Rock Fountains Rehab Center

18/10/2025

COUNSELLOR, FAMILY AND THE ALCOHOLIC...

The family of an alcoholic should be counseled first before the alcoholic receives rehabilitation OR any kind of help. This approach is based on the understanding that alcoholism is a family disease that affects not only the person drinking but also those who live and interact closely with them. Counseling the family first helps to build a healthy foundation for recovery.

Alcoholism is a serious illness that affects both the mind and behavior of the individual, but it also deeply harms family relationships. When a family member becomes addicted to alcohol, everyone around them suffers in one way or another. For this reason, counseling is often given to the family first before the alcoholic begins treatment. This process helps the family understand the nature of alcoholism, prepares them to support recovery, and prevents them from unknowingly making the situation worse.

One major benefit of counseling the family first is that it helps them understand alcoholism as a disease rather than a moral weakness. NO ALCOHOLIC SHOULD BE DRAGGED INTO REHABILITATION UNLESS OTHERWISE, FAMILY NEEDS TO LEARN MORE ABOUT ALCOHOLISM. Many families blame the alcoholic or feel ashamed of the situation. Through counseling, they learn that addiction changes the brain and behavior, making it difficult for the person to stop drinking without proper help. When the family understands this, they can replace anger and blame with compassion and informed support.

Family counseling teaches members how to stop enabling destructive behavior. Sometimes, family members try to protect the alcoholic from consequences—by giving money, lying to others, or making excuses. While this may seem like care, it actually allows the addiction to continue. Counseling helps them set healthy boundaries and let the alcoholic face reality in a loving but firm way.

Counseling also helps heal emotional wounds within the family. Alcoholism often brings conflict, mistrust, and pain. Before the alcoholic enters rehabilitation, the family must learn to communicate calmly, forgive, and rebuild unity. A peaceful and supportive home gives the alcoholic a better chance to recover and avoid relapse after treatment.

The procedure of getting help usually begins when the family contacts a counselor, rehabilitation center, or support group such as Al-Anon (a group for families of alcoholics). The counselor meets the family to discuss the situation, educate them about addiction, and guide them on how to approach the alcoholic. Once the family understands how to handle the situation correctly, the alcoholic is then introduced to professional help, such as detoxification, therapy, or Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) meetings. After the alcoholic begins treatment, joint family sessions are often held to strengthen relationships and ensure continued support.

Therefore, counseling the family before the alcoholic is highly effective. It prepares the family to handle the situation wisely, reduces conflict, and increases the chances of successful recovery. When the family is healed and informed, the alcoholic can find the understanding and stability needed to overcome addiction and rebuild a healthy life.

Groups like Alcoholics Anonymous are functional in Zambia giving the much needed
Support for peer to peer alcoholic rehabilitation sessions, call 978440182 for more information.

09/10/2025

"NO FREE LUNCH"

"AVOID FAVOURS"

Lately I have felt the pressure of indebtedness, not only financially but also emotionally, socially and a few more other ways. This is because I feel I need to payback everyone who was there supporting me through the journey to sobriety.

Now that am sane and aware of who helped me through recovery, I do feel I owe them whenever they ask for a favour or demand something from me, I go beyond what I can provide just to create peace and please them which is a danger to my recovery.
The feeling of indebtedness due to past favours has bad effects.

Here is how we protect our selves against future self hurt or relapse due to accepting favours anyhow.

Not accepting favours as an alcoholic in recovery is often emphasized in most recovery programs because it protects one's sobriety, independence, and integrity.

Here’s why we need to avoid favours:

🧠 1. Avoiding Emotional and Social Triggers.
Accepting favours can create a sense of debt or obligation. This can lead to guilt, pressure, or resentment, which are emotional triggers that may push someone toward relapse.
Recovery requires emotional stability and clear boundaries — favours can blur these boundaries.
💪 2. Building Self-Reliance.
Early recovery is about learning to stand on your own two feet — emotionally, financially, and spiritually.
Depending on others too much can delay the growth of personal responsibility and self-confidence.
Self-reliance builds pride and strength, both of which are essential to long-term sobriety.
🧩 3. Avoiding Manipulation or Exploitation.
Some people may offer “favours” with hidden expectations or strings attached — like access, loyalty, or emotional control etc.
This can lead to toxic relationships or situations that undermine recovery goals.
Keeping clear boundaries helps protect your peace and focus.
💬 4. Maintaining Integrity and Equality.
Recovery encourages honesty, humility, and fairness.
Constantly receiving favours can make relationships unbalanced — one person giving, the other taking.
Equality in relationships helps you rebuild trust and self-respect.
🧘 5. Avoiding Old Patterns.
Many people in addiction used to manipulate or depend on others to get what they wanted (money, shelter, alcohol, drugs, etc.).
Learning to decline unnecessary favours helps break that old pattern of dependency or people-pleasing.
It’s a way of practicing new, healthier habits.

Not accepting favours helps protect your boundaries, self-respect, emotional stability, and recovery progress.
It’s not about pride — it’s about learning to live responsibly, freely, and honestly.

Choose a sponsor, helper or advisor of a good moral standing that can genuinely walk the journey to sobriety without them being judgemental or expectant of future returns. This should be a person that understands recovery and is ready to give you time.

