Recovery from addiction isn’t an event that we participate in, once. It is a lifestyle that helps renew and redefine how a person lives their life. Rather than being a crutch, recovery is a building block that helps a person become even stronger than they were before their addiction. However, the tricky part of living in recovery is ensuring that you keep true to your new self by keeping clean. The sad truth about addiction recovery is that relapsing is all-too common. However, a relapse does not mean failure, it simply means that you are still on the path to your recovery. Here are some tips on how to stay clean after recovery…
Renew relationships
Addiction has a horrible knack of causing the most foundational relationships in our lives to crumble, because it shifts the importance in life from the people that we love towards getting the next fix. One key aspect of recovery is rebuilding these relationships, as well as making new ones. Remind people that you care about them, and continually work for their trust and respect. Fighting the good fight of addiction recovery is already a challenge, but it isn’t one that we should face alone. Have people that you love by your side, and it will empower you every day of your life.
Find ways to give back
Living a lifestyle of recovery means living a more fulfilling life than you’ve ever lived before. What it isn’t about, though, is living life simply for yourself. A lifestyle of recovery needs to be built around genuine empathy. Empathy is what keeps us connected to the world and all of humanity around us. This is why it is so important to find ways to give back to your community, as it keeps an important dose of perspective in your life. Volunteering and finding ways to make your community better gives you a very tangible purpose in recovery, which is something that cannot be underestimated when fighting addiction.
Know that recovery is a lifelong journey
The biggest mistake that people make in recovery is that they get discouraged at the slightest sign of failure. It’s important to remember that discouragement is dangerous, and must be overcome. Always remember that recovery is a lifelong journey that strengthens us, and that there is a transitional process in this journey. At Turning Point of Arnold, part of our mission is to help facilitate this journey with our transitional living program, which helps addicts rebuild their lives as they re-enter society in ways that are fulfilling and engaging.
Continued in Part 2.