Empathy is a way of engaging with other people in relationship, including family, friends and colleagues. It plays an essential role in helping relate to emotions of others. It can also bridge the gap between treatment and recovery of relationships due to addiction. Consider why empathy matters for recovery and how to tap into its potential. With everything that has happened over the past year, addiction relapse was a real thing. Many people could have been locked in their homes for too long, and some maybe weren’t strong enough, but that doesn’t mean it’s over. With the right empathy from family and friends who understand the situation and the struggle of addiction, you can become stronger and get back to sobriety.
What is Empathy?
Throughout recovery, a person may experience many different emotions. Although learning to express empathy may be seen as challenging at first, it can be built up over time as person heals from addiction. The role of empathy is to leave behind self-centered thoughts and feelings to focus outside of oneself. With the help of an addiction counselor and a commitment to change, a person’s life can return to emotional stability over time. Group and individual therapy can also provide lots of support to guide a person going forward. The first step towards working on empathy is to become aware of emotions below the surface.
Benefits
Empathy is a great tool for living a life filled with purpose and meaning. It helps the self-healing process and leads to healthy relational exchanges. The applications for empathy in treatment can include:
- Avoidance of repetitive behaviors and thoughts
- Improvement of communication skills which leads to less conflict
- Gaining a deeper understanding and level of compassion
- Elimination of selfish acts and desires
- Empowerment of empathic listening instead of rash judgments
Finding a Therapist
One of the most important qualities in a therapist is the ability to listen closely and attentively to one’s feelings. A good therapist should be sensitive to addiction recovery modalities and understand how and why a person struggles with addiction and is empower to overcome it. It can take time to find the right place and people to support therapeutic approaches to addiction. It is worth taking the time to find a place that is comfortable but challenges the individual to push past personal boundaries to seek something greater.
Creative Therapies for Yourself
When in recovery, creative therapies are often used to find creative expression in one dealing and struggling with addiction. Art and music, writing, Equine, and other creative therapies are necessary for after rehab. Once you’ve begun the healing process and you’re living a sober life, the journey doesn’t end there. Creative therapies will help you think critically, creatively, and with empathy for yourself and others.
Spending Time with Friends & Family
Surrounding yourself with the friends and family that empathize with your situation, life, and what you’re going through is extremely important. First and foremost, you never want to get out of recovery and start a new journey in life with people who are bad influences. This is common sense thing, but it’s not always known right away, so it’s important to be on alert.
Spend More Time Outdoors
Outdoor therapy can be a game changer inside rehab, as well as after rehab. When you embrace yourself in the great outdoors, your mind becomes one with nature, and you will find beauty in life with a different perspective. This can be very helpful with your own life, problems, and confusing situations you find yourself in.
At Cypress Lake Recovery, we bring integrative therapies to life during treatment. Our unique vision of synergizing holistic and therapeutic treatment creates an effective treatment program for addiction and dual diagnosis issues. Call us today for more information, at 1-409-331-2204.
