For those of us struggling with addiction, we might have gone countless years trying to get sober. Very often, we’re undertaking the daunting challenge of sobriety on our own, without any help or support. Our goal is to will ourselves sober or clean. We try to force ourselves to give up our drug of choice. Our recovery journeys are often riddled with years of unsuccessful attempts at sobriety and multiple relapses. Many of us learn the hard way that willpower isn’t enough.
Pridefulness and Hard Work: Willpower Isn’t Enough
Sometimes, our attachment to our willpower is a matter of pride. We stubbornly want to be able to say we got sober on our own. Often, we think we’ll feel better about ourselves if we’ve achieved sobriety without the help of rehab or 12-Step meetings. Many of us tell ourselves we don’t actually need help. We associate needing help with weakness.
Success Outside of Addiction
When we’ve felt any of these very common sentiments, it’s also common for us to pride ourselves on our accomplishments in other areas of our lives outside of our addictions. Many of us have achieved success in our careers through hard work and determination. We might be content with where we are financially. People might look at us and admire our nice homes and happy marriages. Because we’ve achieved these things through hard work, we assume that we can easily translate that approach to our sobriety. We come to believe that achieving sobriety is simply a matter of working hard at it.
Addictive Cravings: Willpower Isn’t Enough
Many of us convince ourselves that to give up our drug of choice, all we need to do is power through our cravings and compulsive urges to use. When we can’t resist those urges over time and can’t stay sober long-term, we feel bad about ourselves. We tell ourselves we just need to have more willpower. Sometimes, it takes us years to realize that willpower and hard work aren’t enough. We actually need other things that have nothing to do with trying harder or willing ourselves to get sober.
Seeing Addiction as a Habit
When we’re trying to use willpower to achieve sobriety, often it’s because we’re incorrectly treating our addictions as though they are simply bad habits that need to be broken. We tell ourselves that all we have to do is stop this habit we have of using our drug of choice. Those of us in recovery have come to realize that addiction is more than a habit. Yes, there are habits involved – behavioral habits, habits of thought, emotional patterns – all of which can be transformed. Addiction, however, is much more than a habit. It is a biochemical dependence and an illness.
Physical Dependence: Willpower Isn’t Enough
Our brains, and therefore our bodies, have literally become dependent on this addictive substance or behavior. Logically, we know we want to quit using it, but biologically and chemically, we are dependent upon it. Willpower isn’t enough to get sober because willpower alone cannot simply eliminate this physical dependence we have.
Professional Help
To shed our physical and biochemical dependence, we might need the help of a treatment facility like Athens Area Commencement Center. We might need an outpatient detox program, also known as ambulatory detox. Many of us will benefit from abstinence-based programs where we’re given the support we need to manage withdrawal symptoms, which can sometimes include helpful anti-craving medications. With the proper help and support, we can navigate the challenges of withdrawal and wean ourselves off of our dependence.
Life Lessons: Willpower Isn’t Enough
In recovery, we learn important life lessons on how to cope with the cravings and urges that are so common with addiction and that very often lead to relapse, especially early on in sobriety. Rather than trying to force our sobriety through willpower, we learn critical coping strategies. Asking for help, going to meetings, calling our sponsors, sharing our experiences, and learning from other people all become valuable tools in our recovery. Because willpower isn’t enough, we learn to look at our recovery holistically rather than simply trying to force ourselves to quit. Sobriety becomes a lifelong skill set we develop rather than something we try to force through willpower alone.
Emotional Dependence
In addition to physical dependence, we also experience mental and emotional dependence on our drug of choice. Willpower isn’t enough to rid ourselves of this dependence, which often goes back many years. We’ve been using our addiction as a means of coping with trauma, as a way to numb painful emotions and distract ourselves from hard truths.
Healthy Coping Skills: Willpower Isn’t Enough
Now, in recovery, we find healthier ways to handle our emotions. Therapy, journaling, exercise, mindfulness, and meditation are just a few of the many helpful coping skills we develop in recovery. We let go of our dependence on our drug of choice not through willpower but through healing the underlying issues that caused us to rely on that substance or behavior in the first place.
Self-Reflection
This, of course, can be an incredibly difficult undertaking. With time, we come to discover the importance of analyzing why we first started using and all of the emotional factors therein. What was going on in our lives at that time? Are there traumas and emotions we’ve been trying to avoid? Why have we developed this addiction as an emotional coping mechanism?
Exploration: Willpower Isn’t Enough
The counseling sessions and group meetings at treatment programs like Athens Area Commencement Center allow us to learn more about ourselves and our addiction stories. We might also want to use journaling and creative self-expression to explore these issues in even more depth.
Receiving support and learning healthy coping skills are critical to a successful recovery. The tools we develop go well beyond simply summoning willpower. We empower ourselves to achieve lasting sobriety and cultivate lifelong happiness.
When we come to realize that willpower isn’t enough to get sober, we learn the importance of reaching out for help. At Athens Area Commencement Center, you don’t have to power through your sobriety alone or try to force yourself to get sober. You can receive the support and guidance of an experienced team ready to help you. You’ll learn important tools and lessons that will help you navigate not only sobriety but all of life’s many challenges. Learning healthy emotional management, finding ways to cope with addictive cravings, and summoning the courage to ask for help are some of these important life lessons. Call (706) 546-7355 for help today.