Dual Diagnosis Recovery is a Marathon, Not a Sprint.

recovery is marathon not sprint It’s marathon season here in Boston: a time of pride, perseverance, support, and inspiration. Spectators are often swept up in the camaraderie of the day, as we all feel the positivity and community support in the atmosphere. After the bombings in 2013, the 2014 marathon brings with it an even stronger feeling of camaraderie and strength.

For these reasons, we’ve realized all of the similarities between running marathons and ‘running’ on the road through recovery. We often refer to recovery as a marathon, not a sprint {listen to our podcast on this subject here}, as the two require many of the same efforts, albeit in different forms.

If you’re feeling like your recovery is a race for your own life, you’re not alone. Here are a few of the ways that the two mirror each other:

First you have to make the decision to be there.

In order to qualify for a marathon, you usually need to register for a number well in advance. While this sounds like a simple process, and the process itself is, in fact, simple, making the decision to actually register is generally the hard part. The same goes for recovery from dual disorders. Participants must make the decision to commit to their own recovery for this process to work out for the long term.

Training is crucial to success.

You can’t just show up on the day of a marathon without proper training. You might make it a couple miles, but the human body cannot go from 0 to 26.2 miles without prepping for it in advance. The same goes for recovery from addiction and mental illness. Without the proper education, resources, and daily/weekly/hourly programs, it would be incredibly difficult to have a successful recovery.

There may be a ‘Heartbreak Hill’

In Boston, ‘Heartbreak Hill’ is aptly named for an excruciating uphill climb that is made 1,000 times harder by the fact that it is placed over 20 miles into the route, and still contains 6 miles ahead of it to reach the finish line. It is a challenge, to say the least, and this is where most runners have the hardest time. But reaching the summit leaves runners within visual distance of the finish line, and the cheering crowds and live music that await them at the finish line. Reaching the summit brings with it an incredible sense of pride and accomplishment.

In recovery, you may have to climb your own personal ‘heartbreak hill’, or several of them. In dealing with dual disorders, often people are faced with serious issues such as job loss, broken relationships, loss of credibility in the community, or a host of other issues. These may be incredibly difficult, and once sober you may have an overwhelming desire to run back to your drug or drink of choice. But when you make it to the summit, and you will, you won’t believe the amazing feeling of pride and accomplishment you’ll feel, which will help propel you to that finish line.

You may fall to the back.

There is one important factor you’ll notice when viewing (or running) a marathon. Runners experience waves of energy – sometimes high and sometimes low. But as long as they recover and eventually finish the race, did it really matter if they were at the front or back of the crowd?

Relapses on the road to recovery are common. Sometimes people relapse several times before it finally ‘catches’ for them, and they’re able to hold on. As long as a person has persistence, and continues to focus on reaching their goals, they shouldn’t beat themselves up for falling back temporarily.

You need support from the sidelines.

Marathon spectators camp out for hours to provide water, hold signs of encouragement, and cheer on the runners at all points of the course. Their enthusiasm is infectious; it literally gives runners the mental energy they need to endure the course.

Dual diagnosis treatment for those with addiction and mental illness also requires a lot of support from the sidelines. However, family and friends may be overwhelmed or frustrated by past experiences, they may be angry at situations that have occurred, or they may feel like there’s just nothing left for them to do. What they can do to help is simply Be There. By encouraging the positive steps toward recovery, family and friends can play an enormous role in their loved one’s journey through all of the stages of their personal race.