working on a plan so that all bases are covered when your loved one returns home. 
  • The family plan should accommodate for at least six months after one month in a treatment center. Adam Banks Recovery will be involved over the long term recovery journey. 
  • Solve the “other crisis”

What Do you Really Want?

When I’m speaking with a family member before an intervention, I typically hear, “All I want is for them to stop drinking.” I often ask, “Are you sure that’s all you want?” The family member thinks about it for a second, and usually responds with a list of additional goals like, “Well, I want them to get a job, move out of the house, and lose their bad friends.”

The family doesn’t just want the person to stop drinking. They want an entirely new life for the person they’re concerned about. New lives don’t happen overnight, and that’s why Adam Banks Recovery interventions are lasting engagements.

A proper intervention takes time. Sure, a person may enter treatment after just one meeting, but then what? What’s the plan for re-entry? How will they cope with leaving their old life and starting a new one? How do we prevent them from going back to the old ways?

What Needs to be Fixed?

An AP likely fell behind in life, maybe living at home for too long or didn’t finish school, or worked dead end jobs for too long. For recovery to be successful, we need to create a plan that will help them to catch up and make them feel valued again. There will be ups and downs along the way. The family will need to learn how to help someone in the process of changing. The AP will need a lot of support as they take slow steps towards a new way of living. 

When considering an intervention, ask yourself:

  • Is drug or alcohol use the only problem that needs to be fixed?
  • Is the individual living at home? If so, do I want them to move out?
  • Is the individual honest about their whereabouts?
  • Is the individual stealing?
  • Does the individual pose danger to the family?
  • Does the individual act as a good parent?
  • Is there a risk of legal problems?
  • Do you like the people that the individual spends time with?
  • How is the individual doing in school or at work?

Understanding your goals will help to define the work that needs to be planned for successful recovery. Getting someone on a new path takes more time than a 28-day residential program will achieve. Thinking about these goals will help you to frame what has to happen after rehab is over. Ultimately, there must be a six-month plan in place for the person to have a successful recovery.

 

About Adam Banks

Adam Banks is a certified interventionist and the owner of Adam Banks Recovery. After receiving an MBA from the University of Chicago, Adam built a company acquired by United Health Care. His discipline and attention to detail comes from his former career as an airline pilot, holding an ATP, the FAA’s highest license.

Today, Adam is dedicated to helping others achieve long-term sobriety. His work has guided executives, pilots, and physicians on paths to recovery. Adam brings families together through a loving and inclusive approach. Adam has authored four books on addiction. His recent work, Navigating Recovery Ground School: 12 Lessons to Help Families Navigate Recovery, educates families on the entire intervention process. He also offers a free video course for families considering an intervention for a loved one.

Adam is available for alcohol and drug intervention services in New York, Long Island, the Hamptons as well as nationally and internationally.

Understand Addiction Before the Intervention

brain plus heart equation

Understand Addiction

Before we have a successful intervention, we need to empathize with our loved one over what they are going through. We do this by gaining a basic understanding of addiction. When we enter an intervention with sympathy and understanding, the person of concern will see us as an ally rather than an enemy. 

To spot the growth of an addiction look for aspects of a person’s life that have been lacking attention. An AP will put on a front, especially when they have a productive work life. However, before substance use interrupts work, it will start to chip away at family responsibilities and relationships. The addicted brain will always choose the reward of a substance despite its negative consequences. The self aware lack of control will cause your loved one to feel shame and guilt after using. It further convinces them to hide the addiction.

Addiction is as a relationship gone awry. Time spent with a substance may have seemed okay while it was fun, but at a certain point it becomes clear that the relationship is toxic. Often an addicted person (AP) wants to get back to the initial “honeymoon phase” of their substance use. We know that once a relationship is over; there is no going back. Likewise with addiction, substance abuse has altered the original chemistry of the brain, and there is no way to go back to the early stages of use.

Deeply programmed in our brain is a response to things that feel good; if it feels good, we want to do it again. This response in our brain is particularly strong after using drugs and alcohol. 

Neuroadaptation

The first time someone uses a substance the brain says, “I like it, do that again!” 

Continued use reprograms the brain to tell the body that it needs the drug to survive. For the AP, it is not a matter of wanting to use or wanting to quit, but a matter of needing a substance to survive. This type of activity in the brain is referred to as Neuroadaptation. Once this process has occurred, the lack of a substance can cause severe, physical withdrawal symptoms. 

A human deprived of food and water will cross a desert. Parents fiercely protect their children  in the presence of danger. These types of behaviors are deeply ingrained in all of us. Addiction programs substance in the same way as other survival behaviors. We can’t shut them off, and will-power alone won’t overcome them. 

Addiction’s reprogramming of the brain places substance use at the top of a person’s hierarchy of needs. It takes precedence over self actualization and it’s much more important than the basic needs of food, shelter and water. It is not uncommon to see an addicted person drop their responsibilities as a parent, or disregard feeding even themselves. When we realize the strength of an addiction and its power over a person it is ridiculous to say, “Why can’t you just stop?” Their brain has been rewired to see substance use as a form of survival, and their only need.

Neuroadaptation is permanent. It can also be passed down genetically to subsequent generations. This is why people can’t return to use in the future. What has been changed cannot return to its default setting. This is why moderation, or changing out a substance “For a less problematic one,” is not possible. The only non destructive route for an addicted person is to start on the path to recovery and discover a fulfilling, sober life.

Breaking the Cycle

In recovery, the first goal is to break time’s recurring cycle of substance use. Time spent in a sober state can settle the brain’s dependency. We know that many people will need a month-long residential stay to start settling down. Once this has been achieved, an addicted person can learn to regulate urges with intellectual and emotional processes. After leaving a treatment center, the work is not over. Outpatient programs and 12 steps meetings are necessary to develop the emotional intelligence required for long term recovery.  

The end goal is the long term recovery, and the starting point is understanding addiction. When we take the time to understand addiction, we also gain the perspective of the bigger picture. Our loved one may not comprehend the work ahead, but they will feel our empathy. Being at their side increases the likelihood of a successful intervention.

 

About Adam Banks

Adam Banks is a certified interventionist and the owner of Adam Banks Recovery. After receiving an MBA from the University of Chicago, Adam built a company that was later acquired by United Health Care. His discipline and attention to detail comes from his former career as an airline pilot, holding an ATP, the FAA’s highest license.

Today, Adam is dedicated to helping others achieve long-term sobriety. His work has guided executives, pilots, and physicians on paths to recovery. Adam brings families together through a loving and inclusive approach.

Adam has authored four books on addiction. His recent work, Navigating Recovery Ground School: 12 Lessons to Help Families Navigate Recovery, educates families on the entire intervention process. He also offers a free video course for families considering an intervention for a loved one. 

Adam is available for alcohol and drug intervention services in New York, Long Island, the Hamptons as well as nationally and internationally. 

 

Addiction is a Response to Trauma: My Halloween Story

Addiction is a Response to Trauma

I don’t know how a trauma in my family a few generations back might show up in my life, that is until I recently passed up buying a pumpkin. I stood in front of a beautiful pumpkin at a farm stand. It was marked half price and I stood in front of it, frozen, unable to decide if I wanted to buy it. I walked away from that pumpkin feeling sick to my stomach.

Continue reading

New Boundaries After Battling Addiction

Families know in their guts that something isn’t right. When they address the concerned person, a process of gaslighting, or turning the warranted concern around on the person that voiced it.  As a result, loved ones start to question their premonition and offer the person the benefit of the doubt all the while, the addiction is unknowingly in control of everyone affected.

Continue reading