Recovery is a young concept in the world as modern treatment for addiction, alcoholism, and other mental health diagnoses is only a few decades old. In this short amount of time, treatment has excelled, improving and evolving. One thing that has never evolved concretely in the world of treatment and recovery is the definition of success in recovery. You will hear the term success often as we refer to finding success in recovery, ensuring success in recovery, and more. What doesn’t actually exist is the definition of what success in recovery is or how it is achieved.
Why A Definition Of Success Doesn’t Exist
Standardization in treatment and recovery has its pros and cons. Evidence based treatment methods gain their reputation by repeated research which finds that the majority of people are helped by that treatment method. There is evidence to prove that the treatment can be considered a standard for most people. However, there are no laws of recovery, no absolutes which cannot be proven as untrue at any point in time. There are also disagreements as to what defines addiction, though the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders outlines symptoms specifically. Across the more than 30,000 treatment centers in America, there are differing opinions on how mental illness should be treated, what works, what doesn’t work, and what defines success.
This is not to say that success in recovery cannot be defined. In fact, when working with professional groups like O’Connor, you quickly learn that success is defined by the individual according to their needs, wants, and the suggestion of their care team. Success can be immediate, intermittent, and long term. How success looks for one individual may look different from a different individual depending on their diagnoses. Success in recovery will be radically different for someone with a dual diagnosis of bipolar disorder and alcohol use disorder than it will be for someone who needs help for crippling anxiety and an eating disorder. An overarching theme will always be present in defining success: healing, growing, and changing for the better.
Let the O’Connor Professional Group take the guesswork out of putting a treatment plan together. Our combined personal and professional experience empowers us to empower you with a private consultation and customized plan of action for getting the help you need. Call us today for information: 617 910-3940
