Cleaning House: It’s Time To Get Clean & Sober With Dr. Harry

Spring is here! The earth is being given new life and slowly coming out of the cold and gray months with a return to warmth and bright colors everywhere. “Spring cleaning” when it come to recovery from addiction, is a renewal of the body, mind, and spirit; it is a way of celebrating an appreciation for our world and those in it, and banishing isolation and addiction

Getting clean and sober from an addiction to drugs or alcohol is one of the best things that you can do for yourself and your family, however it’s no easy task.  In fact, thinking about cleaning up the “wreckage of your past” is scary. When people are in active addiction the chaos and effects-although sometimes unintentional- are often widespread. Once people get clean and sober, those messes don’t just magically disappear; it takes a little house cleaning to make things right.

The expression “cleaning house” when it comes to addiction recovery comes from AA Alcoholics Anonymous. While participating in a 12-step program of recovery maintenance, people continue to do personal house cleaning because they realize that having conflicts with themselves, people, situations and the world they live in will surely put their sobriety at risk.

Whether you are a part of AA, another 12-step program, or any type of addiction treatment, there will always be things that you have to take care of in order to further yourself in recovery.

The onset of spring and everything that it stands for – renewal, rebirth, and growth – makes it the perfect time to consider making room for sobriety in your life! In order to take in new things, we often have to make space by letting go of the things that no longer work for us. Spring-cleaning helps recovering addicts embark on a new life with a more consistent conscious contact with the highest portion of their being and fulfilling their true potential.

Recovery From Addiction: Trust (God), Clean House, Help Others

One of the first steps to getting clean and sober is for an addicted person to accept the fact that their addiction is beyond their control. With that admission comes another realization, which is that the old way of doing things simply isn’t working. Recovery from addiction does not end there however.

Even after a short time in sobriety, as human beings we naturally suffer a loss of patience, tolerance, and good will at times.  Even though the tendency towards negativity or acting out on character defects becomes less, we still have temptations towards selfishness, dishonesty, resentment and fear.

We feel wonderful when our literal house is clean, so the same thing holds for a little spiritual cleaning too! A lot of people who work the AA Alcoholics Anonymous spiritual principles for their sobriety believe it can be boiled down to this: Trust (God), Clean House, and Help Others. By taking these actions we are allowing for ego deflation, so that compassionate actions based on a spiritual consciousness can increasingly predominate in our lives.

Doing a little bit of spring cleaning is a great way to keep “our side of the street clean” so that when things like resentments, grudges, judgments, criticisms, jealousies and anger start stinking up our thinking, we have a way to cope. Alternately there is also “cleaning up” after yourself as you go along, with daily inventory, getting and staying honest, removing defects and making amends, to name a few.

As you clean away the things that no longer serve you in recovery, remember to replace them with things that are!

Tips On “Cleaning House” In Recovery With Dr. Harry

The 12 Steps of AA Alcoholics Anonymous has changed so much for alcoholics the world over.  This spiritual program and all of it’s sister 12 Step fellowships allows for a supportive group of peers all working toward the same goal- to launch a new and improved life of “vigorous action”.  Sober.

So how do you do that? How do you clean up the wreckage of your past?

It is suggested in this successful program of recovery to do some personal housecleaning, which most of us had never attempted to do before. This amazing opportunity to right our wrongs by “cleaning house” entails doing things like taking a personal inventory of ourselves and our actions and practicing estimable acts. Here are six tips on how you can “Clean House” in recovery:

• Write it out: Write down on paper the people you feel you have harmed (or who wronged you), what happened, what it affected, and most importantly, your part in it. This is done to keep the recovering addict responsible and accountable, and to assist with making amends, and being free from the bondage of guilt and remorse.
• Practice “Self-Care”: Take care of your health and your body. With enough practice this will all become a new habit, but in early recovery from addictions we may have lost priorities for some essential self care practices. Make sure that you eat a balanced diet, drink enough water, get enough sleep and keep clean- literally! Good hygiene and taking care of your physical self will help you feel better.
• Check-ups: See your doctors and dentists. Don’t skip out on appointments. Always let your providers know that you are in recovery from addiction.
• If you have legal issues, deal with them: Face any legal issues sooner rather than later. Ask for help, be honest and try not to create any more legal issues- if your license has been suspended, don’t drive.
• When it comes to cleaning house in recovery try to remember that it’s important to “ suit up, and show up”. Although taking care of business is often overwhelming, more often than not, the anticipation of having to deal with them is far worse than the consequences you will have to endure.
• Restore damaged relationships and create new healthier ones: when we get clean and sober we likely have damaged and lost relationships that can potentially be restored. Make amends for your behavior/money owed/hurt you have caused, show that you are sober (words alone don’t work) and practice acceptance and patience. Healing from addiction takes time for everyone involved

Clean House With A Concierge Addiction Specialist: Dr. Harry Haroutunian

Cleaning house is about being able to achieve a higher quality of consistent sobriety. When we clean house we are allowing for a fresh new start of peace, love, surrender, and all the possibilities that come with long lasting sobriety.

Addictions of any kind are too challenging to overcome alone, and for most of us not getting clean and sober is a death sentence. There are many major benefits to having a concierge addiction specialist help you to get clean and sober. Dr. Harry offers concierge drug and alcohol treatment that is uniquely crafted to each persona as an individual.

Other inpatient or outpatient treatment facilities or programs follow rigid schedules with a one size fits all spectrum of care. With a concierge addiction specialist like Dr. harry you can have tailored, flexible, personalized, drug and addiction treatment in a comfortable and safe environment.

Getting addiction treatment for any substance abuse is just a click away. Reach out to Dr. Harry and take that first step at cleaning house today.