Addiction Recovery

Understanding Addiction Recovery

Everyone goes through periods of time in their life where they may be depressed, anxious, down on luck, and so on, but it’s how we handle these emotions that allow us to get through them. Some people use excuses to account for their emotions, others avoid taking responsibility. Then there are some people who use substances or drugs to cope with their emotions and make them numb to the sadness, depression or pain. This is where many addictions stem from; the need to hide or cover our feelings. Any time a person uses an activity to avoid dealing with a problem or their feelings, that activity is considered an addiction. There’s a difference between having a drink with your friends after work, and coming home and drinking to forget about the days events.
People who are in addiction recovery are taught a number of strategies to help them cope with daily stressors and emotions, without the use of drugs. There are four typical false beliefs that usually are at the root of most addictions:

1. I can't handle my pain
2. I am unworthy and unlovable
3. Others are my source of love
4. I can control how others feel about me and treat me.

I Can't Handle My Pain

This statement no longer holds true after you become an adult. As a child, you don’t have the coping mechanisms to handle the sorts of stressors that you do as an adult. Many adults who still believe this statement to be true, have a problem with addiction because they believe they can hide from their pain by covering it up with drugs or alcohol. In addiction recovery, you are taught how to deal with the issues that you encounter and turn to drugs to deal with them. Some adults never learn these important coping strategies either because they have been using drugs since they were young, or they just weren’t faced with the magnitude of problems that they are now. Addiction recovery is where an addicted person can begin to relearn the basics of coping and have a new beginning.

I am Unworthy and Unlovable

One of the main reasons a person will have this false belief is if they weren’t shown the love and affection a person needs as a child. If your parents didn’t show you enough love or attention, or always seemed disappointed in you, you may grow up thinking that this was your fault and that there is something wrong with you. This can result in constant shame and can lead to a life of depression, which you may try to mask by an addiction to drugs or alcohol. Addiction recovery helps you to realize that this is just not true, even if you parents didn’t seem to think the world of you, doesn’t mean that you are worthless and there is something wrong with you. Once you can understand this and believe in yourself, your addiction recovery will much easier and you can then enjoy a life of happiness rather than shame.

Others Are My Source of Love

Addiction recovery can help you get over the addiction you may have to getting approval, acceptance, love and attention from others. You will start to believe that you don’t need to be accepted by everyone else to be the person you are. As long as you love who are you are, then it doesn’t matter what anyone else thinks. You don’t need follow the crowd; you can make your own crowd.

I Can Control How Others Feel About Me and Treat Me

If you believe you can control outside factors and other people, you will never be satisfied with yourself. You can’t control what other people think or do; only what you think and do. Addiction recovery is about ridding yourself of all the underlying causes of your addiction, and starting with only you. You need to believe in yourself and what you want to do in life. Once you can achieve that, you can achieve anything. Addiction recovery helps you heal, not only from your physical addiction to a substance, but your addictions to other responses you get from negative behaviors, such as attention and love by trying to fit in.