If relapse prevention techniques work, then why do so many addicts and alcoholics relapse?
This is the question that we have been asking ourselves for the last 40-50 years, with no concrete answers being provided. We hear only that addicts relapse due to their disease, weakness, environment, there is something wrong with them, they have a sickness, it’s society’s fault, drugs and alcohol are too prevalent, and so on. Why is it that rehabilitation centers and their counselors don’t see the successful results for their patients, that they say they all want? With relapse rates at an all time high, something is obviously wrong, and the problem may not be with the addict/alcoholic, but with the techniques being used to try to help them.
TREATING THE ADDICTIVE BEHAVIORS
Treating the addicts/alcoholics?behaviors appears to be the primary therapeutic technique utilized in most treatment centers and by many recovery counselors. They say, “we must change the behaviors, and then the addict will stop taking these harmful substances.? This they say, is the answer, and can be found through rehabilitation centers, AA/NA, counselors, therapists, and others who may have worked through the same problem. True, many people have improved their lives by availing themselves of these treatment sources, however, if these philosophies indeed work, then why not for everyone? Why still, do so many people continue to relapse at alarming rates and prolong the negative lifestyles they have created?
The answer does not lie in the addicts/alcoholics?behavior. The behavior, drug taking and alcohol drinking, is only a symptom of a much deeper underlying thought process which begins with perception. Treating only the behavior is akin to putting the cart before the horse. Behaviors don’t just happen by themselves. Thought, the mind, produces behaviors as well as emotions, both being positive and negative.
BY CHANGING PERCEPTION ?THINKING WILL CHANGE
On a daily basis, we hear counselors say to patients, “stop taking drugs or you will die, or just say no? or so many of the other statements that are so prevalent in substance abuse treatment today. Do these statements ever stop anyone from doing anything? Obviously not, or we would see much better results. The only way an addict/alcoholic will discontinue substance use, begin their recovery process, and find the hope and peace that they seek, is when they are able to arrive at their own conclusions and begin to affect change. This can only be achieved through a change in perception and a change in thinking. By treating behaviors as the primary therapeutic target, the patient is not given the opportunity to come to their own conclusion because they continue to perceive and think in the same way. These perceptions, which have not changed, allow the negative thinking to continue and therefore the behaviors remain unchanged. Relapse, substance abuse, behavioral prob! lems, anti-social acting out, low self-esteem, feelings of hopelessness, helplessness and worthlessness continue, not because of the behavioral or environmental factors so often cited, but because the addicts/alcoholics?perceptions and thoughts about him/herself remain as they have been taught throughout life.
THINKING MUST CHANGE ?BEHAVIOR WILL CHANGE BY ITSELF
Thinking must change for behavior to change. Actually, in a more simplistic way, when thinking changes, behavior will change by itself. Understanding this simple concept, it appears a waste of time to spend our efforts on trying to help or force people to improve their behaviors. It doesn’t seem to work, and hence, relapse continues. Patients don’t appear to recover from their addictive behaviors as they do with many other disorders, and even if they discontinue their substance use, many continue to be unhappy, unfulfilled, depressed and continue to experience life problems, because their thought process is a result of their perception. We see this every day, even with patients who have spent months in rehabilitation programs, and in therapy of one kind or another, with counselors who promote a variety of techniques. MIND IS THE MAKER and will always produce the behaviors and emotions that are productive or unproductive for all of us. How then do we assist people ! in changing their thinking? Helping people to think differently may not be as difficult as it appears, although, without a change in perception, negative thinking and behaviors remain. Many therapists and recovery counselors who recognize this concept do indeed assist their patients to change thinking, whether they accomplish this in a conscious (purposeful) or unconscious way, through AA/NA or their psychotherapeutic techniques. The positive results that their patients demonstrate in discontinuing addictive behavior and living happy productive lives speak for themselves.
PERCEPTION THERAPY WORKS BY CHANGING THINKING
Thinking begins with “Perception? “We perceive in the way that we have been taught to perceive.? Our perceptions about ourselves, others, and life around us, begin at birth and continue throughout life. Perception for most is equal to truth. Whether the taught perception is true or not, makes no difference. The only thing that matters is that, “I was told or taught this, or read this, so it must be true.? Therefore, one perceives in a certain way, which causes one to think in a certain way, then causing one to behave in a particular way. For the individual, the resulting behavior may be positive or negative, productive or unproductive, all depending on how he/she was taught to perceive and think. Recovery and relapse prevention must begin with a change in perception. We must recognize that the perceptions that we are being taught are actually someone else’s, not our own, and these perceptions were taught to them by someone else. Are their perceptions true, or ! are they just perceptions that they have been taught, by well-meaning or misguided individuals who have also been taught by others?
SIMPLE EXAMPLES OF PERCEPTION CHANGE
1. Many will argue that Christopher Columbus discovered America because this is what they have been taught (perception) in school to perceive by their teachers. Many will not believe (thinking) differently and argue (behavior) that fact, even if proven to them that it was Amerigo Vespucci who actually discovered America. They still will not believe it as truth.
2. If someone had stated in 1958 that in a few years, a man would walk on the moon, most would argue, that this was impossible (perception) and could not and would not happen (thinking). But in 1963, a man did. Peoples?perceptions were changed, but they actually had to see it on television over and over, to believe (behavior) it as truth.
3. If 30 years ago, someone had said, soon, instant communication with anyone in the world will be a daily occurrence (perception), most would have thought this to be impossible (thinking). Now they view the Internet as a reality and use it on a daily basis (behavior).
4. One can’t forget the famous Orson Wells radio broadcast “War of the Worlds?on Halloween Eve in 1938. Thousands of people sat by their radios and perceived that the earth was actually being invaded by aliens. Their perception of what they were being told, produced thinking which caused fear, and the resulting behaviors included mass panic and people arming themselves to conquer non-existent beings from another planet.
