DETERRENTS TO RECOVERY; The first deterrent to recovery is denial. Denial is the opposite of acceptance. A person in denial will be blinded to the fact that they have a problem. They might have lost it all but still do not perceive it that there is an issue. I have visited rehabs and met some who still do not think that they have a problem. By the time a person can be sent to rehab, this reveals that there is a very big problem but a person in denial won’t see this. Denial is a great deterrent or block to recovery. A person in denial projects and deflects. These are defense mechanisms where a person passes on the blame to their friends or family or their environment but never themselves. This person points all the fingers to others yet in recovery, your fingers should always be pointed at you who needs it most if you are to get the most out of it. In meetings, people normally introduce themselves as alcoholics or addicts. Those outside think that they are labelling themselves as alcoholics or addicts but that is not the case. Introducing myself as Mike an alcoholic is introducing myself as Mike who accepted that alcohol was a problem that I was powerless over. A person who is in denial will have a hard time confessing that they are an alcoholic or addict. When a person is in denial, two things can snap them out of it. Either a spiritual awakening or a very painful encounter with rock bottom. The best thing you can do for someone in denial is never to have a back and forth with them but pray for them. Prayer will remove the emotional and spiritual blinds and will enable them to start seeing things clearly. The second deterrent or block to recovery is pride. People that struggle with addiction are normally very smart, talented, gifted and have very big egos. We at times have strong reputations of solving some problems that challenged most folk and often times are deluded into thinking that this too, surmounting our addiction is a problem we will easily solve. We end up relying on our intellect, our willpower and our knowledge to beat this habit and we are very resilient in using our will, our intellect and knowledge to overcome it in spite of the many times we have tried to in vain. It never hits us that doing the same thing the same way will always get us the same results. We never try a different approach because we don’t want to admit that we have been licked. We seldom accept defeat. Much time is spent trying to defeat the habit by doing the same thing and that’s trying to control it and it always beats us at its level. Pride delays or deters or entirely blocks our recovery. Some of us have much faith in our resources and we exhaust them in trying to find a way to overcome the habit but still hit many dead ends when we follow this path obstinately. Pride in your willpower, connections, past achievements, special gifts or abilities or gifts will never suffice when it comes to addiction. Humility is the key when it comes to recovery. When I see the one struggling with the addiction talking more than the person who has experience in overcoming it, I sense pride and I sense that that person is not ready yet for the help they need. The teacher always comes when the student is ready. The third deterrent or block is fear. The question most people who want to quit a habit ask is, “what am I going to do when this is out of the way?” Some are beaten into submission to maintain the status quo. Questions like, “will I get new friends when I quit this habit? How will I find new acceptance elsewhere? I have got a sense of belonging here where I’m at (this is very common around people who use heroin who hang around the place where they can easily get a fix) and I’ve gotten an identity and some kind of protection- will I get all that in a new place?” Fear has the ability to and can appeal to reason and speaks one into settling for less when one entertains an inner dialogue with it. It will give you reasons, very logical ones why you should maintain the status quo. Some derive their identities and sense of belongings from habits like drinking. I’ve had people reason that they get deals from bars which is partly true but not entirely. Fear will speak to you and tell you that it is impossible to reinvent yourself. The antidote to this is faith. Faith grows. When your faith is still young, you have to be around those whose faith is high. When your faith is at getting 10k a day, be around those whose faith is getting a hundred thousand a day. This is where it pays to keep the company of those in recovery. Your faith will grow. Where you thought that it is impossible to go days without drinking or using, you will meet and get inspired by someone who has spent years.