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Learning to be Patient with Ourselves

As we’re healing from our addictions and mental health issues, one of the challenges we commonly find ourselves up against is learning how to be more patient with ourselves. We’ve lived lives of being impatient, of rushing, of desperately wanting to make changes and feeling frustrated when we’re unable to. We grow increasingly uneasy, restless and agitated when things aren’t going the way we’d like them to, or when we’re not living up to our own expectations. We feel anxious and depressed, disappointed, disheartened and defeated when we aren’t able to quit our drugs of choice and stop our addictive patterns. When we make mistakes, when we fall off the wagon and relapse, when we do something wrong, we have a very hard time forgiving ourselves and feel even worse about ourselves, even more insecure and self-hating. Learning to have patience with ourselves is one of the greatest gifts we can give ourselves in our recovery.

When we grow impatient, mentally and emotionally we’re feeling all kinds of emotions in addition to the strong impatience we’re feeling. We’re feeling disappointment, frustration, sadness, shame, self-doubt, fear and uncertainty. We’re afraid we’ll always be continuing these same patterns, making these same mistakes, and incurring these same difficult consequences. In these moments of feeling impatient with ourselves, we can remind ourselves firstly that nothing is permanent, everything is changeable. There is plenty of space and time to create change and make improvements. Personal development and healing take time. The more patient we are, the calmer we stay, the better able we are to focus on solutions. When we’re impatient, we tend to be focused squarely on the problem, on the agitation and irritation it’s causing us, on our fear that it will persist. Becoming more patient allows us to see the big picture, to tap into our intuition and follow our instincts to help ourselves solve the problem at hand.

In order to become more patient, there are some simple practices we can try. We can do deep breathing exercises, which can immediately bring us a sense of calm and peace as we’re navigating any difficult situation. We can practice meditation regularly, and also in moments of crisis, to help ourselves feel more stable, secure and grounded as we’re handling these complex problems. We can start a gratitude practice where we regularly list the things we’re grateful for, which helps retrain our minds to see the good in every situation, thereby helping us to stay more patient, more hopeful, optimistic and positive whenever we’re feeling overwhelmed. We can repeat calming affirmations like “This too shall pass. I am getting through this. I am healing. I am making positive changes every day. I am handling this with calm and patience. I am strong, resilient, patient and capable.”

Are you ready to take the first step on your journey to recovery? Call The Guest House today! 855-483-7800.