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Battling Our Feelings of Powerlessness in Recovery

Our addictions and mental health issues can be so overpowering and so debilitating that we feel powerless in dealing with them. We feel like we’re up against invisible forces we can’t control, outrun or escape. They can be terrifying and can completely overtake our lives. We start to believe that we have no recourse against them, that nothing we do will lessen our struggles or ease our burdens. We think there’s no way we’ll ever be happy or find peace. One of the most important things we can do for ourselves in our recovery is start to question our limiting beliefs and challenge this idea that we’re powerless against our illnesses.

We actually have a lot more power than we give ourselves credit for. As we embark upon our recovery journey, we see the power we have to make changes in our lives, to undergo lifechanging transformation, and to lift ourselves up out of our darkest times. We have the strength and the power to survive severe traumatic experiences, even near-death experiences. We survive heartbreak and heartache, self-destructiveness and self-sabotage, and out of everything we manage to get through, our own internal self-hatred might be the most painful. We have the power to turn everything around for ourselves, including our self-hate.

Believing in ourselves and rebuilding our faith in ourselves is something that requires time, energy and self-love. We can’t begin our recovery work or try to heal ourselves – repeat affirmations, or meditate, or journal – all while still hating ourselves and believing in our powerlessness and expect changes to happen on their own. We have to infuse all of our recovery work with the power of our belief. We have to work to love ourselves, believe in ourselves and see our enormous potential. We have to cheer ourselves on and become part of our own support system. We have to be our own ally. We have to reconnect with our inner selves and love ourselves from within. We have to refamiliarize ourselves with the truth of who we are, our purpose and life’s mission. When we learn to love ourselves, we see just how powerful we truly are.

When we’re feeling powerless, we can remind ourselves we’re never alone. We can lean on other people to remind us of our strength. We’re not meant to recover alone, in isolation. The issues we’re living with are ones that many before us have experienced and survived. We can turn to these people for guidance and inspiration. We can allow them to motivate and encourage us when we’re feeling down and disheartened. We can allow them to lead us when we don’t feel like we know where we’re going. We can allow their stories to guide us when we don’t know what to do.

Similarly, we can lean on the strength of our higher power whenever we’re feeling alone and powerless. We are manifestations of our divine higher power in human form. Any time we’re doubting ourselves and our power to overcome our addictions and mental health issues, we can tell ourselves that we are children of this higher power and that its power resides within us. We can allow its light to illuminate us from within. We can allow its wisdom to be a guiding force in our lives. We don’t ever have to be alone, and in fact, we never are alone, even when it feels like we have nothing and no one on our side.

Feelings of powerlessness come with weakened morale and low self-esteem. As is common for many of us, they also accompany a victim mentality, where we feel victimized by other people, by the world at large, and especially by our addictions and mental health issues. We feel it’s unfair that we’ve had to live with such difficult challenges. We ask questions like “Why me? What did I do wrong? What did I do to deserve this?” – all of which place our focus squarely on the problems at hand rather than working to find the solutions. The truth is, we’re all dealt different cards, and sometimes they might feel unfair, but we’re not given anything we can’t handle, and there is no obstacle we can’t overcome. The sooner we move past this notion that we’re being victimized, the sooner we start to recognize our own strength and see ourselves not as victims but as survivors. We can start to have gratitude for the spiritual tests that strengthened and empowered us. We can be grateful for the challenges that helped mold and shape us into the strong, powerful, resilient, capable people we are now.

What are some ways you can start to take your power back? How can you reclaim the power you feel your addictions and mental health issues have taken from you? We have control over our own internal environment, how we respond to crises, how we handle difficult situations, and whether or not we can maintain our inner peace despite the challenges we’re faced with. We have the power to change our habits, our patterns, the ways in which we think, and our emotional responses. We have the power to make healthier choices for ourselves, to get help for our addictions and mental illnesses, and to put an end to our self-destructiveness. We have far more power than we realize we do, and in facing our issues head on and confronting them with courage, we see just how powerful we really are.

At The Guest House Ocala, we have personal recovery experience and over 12 years in the recovery industry. We have helped countless people recover, and we’re here to help you too. Call 855-483-7800 today for more information.