The following is the keynote speech delivered by Cebu’s Dr. Pureza Trinidad Onate during
RBR Cebu’s First Reunion.
Let me read you a testimonial of a reformed person who went through a valid and well planned treatment program:
“pgp first two times I went to treatment when I got home I was overjoyed, euphoric, I was on cloud nine. I exclaimed – I finally lick my addiction to drugs (particularly shabu and of course my very bad alcohol habit)!
I went to rehabilitation because I could not stop doing the same patterns in my life all over and over again on my own, right? Obviously, psychosocial rehabilitation centers specialize in helping people, so I might do well to actually take their suggestions and follow through with them.
The first two times I went to treatment, I did not do this. For example, they suggested I go to long term treatment, and I refused. In shunning their advice, I ended up relapsing very quickly after leaving both of those rehabilitation programs. The last treatment center I went to, I did take their suggestions, and followed their recommended treatment plan to a “tee, ” to the letter as they say. I have been clean and sober ever since. ”
The biggest stumbling block for most of us, oould be when we ask ourselves this question – Why and How come we allow other people to decide how we should live our life? A good number of us believe we should be the most qualified person to make decisions about our life. Turns out this is not the case, because we continued to slowly put our persons, ourselves in unknowing abandon with repetitive unpleasant and dreadful behavior including drugs and alcohol use when we are left to our own devices. Amazingly enough, when we started taking advice from others, our life started to get a whole lot better-and a whole new world of self-determination and freedom is opened up to us. Perhaps it still puzzles many of us that this could come from letting other people suggest how we should live our lives. We become bewildered that the more we give up control the freer we become of our once upon a time rotten selves.
The length of time we have spent in the residential treatment program is a drop in the bucket compared to the number of years we expect to live in this wholesome world, and please do not expect to live “happily ever after” – without some serious follow up after your stay in rehabilitation program. Recovery is a life long process. Healing is a continuous process. Therefore, any recommended after care that they suggest to us should be taken seriously and approached with eagerness and zest.
This is the number one most effective form of aftercare, and I believe it is anyone and everyone’s best shot at maintaining long term sobriety and a happier life. This should be especially inviting to you if you have been to drug rehab before and failed to stay clean or if you had been in psychiatric treatment and refused maintenance medications as an out patient.
We must approach our aftercare manner in every aspect that we need to re-establish inner harmoriy and find our place in our family and community. Mental Disorder is a holistic disease that affects every aspect of our lives. It afTects our health and our bodies over the long term and degrades our physical quality of life. For example, the incredible boost that you get if you exercise vigorously every day, stop smoking cigarettes, stop taking alcohol and other addictive sub'stances, and start eating a healthier diet. It we do all 3 of these things then that is part of a holistic approach to recovery, yet how many people would suggest this in traditional recovery circles? Who are the winners? The winners are the people in recovery who are actively creating a new life for themselves. They are definitely not whining and complaining. Instead, they take action. They create.
There is a lot of depth to the holistic approach and you can examine and make changes in every area of your life, including mental, emotional. social, and spiritual aspects.
There are two powers of the human soul – the self-searching and the self-forming power. According to him we must know ourselves our negative as well as the positive aspects of our nature. We must sincerely look for them within ourselves and accept ourselves as we really are. Without self-awareness or self-searching we will not become aware of the work needed to be done. How we can make progress and build up our strength within ourselves?
When our self-searching has pulled us through then and only then can we resolve to our self-forming power. When a man looks into himself, he discovers desires, appetites, passions, which terminate in himself, which crave and seek his own interest, gratification, distinction; then he realizes these make happen another principle, an antagonist to these, which is impartial, disinterested, universal, enjoining on him a regard to the rights and happiness of other beings, and laying on him obligations which must be discharged, cost what they may, or however they may clash with his particular pleasure or gain.
Let us thank God for what has been gained. But let us not think everything has been gained. Let us feel that we have only started in the race. How much remains to be done! As I earlier mentioned renewal, recuperation, or healing is a lifelong process for all of us.
