Recovery and is a long, and sometimes hard, process. During recovery, it’s important for you to put your needs first. Recovery is not the time to be worried about what other people are thinking or to feel stressed out about someone else’s opinion. It’s so important that you focus on yourself and your recovery, in order to be as effective as possible.
Toxic friends and family
Even with the best of intentions, sometimes people that you love can be bad for your mental health. Without meaning to be, they can be discouraging of you during the recovery process. This type of negativity isn’t necessary, and it isn’t helpful. These types of attitudes and feelings can come from people you wouldn’t expect. If you find yourself feeling down on yourself or negatively after spending time with someone, you may want to be more cautious around them.
Carefully distancing yourself
The last thing you want or need is extra stress from a strained and uncomfortable relationship with someone you love. As you get further in your recovery journey, it will be possible for you to spend more time with the people that are currently causing toxicity in your life. To avoid extra stress, the way that you address any toxic relationships is really important. You don’t want to blame them, but rather begin by being open with them. Talk to them about your recovery and the important role that they play in your life. Tell them that, for your mental health, you’re taking some time away from most of your relationships, so you can focus on the relationship you have with yourself.
This doesn’t mean that you should cut yourself off from everyone! It’s important for you to have friends and family to lean on for support; recovery is almost impossible by yourself. But it won’t be any easier with negative relationships taking the focus away from your recovery. Be selective with who you spend your time with, because you deserve to have your attention go to people who deserve it and will help you.
Don’t feel guilty
It’s way too easy to feel bad about putting yourself first. Hopefully the people in your life are loving and understanding of your recovery process and will let you distance yourself in a healthy manner. Just make sure that after getting rid of the toxic relationships in your life, that there are healthy and beneficial relationships left to fill in the gaps.