UNDERSTANDING ADDICTION, RECOVERY, & WELLNESS: MAINTENANCE (Part 7)
In the maintenance stage of chemical dependence, the alcoholic /drug addict needs to “use” to function and feel normal. This can be a scary time for the addict. It is a time where most people will realize that something is very wrong.
Pleasure – Relief
The addict has gone through the pleasure stage which looks very much like everybody except that the use is more important and becomes a core value to organizing their life. Persons, places, and things generally are accepted which protect and enhance the addiction.
In the relief stage, the addict uses to cope with whatever is troubling to the addict. This includes pain issues as well as emotional issues. If the addict is troubled or hurting, the impulse is to turn to the drug or alcohol. This goes on and on for months and at times, years.
Maintenance
In time the addict will move to the next stage of addiction which is the maintenance stage. This stage can be very important if recovery is going to take place. This is a stage where most people would recognize that there is a serious problem in that the addict now can’t work without using because of withdrawal symptoms. This condition can be very frightening for the chemically dependent.
For example, the lawyer addict wakes up in the morning and is extremely shaky. The addict realizes that he will be fine is he takes a couple of shots reducing his withdrawal symptoms to no problem. He may have to this from time to time throughout the day. I picked a lawyer for the example, but I could pick any profession or job. Most addicted people value their work for all the reasons that most people value work. They have one reason more in that it takes money to pay for drugs and alcohol. Employment is lost well down the abyss for many addicts.
Recovery
This maintenance stage is a time of great stress for the addict especially when it first occurs. It hard for the addicted, friends and family to turn a blind eye to what is going on. Employers, if aware, often will step in at this point and encourage their addicted workers to get treatment. Sometimes these addicted people can be very important individuals for the organization or family livelihood.
Enablers
There are times when people become enablers to keep the addiction going at a maintenance level. Getting to appropriate treatment is not a primary concern. The concern is keeping the addict able to function so that the money keeps coming and everybody involved benefits. In my career, I am amazed how some wealthy people maintain their ability to make large amounts of money even though having severe addition problems. I am mentioning this because I want to expose the myth that addiction is a problem of the poor. Rather, it is a problem that covers all classes of people. It can be a factory worker who turns his paycheck over to his wife and that wife keeps the refrigerator full of beer to keep him contented and working or a superstar entertainer.
However, generally the wealthy have the means to hide the problem more than the poor. The addicted of all classes are most open to getting treatment during this maintenance stage because the defense mechanisms no longer can make light of the reality of having to use just to function normally. If the addiction continues to next stage of addiction. It is much less likely to get into treatment and a sustained recovery.
Oblivion
The last stage of chemical dependence is Oblivion. In this stage, the addicted person’s primary motive changes from using to be normal to using to escape to oblivion. At this stage, the addicted person has lost family, job, and is having many health problems usually related to brain damage, liver damage, pancreatic disorder and a general health decline. Left on their own they will use every day all day. The often end up institutionalized or die in accidents.
Late Stage Treatment
Treatment, if any, for these individuals revolves around keeping them safe and comfortable. As a young social worker, I had a job going into a State of Michigan Hospital for the mentally ill and was told by the Senior Clinician at the hospital that they would buy a large bottle of vodka and give a couple of tablespoons of vodka daily to late-stage alcoholic patients to keep them calm from time to time during the day. There was no effort to get them sober at this late stage of chemical dependence. These are people that are seen sleeping in parks often in the cold. They refuse help to public shelter because they will not be able to use drugs/alcohol.
The large state mental health hospitals have been closed for many years. Community Mental Health agencies help, but it is a very vexing problem because these addicts will not accept help. A lot of these individuals end up spending a lot of time in the county jail system.
Clarification
In the real world of addiction, there is no way to tell how long a person will be in a particular stage and some addicts at the early stages go back and forth. Still, if you look at the whole picture of the person’s addicted use history it spirals down to Oblivion if the addict continues to use.
For more information on the stage of maintenance, you can reference the book “The Essential of Chemical Dependency” by Drs. Robert and Mary McAuliffe. This subject will continue in future posts. My next post will cover personality traits that are the result of the addition process. This will help people in their relationships with the addicted and promote recovery.
QUESTIONS
Do you have a specific question related to addiction and recovery? Please send your comments and questions to eaglekenj@gmail.com and I will cover it in a future blog post. Also, stay tuned for details regarding my online program, “Addiction, Recovery, Wellness.”
Kenneth J. Orlich, LMSW, LMFT, CAADC, ACSW is a clinical social worker, family and marriage therapist, and addiction specialist with over 35 years of experience working as a clinician with the addicted.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
CONNECT WITH US —
Please like/follow us on social media links below to support a Made in USA, healthy-lifestyle company that is ‘Fighting for a Greener Planet’ to make a differnce! Thanks friends!!
Sign up here at www.koecolife.com and receive valuable coupons, tips, & product updates. And, follow us @koecolife on 
for our latest news and events too. Go YOU!
ABOUT US
K.O. “knock-out” ecolife was inspired by healthy living with a gut-wrenching desire to make a difference! We’re ‘Fighting for a Greener Planet’ with the eco-friendly products we develop, information we share on health, fitness, and wellness, and Giving Back mission.
