Until about 1980, little was known about addictions, or about how to recover from them—and most of what people thought they knew was wrong. But since then we have gained a great deal of knowledge and understanding about the causes, nature, and treatment of addiction. We now have many tools and strategies to help addicts recover. Unfortunately, until recently, amazingly little of this new knowledge and understanding has found its way into materials for addicts to use.
The Mesa Recovery Program provides methods and materials which successfully enable addicts of all sorts to recover. The amazing thing is that this program works equally well for all kinds of addicts— drug addicts, alcoholics, compulsive gamblers, shopping addicts, compulsive overeaters, sex addicts, compulsive shoplifters, and all other compulsive and addictive behaviors. The reasons why this program works equally well for all kinds of addictions and compulsions are clearly explained in chapters 2, 3, and 4 of the amazing new manual for the program, the book Getting Better. This is not merely a textbook on the theory of how to recover; it is a manual to be used by addicts who are eager to get better— to become able to live sober, happy, successful lives. In it are the tools and strategies which, if you will use them daily and rigorously, will bring about genuine recovery from your addictive and compulsive behaviors. Getting Better is intended to be used as part of the Mesa Recovery Program, but it can be used in conjunction with any Twelve-Step program or any other recovery program. Even if you are not in any recovery program, using Getting Better and the Recovery Toolbox (see our list of publications) will enable you to overcome the addictive and compulsive behaviors which have been controlling you. Recovery is possible! You simply need to do it.