In over 35 years of working in addiction treatment and counseling I have come to the conclusion that recovery from addiction is not humanly possible.  You may ask why, then, have I been able to remain employed or why has addiction treatment become a giant industry if recovery is impossible.

Why is Addiction Recovery Not Possible?

Notice that I did not say recovery is impossible. I said that it is humanly impossible. Our limited human resources – our will power, determination, and knowledge – can help an addict to achieve abstinence for periods of time but are, in my experience, insufficient to generate and maintain the kind of complete personality change required to sustain recovery that leads to a happy and fulfilled life. That will require the help of a power greater than ourselves.

The Ultimate Weapon of Recovery

In 12-Step programs, this is commonly referred to as a Higher Power.  In the Narcotics Anonymous Basic Text (p. 24) it says, “Our understanding of a Higher Power is up to us.  No one is going to decide for us.  We can call it the group, the program, or we can call it God.  The only suggested guidelines are that this Power be loving, caring, and greater than ourselves.”

The NA Basic Text goes on to say that the recovering addict is “the ultimate weapon for recovery.”  But how do we become just that?  There are certain things I have found to be important in this transformation:

• Giving God the credit, not ourselves.
• Changing the externals – people, places, and things.
• Changing the internals – identifying our character defects and exchanging them for a life guided by spiritual principles.
• Practicing these spiritual principles in all our affairs.

Recovery is Possible with Spiritual Guidance

As we practice living by spiritual principles, we act our way into right thinking, we think our way into manageable feelings, and we become people who naturally attract blessing into our lives. Our recovery shows. It is obvious.  We become the “the ultimate weapon for recovery.”  This transformation is miraculous.  It is supernatural.  It is not humanly possible.