As recovering addicts, there is so much we stand to gain during the course of our recovery journey. More than just our sobriety, we get our lives back. We get back the chance to dream and to take full advantage of our opportunities. We get to choose to live. We get to shed the self-destructiveness and self-hatred that were fueling our addictions and mental health issues. We get to reclaim our unique and interesting lives. We get to shed the layers of pain that were taking us away from our true selves, separating us from our path, and distancing ur from our light. When we recover, we get our peace of mind back. We get back the clarity we need to make better choices for ourselves, to process our thoughts and emotions in healthy ways, and to be conscious with our actions. This is in direct contrast to the unconscious lack of mindfulness we usually exhibited with our addictions. We develop the self-awareness to do the work to recover, to unpack our issues and get to the root of our wounds. We develop the insight to understand just how and why our addictions formed in the first place, and we’ve done enough work to know how to prevent them from ever overtaking our lives again. We have the renewed ability to set intentions for ourselves and to follow through on them. We’re better able to prioritize ourselves and our well-being, and we’re no longer controlled by our inner demons, our mental health issues and our addictions. We feel healed. We feel free. We’ve liberated ourselves from the clutches of a debilitating illness. We feel strong. We feel brave. We feel proud of ourselves. We feel vindicated and redeemed. We’ve seen firsthand just how much we have to lose, and we have renewed faith in ourselves and in our ability to heal.
Our recovery brings us a rejuvenated connection with ourselves. We feel more in touch with ourselves than we’ve felt in a long time. We feel in tune with our inner selves, and we feel aligned. We don’t feel out of balance or out of sorts anymore. We no longer feel as though we don’t recognize ourselves. We don’t feel like we’re not being true to ourselves. We don’t feel as though we’re drowning in shame. We’ve done the work to forgive ourselves, and we’re committed to building our self-love little by little. We feel strengthened and empowered. We don’t feel like we’re holding ourselves back anymore. We feel like we’re able to support ourselves and be our own ally as we work towards our goals. This is a far cry from the self-destructiveness and self-sabotage of our addictions that formed our behavioral patterns and our self-perception. We thought, spoke and acted in self-harming and self-deprecating ways. We exuded insecurity and self-hatred. The confidence that we gain in recovery is profound. We have a renewed sense of ourselves. We feel uplifted. We feel like we know who we are, finally. We don’t feel lost and confused, unfulfilled and misguided as to our purpose and direction in life. We have a clearer sense of what we want out of life and how to go about attaining it. We now exude self-love and self-empowerment. We’re full of hope. We recognize our potential, and we live in the excitement of faith, that is full of possibilities, rather than the dread and negativity of fear.
Another thing we gain in our recovery are repaired connections with the important people in our lives. We can feel as though we’ve lost all hope at rebuilding our relationships, especially when we’ve hurt people deeply over the years because of our addictions. When we finally do the work to recover, our loved ones can see just how much we’ve changed, how committed we are to our recovery, and how much work we’ve been doing. They believe us that we want to do better and be better. They forgive us and give us another chance. They understand that addiction is an illness and that it wasn’t our lack of willpower or morality that drove us to behave the way we did, it was the severity of our mental, emotional and physical unwellness. They decide to allow us to make amends to them, and we’re able to move forward, healing our issues together and rebuilding our connection. This takes work and time, and we shouldn’t give up prematurely, especially when we’re tempted to throw in the towel because there’s tension, or because the work has gotten difficult, or because the issues we’re resolving are very intense. We have to be patient with the process and have faith that the true and genuine relationships will stand the test of time. We’ll be able to prove ourselves to our loved ones and redeem ourselves with them. It might take some time for them to trust us again, but the process of reconnecting with one another brings us closer together, little by little. The more we practice being open, honest and direct with one another, the more we are openhearted with one another, the sooner our broken bridges can be mended. The beauty of our connections with other people are one of the most valuable gifts we receive from our recovery.
When we focus on everything we’ve gained, the progress we’ve made, the changes we’ve implemented in our lives, the hard work we’ve done, it makes us that much more empowered to stay the course in our sobriety. We’re that much stronger in our resilience and in our ability to withstand temptation. We’re more likely to bypass the chance of relapse that affects so many people and threatens to derail their recovery work. We’re better able to stay strong and to stay true to ourselves in our recovery.
Recovery for us is personal. Seventy-five percent of the Riverside Recovery staff has lived with addiction and successfully gone through the recovery process. Call us today: (800) 871-5440.