Freedom From Addiction

This phrase, freedom from addiction, is trite and cliché, but it became so because those who’ve recovered from addiction appreciate freedom in ways many take for granted. Commonly, one hears people in recovery talk with passion about the freedom they feel now that they’re no longer locked in by addiction.

When a person wakes up obsessed with a drug, and the obsession takes up all their mental and emotional energy, that person is not free. When an alcoholic has painful physical complications because there’s no alcohol in his body, this person is not free.

Addiction gradually takes control of the person’s life and everything begins to revolve around the drug. A drug addict might want to settle down and become responsible, but the addiction continues to lead her to risky places and circumstances, eventually leading to legal, relationship, work, and health problems.

The alcoholic might have good intentions, wanting to advance at work, be a good dad, a good community member, a loyal husband, etc, but alcoholism drives the person to ruin and disgrace. It’s an old story, still happening every day in millions of lives across the world. To free oneself from this slavery to a drug is a big deal.

Alcoholics Anonymous has open meetings, usually speaker meetings, that the public can attend. If you want to understand what recovery is and how people free themselves from addiction, you can attend some of these meetings and listen to why recovery is celebrated and talked about with such passion. It might give you a new appreciation of and perspective on freedom.

At NewDay we celebrate recovery, and we support community efforts to improve community resources to enable recovery to happen. Recovery from addiction is more than getting the drug out of the system — it requires a total rebuilding, a personal transformation. It’s amazing to watch this transformation happen — it’s truly an experience of freedom.