Managing Work and Substance Abuse: How do I get long-term recovery?
Keeping your job and substance abuse: I can’t do this anymore!
Many times when you’re facing an addiction, you are the expert on what to do for recovery. Having the strength to surrender the idea “I can do this on my own,” is the first step to accepting help. It is a hard step to make when you’ve felt betrayed; that there’s no one you can trust. How has being “the survivor” gotten you the relationships and health you want? Let’s look at some scenarios you may relate to:
Work is too demanding.
My boss would fire me if they knew I was in recovery.
I’m unemployed.
I’m unhappy with my job.
Too many coworkers are abusing alcohol or substances.
Possible solutions -
Your work stresses may be triggering your use. Many times exercise, sleep, a healthy diet and a relationship with God take the back burner. Ask your employer to support your recovery if you have any reason to believe they will, such as your employer has encouraged another employee’s recovery. They may encourage you to take a leave of absence; use your PTO; or your HSA or FSA to get back yourself and your health. Your employer’s health insurance may pay for addiction treatment.
If you are unemployed and have Medicaid or want to apply for it, this is a perfect opportunity to spend your energy and time getting the recovery care Medicaid funds.
Unhappy with your job? Your misery at work may be one of your triggers to abuse alcohol, nicotine or a substance. Isn’t lower pay or a career change a better option? It may be time to divest yourself of the lifestyle that feeds your cravings.
What have you done to get a part-time job in a field you have skills in? What if you got temporary relief, a change of scene and the time you need to take care of yourself? Hopefully you have enough savings or another income stream just in case.
Everyone at work is drinking or using cocaine. This often happens in high stress work or professions where people have always gotten away with it, such as construction workers or sales people. Sometimes you have the option to find another job in the company or you just need to quit until you have at least three months of treatment, including at times a doctor’s care to resolve your addictions. Many people do better transitioning from residential 3.1 level care to a sober living facility. This allows you to work, accumulate savings and gradually decrease structured time and increase your freedom from the addiction.
Free help, use community services.
Other than individual counseling and seeking input from your family practitioner, you may have tried several community groups. Self-help groups such as 12 step groups with a spiritual component, ie AA, NA, CA (based on Christian principles) or Recovery Dharma (Buddhist philosophy) or a non-spiritual group such as Smart Recovery or (arts-based recovery) or the Phoenix (physical activities). Most of these are free and are a starting point for many people that have overcome addictions. If you’ve had a bad experience, keep trying, try out 6 or so groups until you find a place where things and people resonate with you.
If you’re feeling confused, call your Licensed Addiction Counselor in Denver, CO at 720-577-5791 for a free 15 minute consult.
References:
Counselor’s Treatment Manual: Matrix Intensive Outpatient Treatment, Relapse Prevention (RP) Session 4, Work and Recovery, https://store.samhsa.gov/sites/default/files/sma13-4152.pdf
