Recovery can come off like a vicious beast when stared directly in the face. Even with a rock-solid plan and every component in place, you can just about guarantee some moments of uncertainty, confusion, even panic. You’re motivated now; but can you stay that way for weeks, months, even years? Have you ever felt so strongly–as strongly as you’ve been told you should feel–about anything for that long?
One Day At a Time
Everyday life is stressful, recovery or not. You’ll need to be extra good at dealing with it: extra energy and attentiveness each and every day. No individual day should be considered just another day, because each and every day can spell relapse. Instead, each day should be a focus in and of itself.
Hunger, anger, loneliness, exhaustion, fear, etc–these are the origins of relapse. If, on any particular day, you’re feeling negative or hopeless, you should ask yourself “Why?” Take a deep breath; think of HALT. Instead of jumping right into drug use, you can now figure out – and thus solve – the reason you’re feeling this way on this particular day.
Progress, Not Perfection
Perfection is a generalized term. It’s also useless, because it’s never real. Perfection is a symbolic term meant to drive positive behavior. You can never really achieve it, but just by pursuing it, you’re doing the best you can. That’s good and dandy for people who can handle such a stern form of motivation; you’re probably not one of those people. Recovery is a delicate time: press to hard, and you might just crumble. Think about the little things: building and maintaining a schedule, eating healthy, learning to play a sport… Take solace in the fact that, eventually, the little things add up, and even though you’re not there yet, you can look forward to the day you reach your sobriety goal.
For help with your recovery, contact the experts. We offer exceptional aftercare and recovery consulting to help you remain sober and successful. Call today at 949-637-5499
