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Living with addiction often means we grow accustomed to having to live with certain emotions that can be intense, overwhelming, and overpowering. Sometimes we assume that those emotions are unavoidable and that there’s nothing we can do about them. Other times we try relentlessly to rid ourselves of them. The emotional ramifications of addiction can be far-reaching and all-encompassing, taking over our entire lives. While each of our personal experiences living with addiction can be unique to who we are, there are some common emotions that many of us can relate to, that are universal to human nature and to the human experience pertaining to addiction. 

Self-Neglect and Self-Destructiveness

Many of us struggling with addiction also grapple with debilitating levels of insecurity, self-rejection, and self-hatred. We feel ashamed of ourselves for being addicts. We feel disappointed in ourselves and the things we’ve done wrong. We feel embarrassed that we struggle with addiction. Because of these emotions, we tend to fall into patterns of self-neglect and self-abandonment. We become self-sabotaging and self-destructive. We limit ourselves, hold ourselves back, and impede our own progress. We don’t believe in ourselves. We don’t believe we deserve to be happy.

Desperation To Escape

These emotions and patterns can be crippling for us. We can struggle with depression, anxiety, panic attacks, and other mental and emotional health challenges. We can contemplate suicide as an escape from our emotional and psychological pain. We can come to believe that our distress will be a permanent part of our lives, and the thought of this can be such a source of panic for us that we consider ending our own lives to relieve ourselves of our pain. 

Our Addictions Create Our Emotions and Vice Versa

The emotional ramifications of our addictions are not only the result of our substance use or behavioral addiction, they are also contributing factors to them. We get trapped in recurring reciprocal emotional and behavioral cycles where our addictions create our emotions, and our emotions feed our addictions. It can feel like a destiny we’re doomed to suffer. We fear what the rest of our lives have in store for us.

New Emotional Experiences In Recovery

The good news is that it is possible to heal from all the painful emotions associated with addiction. In recovery, we have optimism and hope to look forward to. We have self-forgiveness and redemption to motivate us onward. We have joy and inner peace to revel in. The emotional ramifications of addiction can be healed, and we can experience a whole new set of affirming, empowering emotions as part of our healing.

Are you ready to take the first step on your journey to recovery?

Call The Guest House today! 855-823-5463.