When struggling with addiction and mental illness, we tend to be quite out of alignment with who we are, with our intuition, with our instincts and our sense of direction. We feel unclear about what it is we want out of life and where we’re headed. We’re filled with confusion, anxiety, self-doubt and uncertainty about the future. We have a very hard time finding clarity within ourselves because we are filled with so much toxicity and turmoil. Our lives are full of chaos and destructiveness. We don’t feel at peace within ourselves. We don’t feel grounded within ourselves or our lives. We aren’t giving time or energy to self-care, or to our spiritual practice. We might not have yet learned how to meditate, one of the best ways to become still within ourselves so that we can more easily hear our inner voice and follow its guidance. We might be too embroiled in our addictions to be able to sit with ourselves and confront all of the discomfort and anxiety that just being present with ourselves can bring up for us. We feel out of sorts and disconnected. We feel restless, uneasy and afraid. We feel totally out of alignment with ourselves.
Coming into alignment is a huge part of the healing process. We can’t heal mentally, emotionally, physically or spiritually if we are at odds with our true selves, if we are lacking in self-love and self-acceptance. It’s impossible to make true progress when we’re out of alignment, because in a state of misalignment we can’t help but hurt ourselves and chip away at our sense of self and our self-worth. We can’t respect ourselves or be good to ourselves. We can’t give ourselves the foundation of support we need in order to make changes in our lives and bring about personal transformation. When we are in alignment, we feel at peace with ourselves and the world, no matter what might be going on inside of us or around us. We have perfect peace and unconditional self-love. We feel present with ourselves, stable, secure, centered and confident. We feel rooted in our purpose and guided by our intuition. We feel clear on who we are, what we want out of life, and how we can go about manifesting that for ourselves.
In addition to meditation as an alignment tool, we can use journaling to help ourselves come into alignment with ourselves. Write about your fears and your desires, your shame and regrets but also your hopes and dreams. The more we process everything that we’ve been suppressing all these years, the more we gain clarity on our true selves, our values, and our direction in life. As we come into ourselves more and more, we align with our purpose and empower ourselves to work towards healing and fulfillment as we recover.
Riverside Recovery is a drug and alcohol treatment center offering a full continuum of care for people suffering from addiction and co-occurring mental health disorders. Call us today for more information: (800) 871-5440.