A Caterpillar has to go through a painful process to become a butterfly. Squeezing and struggling its way through and out of a cocoon is extremely difficult and excruciating. This process is vital to its survival as a butterfly. As the butterfly makes its way out, the small opening strips away a coating on the butterfly’s wings that makes it possible for it to fly, thrive and be free. If someone is wanting to save this creature the suffering of their process, and cuts the opening bigger to “help”, it would cause the beautiful butterfly to die.
Co Dependency can be quite similar to this when it comes to enabling an addict or alcoholic. The good intention is to help and to save their loved one from suffering and to some how be supportive. The problem with this , is that addict / alcoholics need their consequences to help them to see the truth about their using and to experience the loss of this terrible disease. Much like the butterfly an addict / alcoholic needs to experience some suffering, struggle and pain to hit their bottom. Suffering some consequences and seeing the truth about their problem is the first step towards recovery. Once they are here, then loved ones can come in to offer support. This “window of opportunity” is sometimes short and small and needs to be acted upon as quickly as possible. If help isn’t available soon enough then, quite often the addict sees that bottom as “just another bad day”
Once in treatment, the healing process can begin. It doesn’t fall out of the sky or happen overnight. It takes time and effort and willingness. In the right treatment centre and under the right conditions transformation begins to happen.
Not all addicts and alcoholics are the same. Length of time in treatment is detrimental to the success of their recovery. The length of time is determined by the length of use, the degree of underlying issues, age and motivation. We see the best results with a 90 day plan and statistics support this as well. If you or a loved one is struggling with this terrible disease and have questions, feel free to call us. We are here to help.