A treatment counselor with 30 years of experience tells patients to keep a journal during recovery. He compares daily recovery work to insulin for a diabetic: you need your own "recovery insulin," a personalized practice you do every day to stay sober after you leave.
when you come into treatment, we say, look, you're gonna be here for maybe 4 weeks or 5 weeks or 6 or whatever, however long you're gonna be here. I want you to take notes. Here's a journal, here's a pen. Bring this with you to each one of your sessions, group sessions or individual sessions, and take some notes. 'Cause basically I want you to figure out what your own insulin's gonna be. So when you leave treatment, just like if you were a diabetic, I would say a diabetic can live a long, good, healthy life as long as they take their insulin every day. Right. So an alcoholic or a drug addict could live a long, good, healthy life As long as they take their insulin every day. What is that insulin? I can tell you what mine is, but I've also learned over these 25+ years, almost 28 years trying to help other men, insulin looks a little bit different for each person.
It’s Not What Your House Is Worth; It’s What It Can Do for You (Pause, Identify, Respond)
