Difference between recovery and abstinence

[youdontknow]

Ok so this was the topic the other day in my group therapy session.

I am in MMT and to me, i am not completely clean. So i said that currently im in recovery since im still using a drug, and im working up to being absinent. But the counselor there and everyone in the group disagreed with e saying that methadone wasnt an opiate and that they were all clean. In my eyes this is wrong. But to each his own.

So what are some of your guys opinions on this matter? The difference between the two.

[Dickon]

This distinction is often made in N.A., when people are said to be abstinent but not in recovery. I think the idea comes from the "dry-drunk" concept seen in A.A. Although the idea is somewhat controversial, I have had sufficient experience with (former) addicts who are abstinent but not in recovery to know what is meant. If someone quits using drugs but is still shop-lifting, dealing, manipulating people, etc. they are said to be abstinent but not in recover. In N.A. this is attributed to not working a programme/the steps, not going to meetings, not having a sponsor etc.

OK, so that was really to show how these words can be used in different ways. In NA terms you'd neither be abstinent nor in recovery! Oh well! We know you're starting your recovery, and, more importantly, you do.

Methadone is only not an opiate because it is an opioid (i.e. it's a synthetic molecule rather than a derivative of opium), so although your group could technically be seen as right they are, ignoring this technicality, wrong and you are correct. I'm sorry, but faced with hoards of the ignorant, all one can do is speak one's truth and not capitulate. It's not always worth pressing one's point.

You are definitely not abstinent. Even in a methadone-friendly environment someone on MMT is never said to be abstinent. The term recovery is a much vaguer thing, but I think you're way of looking at things is perfectly ok, and is far more accurate than the counselor and the group.

Take care

Dickon

[chillinwill]

Dr D said that very well and Red Rock just wanted to chime in and say that in at least his opinion, all that matters in terms if one is clean or not is YOU. It really doesn't matter what others think as long as you know what your doing is benefiting you.

Red Rock views being on buprenorphine or methadone maintenance as not technically being clean but definitely a hell of a lot better than where someone was before. For the most part, although one is still technically addicted to a drug, their lifestyle should change for the better and they will have no need to bring back old addict behavior. This creates a healthier and more positive life than if one was still stealing, lying, and shooting up multiple times a day.

[infekt]

I agree with Chillinwill, Swiy is in recovery, no doubt about it. Maybe not completely "clean", but really, what's the big deal right now? Swiy is off to a very good start.

If addiction was a disease, swiy has gotten rid of most of the symptoms: lying, cheating, stealing, etc for the dope. And I doubt swiy is really getting all that high, so therefore I don't believe swiy is chasing any sort of high anymore (though swim has never been on methadone, so he doesn't know for sure). The ONLY things swiy has not gotten rid of is the fact that he is still dependent on a chemical...swim doesn't see a HUGE problem with that, since swiy is making progress.

Swiy is in recovery, in my opinion. My best wishes.