April is National Alcohol Awareness Month - for EA professionals, this is an ideal time to reflect on steps that we can take as EA professionals to help our clients struggling with alcoholism and drug addiction, reap the full benefits of recovery.

An estimated 5 to 10 percent of Americans are addicted to alcohol and/or other drugs, and poly substance abuse is now the norm.

Undoubtedly, you are aware that alcoholism and drug addiction are deadly diseases with devastating consequences. You are also familiar with the fact that untreated alcoholics and addicts eventually suffer adverse health consequences, often dying decades before their time.

However, you may not know that millions of people in recovery – perhaps the majority – also shortchange themselves of years, even decades, of joyful living as a direct result of nicotine addiction, compulsive overeating, junk food addiction and/or other self-destructive behaviors.

These unhealthy lifestyle patterns can also play a major role in setting the stage for clients to relapse. Fortunately, the converse is also true, as a growing body of evidence suggests that a wellness-oriented lifestyle can make a significant contribution to relapse prevention.

Recovery pitfalls associated with unhealthy lifestyle patterns include:
• Failing to build a strong nutritional foundation for lasting recovery
• Succumbing to the perils of nicotine addiction – the leading cause of death among people in recovery
• Lapsing into other “substitute addictions”, including sexual addiction, caffeine addiction and compulsive workaholism.

These unhealthy lifestyle choices conspire to undermine client sobriety, and can block them from experiencing the full benefits of recovery.

The good news is that a healthy lifestyle and recovery go hand in hand. Here are some strategies that EA professionals can incorporate into their work with clients to help them integrate healthy lifestyles into their recovery programs.

• Help your clients incorporate a solid nutritional foundation into their recovery – Because alcohol and sugar have similar chemical properties, people entering recovery have a strong tendency to overindulge in candies, pastries and other sweets. This can trigger severe spikes and subsequent “crashes” in blood sugar level, which can intensify the mood swings and irritability commonly experienced in early sobriety.

People in recovery generally require special coaching in transitioning to a healthy, whole-foods-based diet that is fully supportive of lasting sobriety. I generally advise clients to follow the “3 + 3 rule” and eat three small, nutritious meals daily, interspersed with three nutritious snacks.

This eating pattern helps normalize blood sugar levels, promoting maximum energy and alertness throughout the day. A nutritionist with experience in working with people in recovery can be an excellent adjunct referral resource to help your clients keep on track.

• Break the cycle of nicotine addiction – The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism reports that approximately 70 percent of alcoholics smoke more than one pack of cigarettes a day.

Unfortunately, the majority of alcoholics carry their smoking behavior over into recovery, and nicotine addiction is the leading cause of death among people in recovery.

Working in the addictions field, I have sadly witnessed the untimely deaths of far too many friends and associates who painstakingly worked their programs, only to succumb to the deadly consequences of cigarette smoking.

While some residential programs offer voluntary smoking cessation tracks, most are reluctant to fully address nicotine addiction during primary treatment.

Generally, they rationalize that they are afraid of overwhelming patients with too many issues at one time. Every smoker who enters into recovery needs to determine when he or she will be ready to confront their nicotine addiction.

Generally speaking, I believe that people should be strongly encouraged to commit to smoking cessation sometime during their first two years of sobriety.

Statistically, the average smoker cuts a full 13 years off their life expectancy. As an EA professional, you can perform an invaluable life-saving intervention by confronting your clients with their addiction to nicotine, and helping them formulate a strategy for quitting. If you are a former smoker, you can serve as a role model by sharing your own struggles in kicking the habit.

Appropriate referral resources include Nicotine Anonymous, toll-free stop smoking help lines, physicians familiar with the special needs of people in recovery, and low-cost stop smoking classes offered by the American Cancer Society, American Lung Association and many health plans.

• Other Avenues for Wellness Intervention – EA counselors are encouraged to be on the lookout for “teachable moments” when they can support recovering clients in adopting a healthy lifestyle.

Examples include: encouraging regular exercise, discovering and embracing one’s unique sense of purpose for being on this planet, and nurturing a support system that is fully conducive to promoting sustained sobriety and healthy living.

Regular exercise is especially helpful in grounding clients in their sobriety, as it facilitates the body’s production of endorphins – the chemical messengers that trigger the pleasure centers in the brain, producing a natural drug-free high.

Exercise also provides an effective vehicle for releasing day-to-day stresses, and a growing body of evidence attests to the value of exercise in safeguarding against relapse.

• Utilizing Referral Resources to Support Healthy Lifestyles – EAPs are encouraged to evaluate treatment programs in terms of the degree to which they incorporate wellness programming that is supportive of sobriety maintenance.

In laying a solid foundation for early recovery, treatment staffs should emphasize the critical importance of sound nutrition, regular exercise, adequate rest and acquiring basic stress management skills.

During the posttreatment follow-up phase, EAPs are encouraged to fully utilize community referral resources to support healthy lifestyle choices. These resources include: company-sponsored fitness programs, health education programs offered by employees’ health plans, healthy nutrition classes, yoga and meditation centers, and wellness programs offered by community colleges and other adult learning centers.

To conclude, there are many avenues available to support recovering clients in actively pursuing a healthy lifestyle.

By following this path, you will be adding an exciting new dimension to your skills as an EA professional, while simultaneously helping your clients fully embrace the many benefits of life in recovery.

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John Newport, Ph.D., CEAP, is a member of the Pacific Northwest EAPA chapter, and author of The Wellness-Recovery Connection: Charting Your Pathway to Optimal Health While Recovering from Alcoholism and Drug Addiction (Health Communications, Inc.,
2004).

For more information on wellness and recovery, visit his website
www.wellnessandrecovery.com.