LET'S TALK ABOUT RECOVERY ( and a tiny bit about Britney) 2/25/07

It looks like reporters are having a heyday with Britney Spear's dance in-again-out-again of the luxury rehab. So much so that it was difficult to pick from the over 1,200 articles for the title link. Quite frankly, I don't much care what the shaven head pop star's motivation is, if her chosen facility is luxurious or not, or any other thing. It is rather fortunate that any addict's progress in recovery is not based upon what other people think. If it were, I myself might be dead or still in the mix today.

There is a popularity involved with critiquing 12-step methodology. I can accept that. I can also give a nod to the idea that 12-step programs in general may have some characteristics of cultish behavior. And a vigorous nod to the idea that 12-step program membership is not for everyone seeking to recover from addiction to alcohol, other chemical substances, gambling, sex, love, co-dependency [read: messed up families or relationships], eating disorders, or any other -ism. What I will say is that many people have found a way into a new life via 12-step programs-- whether mandated by drug courts or other legal authorities or not. And other folks have found other ways into a new life.

I have been abstinent from my own addiction on a continuous basis for more than a quarter of a century. I treasure my recovery. I have worked hard to get what I have today and I continue to work hard to keep it.

Britney is no different from any of the rest of us on the inside. She is not the first addict to bounce in and out of rehabs seeking direction but too afraid to stay, nor will she be the last. I am delighted when any addict is able not to use for one day regardless of how they do it. And so I extend my most sincere wish to Britney that she find some real peace.

radical sapphoq