If you spend any time in airports, you have no doubt heard a variety of announcements.
If you see something, say something.
Do not leave your baggage unattended.
Flight 111 is now boarding.
Flight 222 has been delayed.
That just scratches the surface of the sounds you may hear over the public address system at the airport. Here is one announcement you definitely will not hear:
A trip to the airport is a great metaphor for treatment for and recovery from a substance use disorder.
While we are confident no one has ever said those words into a microphone at the airport, we are equally confident that they are true. And we are prepared to prove it. Get your boarding passes ready and join us for this metaphorical journey.
Detoxification: Checking Your Bags
If you are going on a long trip, you will likely pack a suitcase that you will not be allowed to carry onto the airplane with you. The airlines, of course, have a solution to this problem: you can check your bag. That means you get to turn the heavy suitcase over to the airline so you are no longer burdened by it as you get ready to board your flight.
The process of checking your bag is a good metaphor for the detoxification process. When you pursue treatment for a substance use disorder, the first order of business is leaving the heavy burden of drugs or alcohol behind. Medically supervised detoxification allows you to do just that in a safe environment that is free of temptations. Just as you cannot drag that heavy suitcase onto a plane, you cannot drag drugs or alcohol along to your recovery.
Rehabilitation: Going Through Security
While the line to go through security at the airport may be long, everyone knows that the process is essential to ensure that everyone stays safe. The security team checks your identification, examines (and sometimes reexamines) your carry-on items, and scans your body.
As the process unfolds, you might be asked to take devices out of your carry-on bag, to leave bottles of liquid behind if they exceed the amount allowed on flights, or to empty your pockets if the scanner alarm sounds as you pass through. It can be frustrating, but again, it is necessary to ensure you can confidently move to the next step in your journey.
The rehabilitation portion of treatment for a substance use disorder shares features with the security process at the airport. During rehabilitation, you may well learn that you are in possession of habits, ideas, or mental health issues (or a combination of these things) that will not serve you well in recovery. Individual and group therapy sessions are intended to help you address those issues so that you can confidently move to the next step in your journey toward lasting recovery.
Your Recovery Community: Listening to the Flight Crew
Shortly after you board an airplane, you will get a safety briefing from the flight crew. That briefing is a good reminder that the team aboard the plane understands all the aspects of the upcoming journey—from flying and landing to the plane to serving snacks to dealing with emergencies. They can make your journey more comfortable and ensure your safety along the way.
In recovery, your community (elsewhere, we have called them your squad) is your flight crew. Your closest friends, supportive family members, sponsors and mentors, and fellow attendees at recovery meetings or treatment alumni events are the people who can support you as your journey unfurls. Your recovery community should be filled with individuals who are devoted to your well-being and who understand the challenges you have overcome and the challenges you still face. These are the people who make your journey more comfortable as they stay vigilant about your safety.
Hoping for Lost Luggage: Heading to Baggage Claim
This is the moment in our journey where the metaphor hits a bit of turbulence. If you were really on a flight, your sincere hope would be that your checked bag (the heavy one from earlier in this post) would be waiting for you at baggage claim.
But on this metaphorical flight through treatment and recovery, you really do not want to pick up that bag. After all, that bag represents the drugs or alcohol you are committed to leaving behind.That means that for the sake of our metaphor, the treatment and recovery journey is the only journey after which you hope your luggage is lost. You really do not want anything that was packed in that particular bag.
Put Wooded Glen Recovery Center on Your Travel…er…Treatment Itinerary
Located in Henryville, Indiana, Wooded Glen Recovery Center offers treatment for substance use disorders as well as co-occurring mental health disorders. We can take you through the journey outlined above so that your recovery can take flight.
Right now is always the best time to reclaim your life from drugs or alcohol. We are here to help you do just that. Let’s get your recovery journey underway.