Moving Through Breakdowns With Transformation

Success in recovery, or rather, staying in recovery, ismind. Within a breakdown the story will be other
dependent upon a variety of factors. For example, itoriented, involving external people, places, things,
appears that attending daily NA or AA meetings andcircumstance or situations. Within the structure of the
staying in communication with ones chosen sponsorstory, inherent to it, will be the belief that the external
will definitely assist an individual in successfullyevents are the real or true cause of how the person is
implementing his recovery plan. Getting and stayingfeeling. It is with these thoughts that the breakdown
committed to working the 12 Step Program alsoand inauthentic way of being exists, a pretense that it
appears to increase the probability of the personis about another, hiding what it is truly about. As
staying abstinent from drugs and alcohol. While thementioned above, blame and resentment will eventually
above-mentioned elements of a persons overallresult. Becoming present to the story is vital if one is
recovery plan are crucial to his recovery, anothernot to impulsively act upon it and as a result bring its
major factor that will greatly influence an individual'sdestructive consequences into existence with respect
continued abstinence is how he is able to handle theto his life. Becoming present or an observer to ones
breakdowns that happen in life.story is crucial to transforming a breakdown.
Knowing about breakdowns, what they are and howThe third component involves becoming present to
to manage them, is absolutely necessary for one toones self-limiting belief, to the source, to that which
stay committed to his recovery plan. Breakdowns areactually created the breakdown. Becoming present to
what brought an individual into treatment and eventuallyones self limiting belief, to that which has determined
created the space for him to begin his recovery.ones life up until the process of transformation began
Breakdowns also happen while a person is into take place, is the first component in the process of
treatment and will continue to take place after hetransformational counseling. Even though the distinction
leaves. Even after successfully completing a treatmentof ones self-limiting belief will create the space for the
program, breakdowns are almost certain to happen asperson to begin to create his life anew, it does not go
one returns to the community from which he came. Inaway, become fixed or get cured. The self-limiting
fact, both the client and his counselor should expectbelief, much like a virus that has appeared in the
breakdowns to occur after treatment. It is for thishuman body, continues to exist. As with any idea that
reason that knowledge of the structure ofwe have or create about us, it is also a way of being.
breakdowns and how to transform them is veryWe be or exist by what we think and more
important if not crucial for the individual wantingspecifically by what we think about ourselves. What
recovery.we are familiar with is being our self-limiting belief in the
What are breakdowns? Experientially breakdownsworld. It is familiar for us to think and feel that the world
start to occur when an event or events happen thatis more powerful and real than we are and
the individual believes should not happen or ought tofurthermore, that it is something that must be controlled
happen differently than how they take place. As aand even survived. We will eventually experience a
result the individual starts to feel frustrated, angry,breakdown given our sense of inadequacy with
disappointed or even sad about what is happening inrespect to the world as this is how we have been in
his life. Inside these types of emotions the personthe community in the past. However, once the
starts to become resentful, creating a story about theself-limiting belief is again distinguished the inauthenticity
event and to which he will eventually begin to blame,begins to weaken or be dissolved.
be it other people, places, things, situations orThe fourth component of enrollment involves creating
circumstances for that which is appearing. Aa possibility inside the breakdown experience. This act
breakdown eventuates into a relapse when theof creation can be to invent a new possibility or enroll
individual believes that his experience is intolerable,oneself back into a person's previously chosen
feels inadequate with respect as to how to handle itpossibilities. Creating possibilities for ones life is the
and chooses to use drugs or alcohol to reduce thesecond component of transformational counseling.
