Recovery Tips and Advice for Professionals
Your career is important to you. You’ve worked for it, literally, and now you’re afraid all the years you put into it are at risk of ending because of an addiction disorder. Certain professions that have been known to drive employees to abuse drugs or alcohol run the gamut from restaurants to investment banking. While no job is more important than another, this article is tailored to professionals and executives who are seeking help for substance abuse without negatively impacting their careers. So here are some tips and advice to get you started, presented courtesy of Sophisticated Cloud.
Signs and Symptoms
The demands that workaholic cultures place on their staff can be intense. Because of this, some employees choose to use drugs (ranging from caffeine to illicit substances) to shoulder the pressures of 12-hour days. When you have a good job and your savings are going up, it can sometimes be difficult to see that there’s any problem. But one of the signs that your life may be slipping beyond your control is your relationships outside of work suffer. Other worrisome symptoms include nausea, abrupt weight loss, agitation, blackouts and vomiting.
Before Rehab
Many people who do drugs for long enough eventually have a realization that they need to quit. If you’re in this position, consider these steps to smooth the transition from your career either into rehab or into a detox program. Although it may be difficult, explain to your boss or manager that you need to take time off. The degree to which you reveal why you need time off is up to you. But if you have a strong relationship with your supervisor, it’s good to be honest. Also, find out whether your insurance plan covers the rehab program that you’re interested in.
Finding Treatment
If you experience a relapse, don’t waste time with self-criticism. Instead, be proactive and start looking into your options for treatment help in the area. There are likely a variety of addiction treatment centers in your area, so in addition to checking costs and reviews, check their treatment options and philosophies. The goal is to find a center that works best for your situation and personality.
During Rehab
While you’re in rehab, you’ll mostly be going through the detox process and also sleeping a lot. But depending on the length of your stay, you may recover enough to get antsy. If so, there’s nothing wrong with keeping busy. So, paint, or journal, or try running a few miles a day. What you decide to do doesn’t matter so long as it keeps your mind occupied. Also, reach out to any personal or professional contacts that may have been damaged while you were actively using drugs to make amends and reconnect.
After Rehab
What comes next? Asking yourself that may be the most daunting part of the recovery process. But you should face whether your career was so high-risk/high-reward that it pushed you into addiction. If so, don’t be afraid to switch career paths. In the long run, it will pay off. For now, you should decide whether and how to open up about your addiction in your next interview. You could also mention it in your CV, in your cover letter, after you’ve been hired and everyone likes you – or not at all.
Whatever you decide, be prepared to encounter some stigma throughout the hiring process. But also keep in mind, the law is on your side. The Americans with Disabilities Act bars employers from discriminating against people who have had substance abuse problems but who aren’t currently on drugs.
You may decide that, following your recovery, you’d like to start your own business. Of course, this can be a very daunting task, especially when you’ve just completed your recovery program. Although you may be tempted to do everything on your own, it’s important to maintain work-life balance so that you don’t put too much pressure on yourself. Instead, outsource tasks whenever possible. If you’re interested in starting an LLC and how this structure could work for your business, get in touch with a formation service. Not only can they save you money on attorney fees, but they’re also easy to use and efficient. Business ownership is tough, regardless of your situation, so take advantage of services and software that can take a bit of the weight off your shoulders.
Work often anchors us to a schedule and provides us with an important trajectory that we can follow through our adult lives. But work can also spike our blood pressure and push us to self-medicate our stress. So embrace your career – but don’t sacrifice your health for it. If you experience problems with drugs, seek treatment at once. After that, believe in yourself and take it one day at a time.
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