As we’re struggling with addiction, that are certain factors that can contribute to the pain of our experience. One of these is a lack of empathy from the people around us. As addicts, we often feel that people can’t relate to us. They can’t feel our pain alongside us, as much as they might love us. They can’t make sense of our addictions. They don’t understand what we’re going through. Our loved ones are baffled when we continue to choose our drug of choice when we prioritize it over them when we don’t heed their ultimatums. They can’t comprehend why we don’t just quit. Our relationships become strained because our loved ones’ framework for dealing with us doesn’t necessarily include an understanding of addiction, an understanding that recovery entails much more than willpower and self-control.
We Aren’t Being Supported
When we don’t have people in our lives who can empathize with us, we can feel totally alone with our pain. We might isolate ourselves, which compounds how alone we feel. We might separate ourselves from other people to try and protect ourselves from their judgment and misunderstanding. We might have yet to meet other recovering addicts. We have yet to be comforted by hearing other people’s similar experiences and sharing our own. We might not realize that there is a world of support out there, available to us when we open ourselves up to it.
We Fear We’ll Always Be Suffering
A lack of empathy in our lives can cause us to feel a sense of dread when it comes to both our addictions and our recovery. When we feel alone and isolated from our pain, we can develop limiting beliefs that no one will ever understand us, that no one will ever be there for us. We begin to believe that we’ll always be suffering alone, that we’ll never be able to recover. This is a lonely and disheartening place to be, and the lack of empathy we experience can contribute to and worsen our addictive patterns. We turn to our drug of choice for a sense of companionship, comfort, and solace. We use our drug of choice to feel less alone. We surround ourselves with other addicts, who are struggling just as much as we are, just to feel the empathy and connection we’re missing in our lives.
As we’re working to recover, finding people who can empathize with us and relate to us is hugely important. The empathy we receive from people who understand us becomes a healing resource in our recovery. We discover that receiving empathy is actually a tremendous gift.
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.
theguesthouseocala.com
3230 Northeast 55th Avenue Silver Springs, FL 34488