emotional component of that he is experiencing. In thisHowever, once we get it that we are being our self
case, a breakdown and ones inability to transform itlimiting belief, that the source of the breakdown is the
leads directly to relapse.self limiting belief and not that which the story tends
Inside the work of transformational counseling, theconvey, it is at that moment that we can generate a
process of enrollment will assist the individual inpossibility to be at that moment, a possibility to stand
becoming authentic where he was being inauthenticinside given the breakdown experience. It is by
and also allow that person to stay in his recovery.generating a possibility by our spoken word that the
Enrollment is the third component of transformationalexperience itself will transform. The breakdown only
counseling the utilization of which allows the individual tohappens because of who we are being. It is by
again move out of his self-limiting belief and back intocausing a possibility to come into existence through our
being his created possibilities. When one begins toword that the inauthentic way of being completely
experience a breakdown he has gone back into beingdissolves and with it the breakdown itself. It is with the
his self-limiting belief. Their will be the pretense of whatcreation of a possibility that the person's power and
is happening and that which is again hidden from himfreedom are once again restored.
hence the created inauthenticity. The technology of theThe final component of the enrollment technology is
enrollment process allows the individual the ability toacknowledgement. Once the experience is
transform the experience by being authentic and as atransformed it is important for a person to get the
result regaining his power and freedom through beingvictory that his possibility has made for himself and his
his possibilities. Utilization of the process of enrollmentlife, to acknowledge the difference of such a victory.
as with transformation itself is a practice that requiresAcknowledgement is about getting how the created or
a great deal of commitment. As with any skill theinvented possibility has transformed the breakdown
structure of enrollment is taught and it is infrom what it was to that which is truly a breakthrough
communication with the persons coach or evenfor the individual, especially with respect to the event
sponsor that its implementation is brought forth into theor experience occurring. Acknowledgement is about
individual's life.getting the power of our word for allowing us to
The first component of enrollment has to do withtransform breakdowns into breakthroughs, to once
recognizing when one is in a breakdown. The key toagain become our possibilities. It is this
such awareness is to be found in how the individual isacknowledgement that strengthens ones process of
feeling about what is happening in his life at any onetransformation leaving the person's power, freedom
moment. There are many times in our lives where weand self-expression fully restored. Acknowledgement
do not stop to monitor or become present to how weis about standing in ones possibility, celebrating ones
are feeling. Sometimes we have a tendency to merelypower and freedom having given up being a victim.
ignore or move away from how we are feeling aboutThe practice of enrollment will make a difference for
something or someone. Breakdowns have certainthe person wanting recovery. Applying the technology
emotions attached to their design. Those mostof enrollment will enable the person to transform a
common are emotions such as fear, anxiety, anger,breakdown when it happens and as a result avoid the
frustration and sadness. The first part of utilizing thedestructive and possibly even lethal consequences
enrollment process is to monitor ones feeling state, tothat would have happened as a result of staying in a
become present to how one is feeling and to do so tobreakdown. For the individual in recovery, staying in a
the point that it becomes part of ones very way ofbreakdown only increases the chances that he will turn
being in the world. Learning how to stay aware ofto drugs and/or alcohol to reduce the emotional
ones emotional state is crucial to being able tocomponent of a breakdown. Staying in a breakdown
successfully transform the breakdown experience thatas opposed to being able to transform tends to lead
is being created.to relapse. Clients at the Holistic Addiction Treatment
The second component has to do with becomingProgram in North Miami Beach, Florida are taught to
present to the story that the person is creating withdistinguish their self-limiting belief, create new possibilities
respect to the breakdown. While the emotional statefor their life and furthermore, how to utilize the power
of the individual is very important to become aware of,of enrollment technology. The success of utilizing
listening to the story that he is creating is also equallyenrollment and even recovery itself, especially in the
of importance. Within a conversation of transformation,early stages of sobriety, will necessitate the person
every emotion is created by a thought. When therestaying in contact with his sponsor or counselor
are negative emotions present in a person's life as heespecially when breakdowns happen. It is only in
is experiencing a breakdown there are alsocommunication with another that the individual will
corresponding thoughts taking place. The thoughts thatcontinue to be his possibilities in life.
are taking place will appear as a story in the person's