Q&A: Recovery Advice from an Ohio Addiction Advocate

Getting through the holidays while recovering from addiction might prove to be the toughest challenge of the year for many. Time management and coping mechanisms become that much harder to control amid the Christmas chaos.

For help getting through it all safely, Michelle Westerkamp of the Ohio Recovery Center offers insight for those in recovery and their relatives. We chatted with her about proper steps to staying healthy and clean below. Head to the bottom of the article for a list of regional recovery resources.

Handling Stress in Recovery
“At the holidays, there’s a lot of demand for your time. For us in recovery, generally, we have a routine that we do daily. It’s really important that those people stick to those routines, [and] we’ve done the things that we need to do every day to ensure that our recovery came first that day. I have a ton of prayer and meditation in the morning, and then I do a gratitude list that I share with all my sponsees.”

Outside Support
“Go ahead and put in place exit plans for each situation you get into, also making sure that you have somebody that you can call — you know, ‘Hey, I’m going to be at this family event or a work event. Can I walk away and give you a call?’”

Coping as a Family
“A lot of times families have high expectations of somebody who’s just gotten sober. They have this expectation that this person doesn’t have drugs or alcohol in their system, so everything’s going to be perfect at the holidays. I just ask that families offer grace to those in recovery, because this is the first time that they could possibly be experiencing the holidays in many, many years without substances in their bodies.” 

Signs of Relapse
“They become very talkative, and/or they’re nodding off at the dinner table. And they’re saying, ‘Oh, I’m just tired.’ [Look for] some of the signs that the person did when they were drinking before or they were using before. If you start seeing any of those signs start up again — being secretive, having to leave a lot and not explain where they’re going
to — those are things that you want to look at and maybe have a conversation with them. It’s really important that we have a support system, so they can help us navigate that." 

Resources for recovery:

American Addiction Centers
Recovery Program Search Engine
recovery.org

Asurgent Health – Addiction Treatment Center
Intensive Outpatient, Outpatient Treatment
2490 Lee Blvd., #319, Cleveland, 216-400-6640
asurgenthealth.com

Alcoholics Anonymous Cleveland
Support Group
Various locations, 216-241-7387
aacle.org

Aware Recovery Care
In-Home Treatment
6161 Oak Tree Blvd., #200, Independence, 216-200-4415
awarerecoverycare.com

Cleveland Comprehensive Treatment Center
Medication-Assisted Treatment
8101 Euclid Ave., #21, Cleveland, 855-668-4832
ctcprograms.com/location/cleveland

Community Assessment and Treatment Services
Residential, Outpatient Treatment
8411 Broadway Ave., #3932, Cleveland, 216-441-0200
communityassessment.org

Edna House for Women
Residential
2007 W. 65th St., Cleveland, 216-281-7751
ednahouse.org

Ethan Crossing Addiction Treatment
Residential, Outpatient, Intensive Outpatient Treatment
20611 Euclid Ave., Euclid, 855-967-2436
ethancrossingcleveland.com

Forward Health
Intensive Outpatient Treatment
6020 Groveport Road, Groveport, 614-662-4544
forwardhealthohio.com

Hitchcock Center for Women
Residential, Outpatient Women’s Treatment
1227 Ansel Road, Cleveland, 216-421-0662
hcfw.org

Lantern Center for Recovery
Residential Treatment
12160 Triskett Road, Cleveland, 216-941-5005
thelantern.info

Northern Ohio Recovery Association
Residential, Outpatient, Medication-Assisted Treatment
1400 E. 55th St., Cleveland, 216-391-6672
norainc.org

Ohio Addiction Recovery Center
Inpatient, Outpatient Treatment
3880 Jackpot Road, Grove City, 866-288-7544
ohioarc.com

Recovery Resources
Outpatient Treatment
4269 Pearl Road, Cleveland, 216-431-4131
recres.org

Restore Addiction Recovery
Residential Treatment
2650 Sanitarium Road, Akron, 800-357-8684
restoreaddictionrecovery.com

Running2BWell
Fitness-based Support Group
Various locations, running2bwell@gmail.com
running2bwell.org

Signature Health
Intensive Outpatient, Medication-Assisted Treatment
Various locations, 440-578-8200
signaturehealthinc.org

Stella Maris 
Outpatient Treatment, 24-hour Detox Care
1320 Washington Ave., Cleveland, 216-781-0550
stellamariscleveland.com

St. Vincent Charity Medical Center
Outpatient Treatment
2351 E. 22nd St., Cleveland, 216-861-6200
stvincentcharity.com

Women’s Recovery Center
Women’s Intensive Outpatient Treatment
6209 Storer Ave., Cleveland, 216-651-1450
womensctr.org