Recovering drug addicts and alcoholics say that the recovery process has done for them slowly what alcohol and drugs once did quickly. Substances were once our greatest coping mechanism, our solution to every problem under the sun. Seeking a quick fix from stress, mental anguish and pain, we opened the baggie or tipped back a drink, and this worked for a time.

Then, as we’ve all discovered, our cure-all stopped working, and eventually led to more problems than it solved. A program of recovery from addiction teaches us healthy coping mechanisms. Recovering addicts learn appropriate ways to deal with lifes ups and downs, things that were never taught to us by our parents or peer groups. Like it or not, this is a slow process. This is why many recovering substance abusers choose to attend 12-step or other recovery programs for long periods or whole lifetimes. Think of it as free therapy, or classes designed to teach you how to be a better human being.

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