5. Addicts/alcoholics may relapse at any time. Is this truth, or only someone else’s perception of addicts and alcoholics? Can addicts/alcoholics?perceptions, thinking and behaviors be changed, so that relapse does not occur?
The concept of perception even applies to how people experience many physiological disorders.
A past patient of mine once reported that throughout childhood, she was always told (taught to perceive) that stomach problems existed in her family. Due to this perception, she always had a problem with her stomach and constantly went to doctors for treatment. The doctors could never find a cause. It was only until later in life and through a change in perception, did her stomach problem mysteriously disappear, never to return. She was taught to perceive that stomach problems existed in her family, her thinking then produced the physiological symptom/behavior, which was her stomach problem. Had there been a physical cause for her symptoms, why didn’t the doctors and tests identify it?
Another patient stated that he had severe allergies all throughout childhood. His mother would tell him that his uncle, who had very severe allergies also, moved to Atlanta (the South) and his allergies went away. My patient enrolled in college in Florida. Upon moving there (even when we know that in Florida there are many allergy producing molds, spores and pollens), his allergies completely went away and never returned. Was his mind the maker in this case? His perception was changed, his thinking changed, and his physiological behavior (allergies) changed by itself.
If people are taught to perceive themselves as sick, whether it is substance abuse, alcoholism or even cancer, they think as sick people and behave as sick people would behave.
Let me give two examples of perception and another life threatening problem, cancer. A few years ago, I was called to provide counseling to an elderly man, who had been diagnosed with cancer and was hospital bound. Prior to his admission to the hospital, his physician informed him that he had cancer and only a short time to live (perception). The patient, at that point, gave up, (thinking), and refused to eat, drink or get out of bed (behavior). He died shortly after.
Another patient with the same exact diagnosis and at the request of his family, was not told that he would shortly die. He lived a full year and-a-half, happy with his wife, taking vacations and enjoying life with his family. Did the perception that he could live on, affect his thinking, behavior and subsequent happiness with his family?
These same principals may also be applied to the addict/alcoholic in his/her recovery. Many addicts/alcoholics are told or taught to perceive themselves as sick and that they may relapse at any time. Is this truth or only a perception that is being taught by others who have been taught to perceive themselves in this same way? When I hear addicts/alcoholics say statements such as, “I’m sick, but it’s ok? I only think of how they were taught to perceive themselves and how their thinking has shaped their view of themselves and subsequent behavior. In accepting this perceived truth, it is no wonder that relapse occurs over and over again.
When we teach patients to change their perceptions through perception therapy, addiction relapse does not have to occur or get in the way of recovery. People can live happy, healthy lives without the constant negative affirmations that they are sick, and must fear that they will relapse at any moment. This is only a perception, not a reality. Any person has the ability to change their perception, thinking, behavior and reality.
HOW TO CHANGE PERCEPTION AND PREVENT RELAPSE
1. Begin to open your mind to new concepts.
2. Question, rather than just accept what is being told.
3. Admit to new possibilities.
4. Acknowledge that not everything is either black or white, but may
be grey.
5. Understand that what you may believe to be true, may just be
someone else’s truth.
6. Adapt new ways of viewing your own specific situation.
7. Recognize that you behave in the way that you think.
8. Explore philosophies and theories that may help to change the way
you perceive.
9. Realize that what works for one, may not work for all.
10. Show willingness to recognize a change in perception when it
occurs.
Dr. Alan Meyers is the developer of Perception Therapy techniques, which have been used with addicts/alcoholics and those suffering from psycho-emotional and physical disorders. For therapists, patients or those in recovery who would like more information about Perception Therapy, they may contact Dr. Alan Meyers at International Rehabilitation Centers, Inc. by e-mail at info@jamaicarehab.com and see the I.R.C., Inc. website at www.jamaicarehab.com. Dr. Alan Meyers, Ph.D., C.C.Ht., is a Clinical Psychologist and Board Certified Diplomate in Clinical Hypnotherapy, who has successfully treated addictions and other psycho-emotional disorders for over 30 years. He is the founder and C.E.O. of the International Rehabilitation Centers, Inc., Cuernavaca, Mexico and Negril, Jamaica. He is a published author, international lecturer and has appeared on national television programs including the Oprah Winfrey Show, Lifestyles with Regis Philbin, and Hour Magazine with Gary Collins. He teaches Perception Therapy and provides recovery treatment at the I.R.C., Inc. in Cuernavaca, Mexico and Negril, Jamaica.
Dr. Alan Meyers is the developer of Perception Therapy techniques, which have been used with addicts/alcoholics and those suffering from psycho-emotional and physical disorders. For therapists, patients or those in recovery who would like more information about Perception Therapy, they may contact Dr. Alan Meyers at International Rehabilitation Centers, Inc. by e-mail at info@jamaicarehab.com and see the I.R.C., Inc. website at www.jamaicarehab.com. Dr. Alan Meyers, Ph.D., C.C.Ht., is a Clinical Psychologist and Board Certified Diplomate in Clinical Hypnotherapy, who has successfully treated addictions and other psycho-emotional disorders for over 30 years. He is the founder and C.E.O. of the International Rehabilitation Centers, Inc., Cuernavaca, Mexico and Negril, Jamaica. He is a published author, international lecturer and has appeared on national television programs including the Oprah Winfrey Show, Lifestyles with Regis Philbin, and Hour Magazine with Gary Collins. He teaches Perception Therapy and provides recovery treatment at the I.R.C., Inc. in Cuernavaca, Mexico and Negril, Jamaica.