“Healing takes courage, and we all have courage, even if we have to dig a little to find it.”
– Tori Amos
Balancing high-pressure careers with alcohol recovery takes courage, and it can often feel like you are alone in that journey. Keep in mind that you are not alone. In 2020, 7.3% of people who made over $125,000 in California participated in regular, heavy alcohol consumption. This was the highest percentage of all of the household incomes.
At Pacific Sands, we know that balancing high-pressure careers with alcohol recovery can be challenging, and we want to help you find a way that will make it easier.
The Tightrope Between Your Career and Alcohol Recovery
Both your career and your alcohol use disorder recovery will require your time and energy. Finding the right balance between the two can be challenging, depending on your job. If you are a pilot, recovery may look like ensuring you are in town during your appointments and support group meetings. This might mean taking time off and setting work/life boundaries with your supervisors. Communication is key.
With any career, communication will be vital to the success of your recovery. You don’t have to give your supervisors every detail of your life. However, by being honest and discussing with them, they can help you understand the policies. It also allows everyone to better understand expectations and what will help ensure your success.
How Work Stress and Alcohol Recovery Affect Each Other
It can be challenging to be in a high-pressure career and undergo alcohol recovery. Many stressors come with your job that can result in you wanting to return to use. In a recent study, researchers found that people who were recovering from an alcohol use disorder were more likely to experience cravings at night after experiencing a stressor during the day.
You won’t be able to avoid all stressors for the rest of your life. In fact, many of them may be regular occurrences in your career. This doesn’t mean that you aren’t able to do your job. When you develop a support system and healthy coping skills, often found in treatment, these can help make the daily stressors of your career more manageable. They will also prevent you from returning to use.
Common Stressors in High-Pressure Careers: What to Do About Them
Experiencing these stressors can make you more likely to return to use when it comes to your alcohol use disorder. Understanding what stressors you could encounter daily in your career and discovering how you can fix them can help you better manage your recovery. Below are examples of everyday stressors for a lawyer, and ways they can experience these without turning to alcohol.
| Stressors | Examples of Stressors in a Law Career | Things to Do Instead of Drinking Alcohol |
|---|---|---|
| Excessive Workload | Having 9 clients that require your attention | Learn to say no, establish work/life boundaries, prioritize, seek support, take a short walk to destress |
| Interpersonal Conflicts | Getting into an argument with a fellow lawyer or client | Compromise, stay calm, actively listen, use distress tolerance skills such as healthy distractions and self-soothing |
| Long Hours | Working 60 to 70 hours in a week | Exercise, journaling, positive thinking, keeping a healthy diet, keeping a consistent sleep schedule, take regular breaks |
| Lack of Support | Not having someone in your law firm who understands your experiences or is unwilling to accommodate your journey. | Build a support network, attend a support group specifically for lawyers, continue to grow your coping skills, set achievable goals and work towards them |
| Tight Deadlines | Picking up a client whose deadline for filing documents to the court is sooner than normal | Break tasks into smaller steps, delegate tasks if possible, take breaks, seek support, reward yourself with something that is not alcohol like a piece of your favorite pie or a new pair of shoes |
In the above chart, the examples can easily be translated into examples for several high-pressure careers. For example, an excessive workload for a physician may be seeing 20 clients in a day. For a pilot, an interpersonal conflict might be having a stressful argument with your co-pilot, flight attendant, or passenger. No matter the career, many of the advice options are still beneficial.
How to Balance Your Career and Alcohol Use Disorder Recovery
When it comes to your alcohol use disorder recovery and career, maintaining a proper balance is essential. It is possible to do both at the same time. However, some things to keep in mind will make it more successful.
Remembering to take care of yourself is one of the most critical aspects of recovery. This includes attending appointments, building healthy habits, and taking time off work if necessary. For some, this might be challenging. If you have spent your whole life putting others first, making that shift, at least in your personal life, can feel complicated. However, this is essential. It guarantees you will have time for your appointments, mental health, support group meetings, and every other aspect of your recovery.
It is also essential to seek support both in your workplace and outside of it. Having at least 1 person you can turn to while at work who understands what you are going through can be vital to your recovery. It gives you someone who you can talk to when the stressors of your career result in cravings for alcohol. They can keep you accountable.
Alcohol Use Disorder Resources for Professionals in California
Reaching the point where you are ready to return to your career can take some time and support. If you have been instructed by an organization above you to receive treatment for an alcohol use disorder or if you are deciding to find recovery on your own, treatment at an alcohol rehab is your first step.
There are many resources in California for professionals with alcohol use disorders. Depending on your career, there may be a state-run organization designed to help guide you through the process that is in compliance with your Board or Bar. These are not treatment programs. Some of these are:
- The Lawyer Assistance Program (LAP) is a state-run program in California that monitors lawyers to ensure they complete the requirements that allow them to continue practicing law.
- The California Recovery Program is the main state-run program connected to eight healthcare professional licensing boards. It provides caseworkers who ensure medical professionals comply with the boards as they complete their treatment.
- The Intervention Program is specifically for registered nurses (RNs) who have substance use or mental health disorders. They behave the same way as the California Recovery Program, only with RNs in mind.
- The Pharmacist Recovery Program is for pharmacists. Like the previous organizations, it works with pharmacists to ensure their compliance with treatment processes.
Having support that you can lean on is also essential to ensuring your success in recovery, and being around fellow professionals can allow you to feel like you are not alone. Attending a 12-step group is one way to connect, but not the only way.
Below are a few organizations targeted to different careers that can help people find support in their recovery journey. Participating in one can help you feel less alone. None of these are treatment programs, nor should they replace the need for them.
- Other Bar is a California-based support group that is designed specifically for California lawyers, judges, and law students with substance use disorders, including alcohol.
- The Lawyer Well-Being Project is a California-based project developed by the Los Angeles County Bar Association. It aims to provide tailored resources for lawyers with substance use and mental health disorders to help them maintain their emotional, social, physical, spiritual, occupational, and intellectual health.
- International Lawyers in Alcoholics Anonymous (ILAA) is a support group that follows the teachings of AA. It is specifically designed with lawyers, judges, law students, and other legal professionals in mind.
- International Doctors in Alcoholics Anonymous (IDAA) is specifically for doctors across the United States and internationally. These conferences are great for connecting healthcare providers who have experienced an alcohol use disorder.
- Nurse Support Group is a California-based support group for nurses who have had a substance use disorder. This support group helps many nurses in California develop a support system they can lean on during their recovery.
Balancing Work and Alcohol Use Disorder Recovery Is Possible at Pacific Sands Recovery
Initially, recovery will take up all your time, but that period doesn’t last forever. You will be able to balance your work life with your alcohol recovery journey. It will take some work, but at Pacific Sands, we teach you the skills needed to find success in balancing both. Our primary therapist is here 50 hours a week to empower you to discover how.
At Pacific Sands, our facility is solution-focused. We have a 6-client maximum which allows us to work with you as an individual as we help you discover how you can balance your career and recovery together. To learn more, call us at 949-426-7962.
Pacific Sands – The first step towards a new life.
