Most people, including those with an addiction, believe that it is near impossible to overcome an addiction. This is far from true, since people kick addictions every day. Quitting is not the hard part, rather staying quit is. People can quit an addiction just fine, but they also relapse. One of the reasons behind this is not finding a purpose to stay sober.
When someone is active in their addiction, finding a purpose in life seems counterintuitive. Addiction leads people to a point where they’re surviving on instinct, rather than actually living life. Before addiction took their lives over, some people might have had a clear cut purpose, and perhaps some didn’t. However, not everyone will have a clear purpose and direction once they are out of rehab and in recovery.
For many people who are going through the process of recovery, they may feel a myriad of thoughts and emotions that work against them, like:
- Difficulty believing they can build a brand new life from scratch
- Low self-esteem, poor self-image
- Feeling a lot of emptiness
- Emotional pain that’s been subdued by drug and alcohol addiction
- Cyclical thought patterns
Finding Purpose
Addiction recovery is best managed by those who see purpose in maintaining sobriety. Having purpose in recovery can help people overcome temptations, which reduces the risk of relapse. If a recovering addict has no purpose to abstain from drug cravings, then they will likely experience multiple relapses. Without purpose, the cycle of addiction, treatment and recovery can continue without end. Finding purpose in recovery motivates and encourages long-term sobriety, even in the face of adversity. A recovering addict may find the following purposes for maintaining sobriety:
- Successful career – Staying sober to focus on a career and moving toward a management positions can be a healthy purpose for life in recovery
- Helping Others – While it is essential to practice personal care, it can also be beneficial to help others with various life needs
- Providing For Family – Providing for your family can bring purpose to recovery while strengthening relationships between children and spouses
- A Higher Power – Getting in touch with spirituality and staying involved in the religious community is often a great benefit to recovery
- Creativity – Exploring creative outlets and even attempting to make a business of making and selling art can be a calming lifestyle that supports life long recovery.
Staying active during recovery and seeking out new, enjoyable experiences to offset the day-to-day activities is recommended. With a little help, a person in recovery can bring balance to all of their recovery efforts. It is possible to get clean and stay clean from drugs.
As we acknowledge there is a problem with addiction, stepping up to seek treatment is challenging. Our team at Cypress Lake Recovery wants you to know that this is one of the hardest parts of the process. Our team is compassionate, supportive and willing to help you make your life free of addiction. Call us at 409 331 224
