Our Growth From Overcoming Obstacles to Recovery
The journey of recovering from addiction teaches us how to navigate the obstacles to recovery that may have been blocking our healing. Where once we may have given up, or turned to our drug of choice to cope, we’re now facing these challenges head-on. We learn new healing methods to help us overcome these obstacles. Our capacity for exploring emotional issues deepens, and we grow exponentially as a result. We prove to ourselves that we’re stronger and more resilient than we ever thought possible.
Our Relationships as Obstacles to Recovery
One of these obstacles to recovery is our relationships and the lack of support we receive from them. We might have family and friends who don’t agree with our decision to choose sobriety. They might be in denial about their own substance abuse.
As we’re doing the work to get sober, one of the hardest things we’ll have to do is start enforcing healthy boundaries with the people in our lives. We might need to separate ourselves if they can’t support our sobriety.
Relationships Ending: Obstacles to Recovery
Some of us might experience loved ones distancing themselves from us because of the choices we’ve made and the new directions our lives are taking. They might end the relationship altogether, especially when we are no longer enabling their addictive behaviors.
For many of us still trying to get sober, these relationships have created barriers to our recovery that have been hard to overcome. We may have felt like we had an impossible decision to make when being forced to choose between them and our recovery. This can be especially difficult when dealing with unhealthy, toxic, or codependent relationships.
Healing from Relationship Grief: Obstacles to Recovery
Often these are people we hold dear, and losing them can be tremendously difficult. We may want to work through these relationships ending with therapy, grief counseling, or in a grief support group. Learning to choose ourselves and prioritize our sobriety is one of the most important things we’ll ever do in our recovery.
Depression and Hopelessness as Obstacles to Recovery
Feelings of hopelessness and sadness, whether brought on by our relationships or other aspects of our lives, can also present obstacles to recovery. These difficult emotions can be quite challenging for us to handle, especially when we self-medicated to cope with them with our drugs of choice. When we felt depressed, anxious, or hopeless, our default was to use. These feelings can be triggering and destabilizing for anyone, and perhaps even more so when we’re struggling with substance abuse.
Relapse and Triggers as Obstacles to Recovery
Sometimes our depression is centered around the disappointment of having relapsed. We feel hopeless and want to give up when we’ve tried but have been unable to get sober. Our anxiety may be brought on by the ongoing, nagging addictive urges we feel to use again. We might be feeling easily triggered, on edge, and at risk of relapsing. How can we work through these emotions of hopelessness and depression so that they no longer jeopardize our recovery? Can we work through these obstacles to recovery in ways that protect our sobriety?
Emotional Work in Overcoming Obstacles to Recovery
Be open and honest about the challenges you’re going through. Work with a sponsor and try not to shy away from talking about the tough things. Commit to regular sessions with a therapist who specializes in addiction recovery. Surround yourself with loving support from friends, family, and peers in a recovery support group. Consider a treatment program like those offered at Athens Area Commencement Center. One of the most important ways to manage emotional obstacles to recovery, and prevent relapse, is by not shying away from doing the emotional work of recovery.
Doubt and Overwhelm as Obstacles to Recovery
Wherever we are in our recovery journey, whether newly sober or with years under our belt, we might have feelings of doubt and overwhelm come over us. Our addictive behaviors and our drugs of choice were with us for much of our lives. We might be questioning if we really can get sober, and if we can actually maintain our sobriety over time. All the work we’re doing in recovery, and the weight of everything we’ve been through, can feel overwhelming, to say the least.
Failure and Low Self-Worth as Obstacles to Recovery
Self-doubt is a normal part of the healing process. It is normal, and common, to feel overwhelmed sometimes. Often we associate self-doubt and overwhelm with failure, like we’re not good enough. This can feel especially true if we’ve already experienced a relapse, or if we’re feeling triggered to use. If you need help to stay sober, reach out to a professional treatment center like Athens Area Commencement Center.
Self-Encouragement to Combat Obstacles to Recovery
To more effectively work through self-doubt and overwhelm, we’ll want to shift our mindset from being negative and fear-based to being one of positive self-talk. Affirming to ourselves that we are enough can provide the comforting words of encouragement we need to hear. Repeating to ourselves that we can get sober and that we will stay sober, while it might sound simple, can be a powerful way to overcome fear and self-doubt. Pouring love into ourselves as we do this work gives us the foundation of inner strength we need to achieve our goal of sobriety.
Self-Healing to Overcome Obstacles to Recovery
Caring for our mental health is hugely important as we’re working through the obstacles to recovery that come up for us. Being able to calm and center ourselves when we’re feeling overwhelmed is a superpower. Repeating affirmations, meditating, practicing deep-breathing exercises, and journaling are simple but highly effective methods for self-healing. Creating a healthy mindset of positivity, self-encouragement, and self-love is one of the most important things we can do for ourselves in recovery.
There are relational and emotional obstacles to recovery that can challenge and even hinder our healing progress, but we can find the solutions we need to help us overcome them. Seeking out the support of a professional treatment center is one of the best things we can do when feeling overcome by these obstacles. Athens Area Commencement Center offers the support and guidance of a team of professionally trained addiction specialists. We help clients tailor their treatment plans individually to their own needs and strengths, making overcoming obstacles to recovery a rewarding part of the healing journey. Call us today at (706) 546-7355 for more information on the programs we offer.