We sometimes think of our recovery as a one-person job, as work we have to do on our own, in isolation. While it’s true we have to take ownership of and responsibility for our recovery and do the work for ourselves, we can find immense support and comfort in our relationships, particularly those with people who understand addiction firsthand. We want to prioritize the relationships that make us feel loved, validated, heard and understood. And we want to separate ourselves from the relationships that hurt us and that contribute to our unhealthy patterns, such as using drugs to escape our pain.
Our healthy relationships can help us recover by giving us the motivation we need when we’re feeling down on ourselves, defeated and low on hope. They can inspire us with their own personal success stories. We feel a personal connection to other people who can empathize with our struggles and relate to our pain. When we can share ourselves and be open with people we trust, when we can confide in them without fear, we make great strides in our healing. We reconnect with people, when for years we may have been isolating ourselves out of fear of being judged and rejected. We reconnect with ourselves and our truth, because we’re finally allowing ourselves to tell our stories when for so long we’ve been suppressing them. It can be so therapeutic to finally feel accepting of our painful experiences, to feel less ashamed of them and embarrassed by them, because someone else understands us and the things we’ve been through. It can be comforting beyond measure to feel as though people love and accept us despite all the regretful, shameful things we’ve told them about ourselves.
We also help ourselves heal by being positive forces in other people’s recoveries. Every time we share our story, we can feel fulfilled and proud of ourselves knowing that we might have inspired someone else to stay the course with their own recovery. We can feel a sense of accomplishment knowing we’ve contributed to someone else’s healing. The relationships that offer mutual support and understanding, that allow us to learn what true unconditional love feels like and functions like, can help us immensely in our recovery.
At The Guest House Ocala, we are uniquely equipped to help our guests heal from trauma-induced substance abuse, process addiction, anxiety and depression in a safe, comfortable and confidential setting. Call 855-483-7800 today for more information on our treatment programs.