Relapse Prevention | The Freedom Model For Addictions

Stop Bashing AA

Ryan Schwantes — Mon, 28 Feb 2022 19:31:32 +0000

“Why do you guys have to bash AA so much?” For more than 30 years I’ve heard people say this, or something like it to me and my colleagues here at the Freedom Model. It’s an interesting question. Curiously, the wording of this inquiry is almost always the same, even though it’s being said from unrelated parties from all parts of the globe. This shows us that there is a fairly universal perception…

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How Is Your Dry January Going?

Ryan Schwantes — Fri, 14 Jan 2022 15:36:06 +0000

For the past few years there has been a movement that began largely on social media called Dry January. This is where people pledge to remain abstinent from alcohol for the entire month of January. Certainly there are health benefits to not drinking, especially if you have a habit of drinking heavily often. Many people use the month of January to adjust all kinds of bad habits they developed…

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Drugs Don’t Have a Mind of Their Own

Ryan Schwantes — Fri, 05 Nov 2021 15:18:53 +0000

“Drinking makes my stress go away.” “I get things done when I do meth. It makes me motivated.” “Drinking makes me more social, I don’t feel so nervous when I’m buzzed up.” “I can say the things I normally can’t say. Substances help with my lack of assertiveness.” There are endless statements like this that represent the idea that substances have magical qualities to help humans in all kinds of…

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Social and Environmental Factors DO NOT Cause Addiction

Ryan Schwantes — Wed, 19 May 2021 18:46:13 +0000

In The Freedom Model for Addictions, Escape the Treatment and Recovery Trap, we discuss the erroneous, but common idea, that environmental and social factors cause addiction. The fact that both your environment (lifestyle, home, and career, etc.) and your social life (relationships, activities, etc.) DO NOT CAUSE heavy substance use, is a topic that needs some explanation. But once the difference…

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Here are 5 Benefits of Spending Some Time Abstinent

Ryan Schwantes — Tue, 18 May 2021 16:08:18 +0000

In addiction recovery, you have two options: heavy, uncontrolled substance use that leads to jails, institutions, and death, or complete abstinence from all substances whether you like it or not. And in treatment/recovery the primary motivator for abstinence is focusing on all the negative consequences and costs you have experienced and might experience as a result of your heavy substance use.

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It’s Time to Rethink Addiction

Ryan Schwantes — Thu, 13 May 2021 19:13:55 +0000

What do you do when you make a mistake? Do you ruminate on it for hours, days, or even weeks? Do you beat yourself up about it, feeling as if you must be a terrible, broken person to have done such a thing? Or do you fix it, if possible, and move on from it a bit wiser, feeling good that you never have to repeat it again? Making mistakes is entirely human, as is developing habits.

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Attention Parents: Know This – Addiction Isn’t Forever!

Ryan Schwantes — Fri, 23 Apr 2021 21:17:44 +0000

One thing I’ve learned in helping people move past their addictions over the last 31 years, is that parents of an addicted son or daughter are scared. I mean really scared. They live in near-constant anxiety, fear and worry that their loved one will be OK. Worse yet, are the cases where the parents have been subjected to “family programs” at rehabs or treatment that coincide with their son or…

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Addiction Is Not What You Think It Is

Ryan Schwantes — Fri, 16 Apr 2021 16:36:07 +0000

Confusion is a cancer to the truth, and clarity is the only antidote to that cancer. One of the most confusing concepts is the belief that drinking and drugging “change the brain” making the habit impossible to stop or moderate without outside intervention or treatment. This theory is wrong on many different levels. The research shows just the opposite, and that’s great news.

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Intervention for Addiction Is Harmful – There Is a Better Way

Ryan Schwantes — Mon, 22 Mar 2021 14:37:06 +0000

There are not many things in life more difficult or troubling than dealing with a loved one that is struggling with an addiction. Whether your loved one is 16, 36 or 60, watching them self-destruct before your very eyes can make you feel helpless and hopeless. You may wonder what you might be doing wrong to cause them to be this way. You may have tried to implement tough love, then take them back…

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Why Recovery Prevents True Freedom From Addiction

Ryan Schwantes — Fri, 12 Mar 2021 16:53:49 +0000

When people mention the word “recovery” from addiction, they have a certain image in their mind of an addict or alcoholic who has decided to quit their habit, has accepted their “disease”, and usually, they’ve attended some form of treatment for their affliction. In most circumstances, an individual who identifies as a “person in recovery” sees their recovery self-image in a positive light.

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