Sobriety takes commitment and employers play an important role
My body would get violently ill if it went more than a day without heroin, which is what I graduated to after starting with other opioid painkillers, such as OxyContin, morphine, and Dilaudid. I was sweating, had chills, my skin was crawling, and my body was cramping. The nausea was intense, and my heart was racing. The only thing that could provide relief was yet another injection. However, I was out of money, out of school, and out of a job. I knew I couldn’t continue on that road forever.
And I didn’t. I made it out, but recovery wasn’t easy. While the last eight years of my sobriety were definitely challenging, I realized that I don’t hold on to those negative memories anymore. People often say remembering the bad stuff about your addiction will keep you sober. But that’s not the case.
Be willing to help
Sobriety requires ongoing effort, proactive behavior, discipline and dedication. Those are the aspects that allow you to live in sobriety. Remembering the negative impact is never enough.
There is no silver bullet or cure; it’s a disease. Sobriety takes commitment and employers can play an important role by keeping employees accountable for getting treatment and sticking to their recovery. Anybody can overcome an opioid addiction with the appropriate help. I’m living proof of that. Listening, empathy, compassion and tough love are key. Simply just being willing to help can make a huge difference. An employee may not be ready to get sober when first approached, but your kindness can go a long way. Constant absenteeism and presenteeism (being physically at work but not engaged), are signs that something may be wrong.
In addition, understanding the recovery journey is essential to recognizing how to provide long-term support to your staff. Recovery doesn’t happen overnight or even in a week or a month. It’s a lifetime effort. And most importantly, it is different for everyone. It depends on how much you use, the frequency, and whether you experience mental illness, which can accelerate the problem.
Road to recovery is different for everyone
The process of getting into rehab or treatment can be a very stressful time for an individual, and even more difficult for that person’s family. Think about your employees that may have a spouse or child going through this process. Then imagine for a moment trying to get someone who is high or intoxicated into an inpatient facility – it can be very frustrating and there is a lot of confusion. The person has to undergo a chemical dependency evaluation, which provides a baseline for insurance coverage and what program would be best, and that takes time to sort out.
My parents were initially in denial about what was happening to me and really didn’t know how to address it. There was a lot of anger and resentment. There were family programs available at the inpatient facility that could help, offering peer support and individual and group therapy.
Early sobriety is more intense and requires more focused effort. For example, health care professionals may suggest a person complete 30, 60 or 90 days of inpatient treatment. The type of care you undergo depends upon how old you are, how many times you’ve tried to stop, how long you’ve used a substance, and the method of ingestion, for example. I started with a mini 28-day inpatient program. Then there are varying “steps down” to help you in your recovery. For example, I completed two months of extended inpatient care, another two months in a halfway house, and nine months in a sober living home where you are with others in recovery.
It’s also important to know that the path to getting clean isn’t clear cut. I relapsed multiple times, and I was kicked out of the halfway house for using.
However, you realize that the real work starts when you are in the real world and you are faced with maintaining ongoing care. You may get tripped up after only a month. If you made it a year, you have more of a chance for long-term sobriety.
It’s a lot of work, yet it’s rewarding and fulfilling to do those things for yourself. It may also be isolating on your own at first, because you no longer have the supervision found in inpatient treatment.
That’s why 12-step programs, faith and sober living communities, and other support groups can be vital facets of recovery.
What helped me through those initial tough periods were people who were willing to listen, show compassion, and offer a helping hand. I was blown away by the empathy of several of my professors when I returned to school.
Acceptance is the answer
Acceptance is ultimately the answer for both employees and employers. Accepting means a person who misuses takes the appropriate action to mitigate the disease.
For employers, accepting that opioids are a problem in your workplace and creating a safe environment free of stigma can make it more likely that your employees take actions to ask for and get help. Understanding that the recovery journey is messy and that it can take time, can build a foundation for further compassion and empathy. Training employees on how to use Narcan if somebody does overdose is important to saving lives too.
Ultimately it comes down to trust. Employees want to trust that you and their health professionals can be there for them. That is what fosters hope and resiliency even in the toughest of situations.
Today I am 30 years old, eight years sober, I work as a health informatics analyst, and I have a family. I wouldn’t be where I am today if it weren’t for those who didn’t give up on me during my worst periods. They helped me stay accountable, and not give up on myself, and that’s why I only remember the good parts of my life now. That’s what truly keeps me moving forward. I don’t want to look back.