Ways to Improve Self Esteem in Recovery
A drug or alcohol addict may be prone to negative feelings about their self, especially in the early days of recovery. Perhaps you are about to go to rehab; maybe you’re already in treatment or you may have recently completed a program. In any case, once you have came off your drug of choice you are able to look at your addiction in a clearer picture. You see things as they were and as they are. The extent of the damage you have personally incurred as well as, subjected to those around you becomes more obvious with each passing day. The truth is that these feelings of guilt, of shame, and of embarrassment happen to everyone and are a part of recovery.
It is up to you to decide how to manage these feelings and get past them. It is only through this that you will be able to take care of your sobriety and happiness.At times it may seem like overcoming all of these emotions is impossible, but trust us, as recovering addicts ourselves (or at least most of us) we know it can be done. So, take the proactive approach when it comes to your own addiction recovery and realize that you can develop healthy ways to improve your own self esteem. In time, you will feel better about yourself and your life.
Why You Need to Have Positive Self Esteem in Addiction Recovery
Working on your self esteem is a part of addiction recovery and simply means that you value yourself and who you are. The implications of this are profound and incredibly conducive to a positive recovery. As a part of relapse prevention, when you feel good about yourself and where you are at in terms of sobriety, you will be less likely to give everything up and relapse.Low self esteem along with beating yourself up about things you did during your drug use will hold you back and begin to control your life. Without reversing this, the chances of relapsing are high. You need healthy self esteem to remain sober; so find out how you can improve the way you feel below.
First and foremost, it’s time to forgive yourself
In rehab, you may have come face to face with things and situations you were involved in during your using. In recovery, forgiving yourself for these actions can be seemingly difficult. After all, you are more than likely the harshest and most critical person of your own past actions. Now that you have sobered up, it’s time to remember that the person you were then is not the person you are now. Dwelling on the past will get you nowhere because it cannot be changed. Think about what you have learned from your mistakes and tell yourself that they will not be repeated. Today, make it a point to take time and forgive yourself; don’t be scared to move into the here and now.
Be proud of your hard work and effort
You have made it so far, and now that you have forgiven yourself, go ahead and start to turn any feelings of shame into feelings of pride. Coinciding with letting go of the past, begin to give yourself credit for getting out of the state you were in. Take pride as you lift your head high in knowing that you went through hell and back. Smile and be proud in knowing that you overcame the withdrawal, you conquered early cravings and you are now sober. While there will be more battles to come, you have overcame some of the biggest hurdles; well done.
Surround yourself with positive, sober people
During your addiction recovery, it is pertinent to stick around people who are not only sober, but also positive about life. The last thing you need is for someone to constantly discuss how unhappy they are or mention negative things going on in the world. While you cannot completely escape the uncomfortable aspects to reality, you can decrease them. When you surround yourself with positive people, you too will start to become positive.
A rehab center is the best place to release these thoughts no matter how crazy, chaotic or terrible one may think they are. This ability to express the true self is what starts to heal these emotional discomforts and insecurities leading to a healthy, long term recovery.
Be nice and compassionate to yourself
You are only human and like everyone else you have made mistakes. This does not mean you have to beat yourself up. Instead, start being kind to yourself; let go of criticizing and thoughts about where you should be at, but are not. Make a list of good things about you. Surely you have so many great aspects. Hang this list on the bathroom mirror or fridge and read them out loud every day. Even if you think they are small or not important, they do matter. These are the beautiful things that make you, you. We all too often forget that sometimes we need to take time out and show ourselves a little compassion and self love.
Finally, ask yourself “What actions can I take today to help me feel good about myself and my recovery?” Use these answers to lay down the path of the actions you will take to maintain your daily life and sobriety. Through this, you grow as a human being, you form values about who you are, and you improve your self esteem during your addiction recovery.
Reaching Out to a Rehab in Thailand
If you are ready to seek help for an addiction to drugs or alcohol and don’t know where to begin, contact us today.
