TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2019//
TI  - "A life more ordinary" processes of 5-year recovery from substance abuse. Experiences of 30 recovered service users
JO  - Frontiers in psychiatry
A1  - Bjornestad, Jone
A1  - Svendsen, Thomas Solgaard
A1  - Slyngstad, Tale Ekeroth
A1  - Erga, Aleksander H.
A1  - McKay, James R.
A1  - Nesvåg, Sverre
A1  - Skaalevik, Alexander Waagan
A1  - Veseth, Marius
A1  - Moltu, Christian
SP  - e689
EP  - e689
VL  - 10
IS  - 
N2  - <b>Background:</b> Studies investigating the subjective experiences of long-term recovery from substance use disorder are scarce. Particularly, functional and social factors have received little attention. <b>Objectives:</b> To investigate what long-term recovered service users found to build recovery from substance use disorder. <b>Material and Methods:</b> The study was designed as a phenomenological investigation subjected to thematic analysis. We interviewed 30 long-term recovered adult service users. <b>Results:</b> Our thematic analysis resulted in five themes and several subthemes: 1) paranoia, ambivalence and drug cravings: extreme barriers to ending use; 2) submitting to treatment: a struggle to balance rigid treatment structures with a need for autonomy; 3) surrendering to trust and love: building a whole person; 4) a life more ordinary: surrendering to mainstream social responsibilities; and 5) taking on personal responsibility and gaining autonomy: <i>it has to be me, it cannot be you</i>. <b>Conclusions:</b> Our study sample described long-term recovery as a developmental process from dependency and reactivity to personal autonomy and self-agency. The flux of surrendering to and differentiating from authority appeared to be a driving force in recovery progression. Participants called for treatment to focus on early social readjustment.<br><br>Copyright © 2019 Bjornestad, Svendsen, Slyngstad, Erga, McKay, Nesvåg, Skaalevik, Veseth and Moltu.<p />  <p>Language: en</p>
LA  - en
SN  - 1664-0640
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2019.00689
ID  - ref1
ER  -