The View from Room 90
Many people in the addiction field think that education and intellect make it harder to get and stay sober. Although it is true that intellectual people tend to talk more and look for scientific solutions to sobriety, the actual problems are not much different from anyone else’s problems. Individual needs may warrant more time in treatment but the education and discipline of the person is not important. The more someone avoids the basic problem of not drinking or using narcotics, the more time it takes for them to actually address the addiction and not “issue man”.
Some professionals should plan on more time in treatment than other professionals, but I have never seen a profession that has any more effect on sobriety than a spouse. Spouses do not cause addictions but they are convenient for blame. Egos may be larger in one profession than another but all professions have egos and addiction problems. Recovery is about the work that a person does and the honesty that is expressed in that work. I would question a test of humility that did not include working with others for no gain like the work that is done in 12 Step programs. The spiritual solution is about more than intellect or education.
Several years ago, I was at a professional meeting of military men who proudly said their addiction rate was only 5% because that is the percent of people with problems caught at their gate checks. I am someone that was missed by similar gate checks, so I do not always agree with statistics when there is information to the contrary. In my experience, I don’t think gate checks make addiction in the military any less or any more than any other profession.
-Doug Coffey
(Source: lahacienda.com)
