As we’re working to recover, one of the most important things we can do to help ourselves heal is work to identify the source of our addictions, the events, and issues that caused the development of our addictive patterns in the first place. Often there are many factors at play, and no one single specific thing is the only cause. Very often we aren’t conscious of what all the factors might be, so we’re accumulating more and more pain, and years of issues we never resolve, because we never become aware of what our underlying fears and wounds actually are. We perpetuate the same patterns that have been harming us all along. We continually repeat the same habits and make the same choices. We end up in the same kinds of relationships again and again. We have the same recurring issues. We develop and practice the mental, emotional and behavioral patterns that morph into our addictions. Until we become more mindful of ourselves and how we operate, and until we work to identify the root causes of our addictions, we will continue to run the risk of always falling back into the self-destructive patterns that fuel our addictions and cause us so much suffering.
For many of us, the source of our addictions is the pain of traumatic experiences we may not have come to terms with yet. When we haven’t made peace with our painful experiences and the fears that develop as a result of them, we continue to be haunted by them. We become driven by them. They consume us. We develop all kinds of coping mechanisms, defense mechanisms, compulsions, and default go-to behaviors. These are often self-harming in nature because subconsciously we’re self-destructive. We’re self-hating because of the things we’ve been through. We feel down on ourselves, insecure and self-rejecting. All the ways in which we respond to our pain, our denial, avoidance, suppression, distraction and escapism tactics, become the patterns of our addictions.
We can identify the root causes of our addictions by paying more attention to what specific issues we’re most trying to distract ourselves from, escape or run from when we use our addictive substances or engage in our addictive behaviors. When you use your drug of choice, what are you most trying to avoid thinking about? What are you trying not to feel? Become mindful of what it is you’ve been suppressing and avoiding.
Doing this work means making the conscious choice to be brave in the face of your pain. Don’t back down from it. Remember that our pain is there to strengthen us, and the more we move through it with courage, the more we stand to learn from it. By gaining more understanding about the sources of our addictions, and therefore our inner selves, we can empower ourselves to heal and transform ourselves from within.
At The Guest House Ocala, you will be treated with dignity, respect, and compassion. Call 855-483-7800 today for more information on our treatment programs.