What is abstinence?
Abstinence is to say no to drugs. The term abstinence means to
abstain from indulging. To demonstrate full self-restraint, self-denial.
The abstinence model of addiction takes the approach that one
must refrain from drug use completely in order to facilitate change.
For some individuals the daunting task of weaning themselves
off of drugs is too much. Attempting to regulate their use can
create a lot of pressure. For an addicted individual to simply
abandon their drug use can be overwhelming and bring on psychological
and physical distress.
In order to facilitate the structure of the abstinence model of
recovery, an individual must first develop their skills in dealing
with the daily stresses in their personal lives. Individuals need
to determine for themselves if their primary focus is on preventing
relapse, or to work on interpersonal skills to develop a sense
of personal responsibility and proactive character change. Finding
alternative diversions that are safe and healthy to fill the void
of non-drug use is imperative before trying to develop strategies
to remain drug-free.
A majority of treatment and rehabilitation programs require clients
to be drug-free (clean of drugs for a set period of time) before
they can begin their recovery program. Clients who are still in
the pre-contemplative state of their drug use, would not be accepted
into an abstinence based program.