17/08/2025

The write up below is All an extract from the LIVING SOBER book's Intro.

Even the words "stay sober"—let alone live sober—offended many of us when we first heard such advice.
Although we had done a lot of drinking, many of us never felt drunk, and were sure we almost never appeared or sounded drunk.
Many of us never staggered, fell, or got thick tongues; many others were never disorderly, never missed a day at work, never had automobile accidents, and certainly were never hospitalized nor jailed for drunkenness.
We knew lots of people who drank more than we did, and people who could not handle their drinks at all. We were not like that. So the suggestion that maybe we should "stay sober" was almost insulting.
Besides, it seemed unnecessarily drastic. How could we live that way? Surely, there was nothing wrong with a cocktail or two at a business lunch or before dinner. Wasn't everyone entitled to relax with a few
drinks, or have a couple of beers before going to bed?
However, after we learned some of the facts about the illness called alcoholism, our opinions shifted. Our eyes have been opened to the fact that apparently millions of people have the disease of alcoholism.
Medical science does not explain its "cause," but medical experts on alcoholism assure us that any drinking at all leads to trouble for the alcoholic, or problem, drinker. Our experience overwhelmingly confirms this.
So not drinking at all—that is, staying sober—becomes the basis of recovery from alcoholism. And let it be emphasized: Living sober turns out to be not at all grim, boring, and uncomfortable, as we had feared, but rather something we begin to enjoy and find much more exciting than our drinking days. We'll show you how.

03/08/2025

"Most of us have been unwilling to admit we
were real alcoholics. No person likes to think
he is bodily and mentally different from his fellows.
Therefore, it is not surprising that our drinking careers have been characterized by countless vain attempts to prove we could drink like other people. The idea that somehow, someday he will control and enjoy his drinking is the great obsession of every abnormal drinker.
The persistence of this illusion is astonishing.
Many pursue it into the gates of insanity or death." A.A big book P.30.

Between you and me, Alcoholics know themselves. We know ourselves, The stress we go through trying to fit into the normal drinkers schedules and financial plans is too much to bare. Tell yourself As "Im Weak, I Need Help"
You dont need to get insane or die trying to prove you can drink.
Admitting one is not a normal drinker is not a weakness but strength as one starts to find solutions to their problem .

The solutions to alcoholism include

1. Professional help: Consulting a doctor, therapist, or counselor can provide personalized guidance and support.
2. Support groups: Joining groups like AA (Alcoholics Anonymous) or SMART Recovery can offer a sense of community and accountability.
3. Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT): This type of therapy helps individuals identify and change negative thought patterns.
4. Medications: Certain medications, like naltrexone or acamprosate, can aid in recovery by reducing cravings or managing withdrawal symptoms.
5. Lifestyle changes: Engaging in regular exercise, healthy eating, and stress-reducing activities can support overall well-being.

What works for me might not work for you , you can choose what you feel can work for you from the above list, as long as you accept that you are powerless over alcohol.
As for me support group worked then and still works now.

Call 978440182 and learn more

18/07/2025

Struggling with alcohol,
Make a date....
Its free....

15/07/2025

What saved me.... The fellowship and Alcoholics Anonymous.

There were no dues or fees, The only requirement was for me to become willing to quit drinking alcohol and by following the principles of the alcoholics anonymous teachings, I am sober.....

What is alcoholics anonymous ?

Alcoholics Anonymous is a fellowship of people who share their experience, strength, and hope with each other to recover from alcoholism. Here's a brief overview of how it works:

Key Principles:

1. 12 Steps: A.A. follows a set of 12 spiritual principles, known as the 12 Steps, which guide members through the recovery process.
2. Meetings: Members attend regular meetings, where they share their experiences, struggles, and successes with others who are going through similar challenges.
3. Sponsorship: Members often work with a sponsor, who provides guidance, support, and accountability throughout the recovery process.
4. Anonymity: A.A. emphasizes the importance of anonymity, allowing members to feel comfortable sharing their experiences without fear of judgment.

How it Works:

1. Admitting powerlessness: Members acknowledge that they are powerless over their addiction and that their lives have become unmanageable.
2. Seeking support: Members turn to a higher power or God as they believe, fellow members, and the A.A. program for support and guidance.
3. Working the Steps: Members work through the 12 Steps, which involve self-reflection, confession, and making amends.
4. Maintaining sobriety: Members strive to maintain their sobriety, one day at a time, with the support of their fellow members and the A.A. program.

A.A. provides a supportive community and a structured program for individuals to overcome their addiction with alcohol and achieve long-term sobriety.

The tools that one gets after following the alcoholics anonymous teachings can be used in various aspects or spheres of life away from just alcoholism...

Call 978440182 for more information....
It works if you work it....

13/05/2025

13/05/2025

05/05/2025

Not Peter Chuulu always, We want to hear your sobriety story...

02/05/2025

You don’t need to hit some dramatic low point to stop drinking.
Not everyone has a horror story.
Some of us just get tired.
Tired of feeling stuck.
Tired of wasting weekends.
Tired of pretending it’s still fun.

You’re allowed to outgrow alcohol.
You’re allowed to wake up one day and quietly say,
“This isn’t working for me anymore.”

No rock bottom required.
Just a moment of truth and a decision to want more from your life.