What is your sober/clean date?
 3 April 2010

What are you recovering from?
Alcohol

What made you decide to come to SSCR for inpatient treatment?
It was a voluntary decision after I realized I could not stop drinking and my life was falling apart.

Did you make the decision on your own, or did your family, work, courts, church help you with the decision?
I made the decision but with my families help.

What did you learn about yourself and your disease while you were at SSCR?
Many things, but the two most important were probably (1) that I was completely powerless over alcohol and (2) my drinking was but a symptom of a larger problem-- and how I interacted with others in any kind of relationship and my own vision of myself

While in treatment you were introduced to the idea of changing people, places and things. What changes have you had to make on your journey of recovery?
Not as many as I would have thought. I still have many of the same friends, some of whom know I’m in recovery, for example. I still go to events where alcohol is prevalent. The biggest change is that I don’t engage in attitudes or behaviors that lead to the destructive thinking which then leads to drinking. I have changed my view of the world.

How do you maintain your sobriety today?
I pray, go to meetings, call my sponsor, sponsor other people and help others. Every day I pledge to myself and to God that today I will try to be a better person than I was yesterday.

What would you say to help someone make the decision to go to in-patient treatment?
If the thought scares you, or you think it’s impossible to stop drinking, it may be worth your while to consider in-patient treatment. Consider in-patient treatment if you want to stop the chaos in your life and figure out why you can’t stop drinking.

Give an example of a situation you have done differently since maintaining your recovery.
There are many examples, but the most common for me is controlling my anger and my ego. Recently, I had a horrible flying experience and let my anger get the best of me for a few minutes. I wasn’t exactly rude with the customer service rep, but I was definitely testy.

Before recovery, that incident would have angered me for days, and I would have felt that my anger had been completely justified – I was the customer and I had been wronged. It would have been the perfect reason to drink. But, after I caught my flight and had time to think, I realized that I had been the one who was wrong and that I owed the person an apology.

I was willing to make amends as well. When I flew back into that airport a few days later, I searched for her, hoping to see her back at work so I could apologize. I didn’t get the opportunity, but I talked to my sponsor about it, who suggested that my amends could be the way I treat the NEXT customer service rep when I’m in a similar situation.

Overall how would you describe your experience of inpatient treatment?  How did it help you to transition into the real world as a sober productive adult free from alcohol and drugs?  Would you recommend inpatient treatment to someone?
I could have never stopped drinking without inpatient treatment, but that was only the first step. I needed time and tools to learn more about myself, about alcoholism and about living a sober lifestyle. Therapy showed me, in blunt ways, that alcohol was only part of the problem. There were many other factors contributing to my dysfunctional relationship with the world. Through therapy, I learned the tools I needed to walk out of the relative safety of a rehab facility and back into the real world and stay sober. Yes, I would recommend inpatient treatment, but it would also depend on the person’s situation.

The Chinese philosopher Confucius once said: "Choose a job you like and you will never have to work a day of your life." Although I have a job, I don’t work. I am currently 42 years old. However, I am one of those rare fortunate individuals who has known what he wanted to do since the age of 19. I was inspired to become a psychotherapist by a college professor when I was in undergraduate school. He is dead now, but his legacy of educating and helping others carries on through me and other students he inspired.

I have worked in many different areas of counseling. I have worked adolescent inpatient, residential, adult inpatient, psychiatric triage in an emergency room, and addictions. Working with addicts and alcoholics has been the most rewarding and given me a great deal of insight into the human condition. I have learned so much about the triumph of the human spirit while working with people suffering from addiction.

During the therapeutic process the clients (and I) struggle and learn about what it truly means to be human. And that life and its meaning are to be faced head on, constantly creating oneself through love, courage, compassion, and strength. I never found that in a textbook

Ethan Thomas MA, LPC

Help Yourself by Helping Others

If a family member or friend is in need of help, call an Admissions Coordinator for advice. They can get you a copy of our Intervention Guide, a “how-to” kit for convincing a loved one to get treatment.
Call 1-800-884-1727.

Recovery from any addiction requires personal change. It is impossible to change and do what you have done in the past and then, expect a different outcome. The clinical definition of addiction is a "compulsive repetition of a known behavior with adverse consequences”. Change is uncomfortable because it brings people into the unknown. Rather than face the unknown, even if it holds wonders, people will often return to old behaviors because it is easier to stay in what they know than to take a leap of faith into the unknown and be open to change.

Change is uncomfortable. However, once a person decides to change and then takes an action to change, there is always shift in consciousness.  Surrounding yourself with people in recovery who understand the need to change helps empower you to keep engaging the process of change. Fighting change keeps one routed in sickness. It saps our energy and hinders our potential. In 12 Step rooms, we can find support for engaging the change no matter how difficult it may feel.

Change produces amazing results. Where there was always hopelessness there is hope, where there was anger there is now peace. These types of changes are profound and can create fear and anxiety within us. Having a sponsor and people around that are also engaged in the process of changing supports our efforts emotionally, spiritually, and physically. We find out we are not alone.  The fall is a time of year to experience the joy of recovery symbolized in the changes in the environment: leaves changing. There is beauty in the change. The natural order of things is change--we are connected to that natural order.

We are looking to expand our alumni services by offering support groups nationwide.  We are looking for alumni that are interested in becoming a support group leader.  The support group leader meets with other alumni once a month. He or she is responsible for chairing the meeting.  This is a great opportunity to give back and help you in your own recovery. Having a meeting of alumni may be the one thing that will keep someone going if he or she is struggling in recovery.

If you are interested in becoming a support group leader, you must have at least a year clean and sober, attend meetings regularly, and work a 12-step program.

If you are committed to helping other alumni and yourself as a support group leader, please contact Joanna Painton-Hathaway at 1-800-833-9057, or e-mail her at jpainton@steppingstonecfr.com.

We are in the process of building a buddy program and need alumni to help.  This program is designed to connect newly discharged patients with recovering alumni. The buddy system will help those just out of treatment stay focused while they build their local support group. If you are interested in becoming a buddy volunteer, you must have at least a year clean and sober, be attending meetings, and working the 12-step program. If you are interested, please contact Joanna Painton-Hathaway at 1-800-833-9057, or e-mail her at jpainton@steppingstonecfr.com.

Your participation will help you and others stay clean and sober. “You have to give it away to keep it.”