Some of the greatest blocks to our recovery are the persistent belief systems we have around our ability to recover, our worthiness, and whether or not we deserve to be happy. Why don’t we believe we can recover? Where did our limiting beliefs come from? How did we become conditioned to be self-sabotaging and to work against ourselves, rather than being on our own side and supporting ourselves as we recover?
Conditioned by Other People’s Experiences
For many of us, our experiences with addiction began long before we first tried a drug or experimented with addictive behaviors. We were surrounded by family members, caretakers, and community members who themselves were struggling with addiction, and we were conditioned from an early age to adopt their beliefs around recovery. For many of us, this included the belief that recovery is impossible. Our loved ones and role models might not have been able to achieve sobriety. They might have witnessed countless other people also unable to get well. When we’re constantly being told stories of people’s failures, of their relapses, of their inevitable return to their addictive patterns, we start to believe that this is how it must be for everyone, including us. We don’t necessarily question it, because this is the reality we’ve been presented with, and it’s what we’ve come to believe to be true. The social norms as we know them are that addiction is a permanent struggle and that recovery is unlikely. We don’t believe that we can recover because socially and culturally we’ve been conditioned not to.
Limited by Our Inadequacy Complexes
Many of us also don’t believe we can recover because we’ve been doubting ourselves and our abilities in all areas, for as long as we can remember. We’ve lacked confidence in school, at work, in our relationships, and in social settings. We’ve felt inadequate, inferior and unworthy, not just relating to our addictions but in our lives in general. When we have this pervasive sense of inadequacy and self-doubt, it permeates into our assessment of whether or not we can recover. We assume we can’t get better because we’ve felt lacking and unworthy as individuals. We associate being unable to recover with our sense of self, our identity, who we are as people. Our inadequacy complex translates to every facet of our lives, including our struggles with addiction. We believe we’re not good enough, not strong enough, not deserving enough to get better.
Are you ready to take the first step on your journey to recovery? Call The Guest House today! 855-483-7800. theguesthouseocala.com 3230 Northeast 55th Avenue Silver Springs, FL 34488