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TTU ADRS 2310 Six Essentials to Acheive Lasting Recovery Book Summary
TTU ADRS 2310 Six Essentials to Acheive Lasting Recovery Book Summary
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Book Summary: Six Essentials to Achieve Lasting RecoveryOne of the very first things that I observed in the layout of the book, was that the chapters
were chronologically in alignment with how the progression of recovery usually takes place. At
first, all that you have is the hope that life can be better than what it is now. Then after learning
some healthier coping skills, we become empowered to reclaim our lives. We then understand
that we are worthy of achieving and accomplishing much more than we originally thought
possible. From there, we find that we are capable of meaningful relationships with the right
people in our lives. At this point, we have rebuilt our identities into the individuals that we want
to become and have reclaimed our rightful place in society and to be able to stand on our own
two feet. After reading the book Six Essentials to Achieve Lasting Recovery by Dr. Sterling T.
Shumway, it was very refreshing to discover that the principles for achieving lasting recovery
were not so different from my own personal journey of re-discovery.
Hope emerges when you become aware that living is an option. For those of you who
have fallen off the edge and have found the cold, hard bottom of addiction – short of dying – you
realize there is nowhere to go but up (Shumway & Kimball, 2012, p.9). There is a certain
gratification and freedom in hitting rock bottom and realizing that you have nothing else left to
lose. We have been presented with a situation that forces us to take a different path in life, and if
we do not make a change to our way of living, we will surely endure a lifetime of misery or
death. Hope is the realization that we have the choice to live a different life than the familiar
torment that we have put ourselves through. It is the prospect of hope that changes the question
from if to how we can change our lives for the better. In order to make the necessary changes
toward recovery, the individual must truly want to make a change in the first place. Without truly
accepting change and admitting that we are powerless over our addiction, the transformation will
cease to take place and we will eventually revert to our old ways.
Without learning a new set of skills to be able to handle life on life’s terms, we are bound
to return to our old ways. The first skill that must be mastered is accepting that we cannot do this
by ourselves. We require accountability and support to be able to progress further. However,
learning to trust ourselves, and then another person goes against anything that we have ever
known until that point. Trust must grow before we will allow ourselves to be held accountable by
anyone. In our addiction, we experienced little trust, some paranoia, and monumental
stubbornness – all supported by the denial of addiction (Shumway & Kimball, 2012 p.35). We
must then learn to set healthy boundaries and realize that we are able to say “no” when it is
necessary for our recovery. It is also at this stage, that we must learn to be able to identify the
emotions. Also, by learning to eat healthier, getting the right amount of sleep, and managing our
shame, it is much easier to manage healthy coping skills. If we do not learn how to properly take
care of ourselves and address our emotions, we will never be able to take pride in recognizing
our achievements and accomplishments.
When we are active in our addiction, we are unable to accept that we have anything of
value, and that we are incapable of becoming a better person who can make greater achievements
or accomplishments. We have become so used to failure at this point, that any success at all can
cause anxiety and hinder us from being able to progress further. The example that Dr. Shumway
gives in the reading is very similar to my own experience in returning to school to continue to
work on my degree. At first, it felt like I did not deserve the opportunity to return to school to
obtain a degree because of the mistakes that I had made in the past. Had I not utilized what was
learned in recovery, I would not have been able to overcome that irrational thought and would
not have continued my education. By replacing the shame and negativity with positive self-talk, I
was able to replace the “perhaps” in my thinking and enrolled in back in school. It was also the
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