At The Ho Tai Way – Recovery for Women, we firmly believe you have what you need inside you to find lasting recovery. We’ve said this over and over again. It is the core philosophy of our program. But going through the process is work. We function as guides through your recovery transition.
Before a Transition Begins, There is an Ending
Life has transitions — happy ones and sad ones. With happy transitions, we tend to focus on the new life that’s beginning: A graduation is a new start, a new job is a great opportunity, a wedding is a whole new stage of life. In unhappy traditions, we see the ending: a death, a job loss, or a divorce.
Beginnings come after endings. Both are an important part of life. The ending brings grief, and the beginning comes after. In between–there’s a neutral time.
Years from now, you’ll look back at entering treatment and see it as a beginning to a new stage of your life. Right now, you probably see it as an ending.
Something happened that made you look at your life and say “it’s time to do something,” but you’ll have losses. You’ll lose friends. You might have lost your job or your family. Right now, you’re dealing with loss.
The phases of transition: The Ending Stage
According to William Bridges, author of Transitions, Making Sense of Life’s Changes, transition starts with a death. Maybe not a literal death of someone you love–but definitely something that makes you distance yourself from something that has mattered to you.
This is the Ending Stage. The Ending comes before the Beginning.
You could be feeling anything from some level of regret to deep depression or panic. That’s normal. You’ll grieve the loss of this part of your life because even if you’re not getting something out of your addiction now, you got something out of it–or you never would’ve become addicted.
Part of your treatment will be about processing grief.
The Neutral Zone: The Space In Between
In the second season of Doctor Who (new Doctor Who, not old Doctor Who), the Doctor, Rose, and Mickey traveled to a parallel universe where Rose’s dad was alive, but everything was getting taken over by Cybermen. Between the two parallel universes, there was a void–a space in between that had to be passed through. I always think of that when I think of The Neutral Zone.
You have to go through the Neutral Zone
To a great extent, that’s what acute treatment is. It’s a time between the ending and your new start. If you are in a residential treatment center like The Ho Tai Way – Recovery for Women, once you are through detox, our work is about the Neutral Phase.
“We need this time the way an apple tree needs the Winter,” William Bridges writes.
You’ll face the messages that come up in the quiet, deal with the things that you’ve been avoiding. And we’ll help you do that. You won’t be alone.
You might think you can avoid this phase, but if you rush through it, you’ll find yourself needing to face it again later. Stay here a while, build your self-awareness. This will give your recovery the foundation that it needs.
Stage 3: A New Beginning
As you end your time in the Neutral Zone, your thoughts will start gravitating toward the future. You won’t be able to help it.
Stage 3 is the most visible because it is the beginning of something new. It’s what you’ll remember most about your treatment process. You’ll start envisioning what the rest of your life will be like, and together with your family–we’ll start putting together strategies for encountering life after treatment.
- You’ll develop strategies for encountering and avoiding triggers.
- You’ll determine what new skills you’ll need.
- You’ll evaluate your key relationships and plan if and how you’ll move forward.
The Ho Tai Way – Recovery for Women, We’ll Walk with You through This Process
Our treatment program will navigate you through this process. We’ll engage both your mind and your spirit as you learn new ways of relating to the world and start planning for life after drugs or alcohol.
Give us a call at (714) 881-8931 or use our contact form here so you can started on your recovery.
