Understanding the physical and emotional factors that create an addiction can be baffling. Those who have never experienced the unfathomable urge to abuse drugs or alcohol, despite utterly devastating consequences, have difficulty understanding the disease of addiction.
Often, these same individuals are the ones who insist that once someone is addicted there is no hope. However, that is far from the truth. Here is an explanation of why it is completely possible for an addict to recover.
The Help
This first step in recovery can be the hardest for many addicts. You may be the type of person who feels it is a sign of weakness to ask for help. It is actually the complete opposite. Asking for help with an addiction is a sign of courage.
It takes courage to admit that a substance has caused you problems in life. Some may have only experienced small consequences as a result of an addiction. However, there are addicts and alcoholics who have essentially lost everything.
More than likely, most addicts finally willing to ask for help fall somewhere in the middle of these two extremes. No matter where you\’re at in your life, just the thought you may have addiction problems is itself a problem.
Getting help is easy, as long as you ask. It\’s always best to begin taking suggestions towards recovery before these suggestions turn into court-ordered mandates. Step one for every successful journey in recovery begins at the same point. Ask for help.
The How
How addicts and alcoholics recover from an otherwise seemingly hopeless state baffles people who do not experience the same urges. There are stories about individuals who were so far down in the dumps, they felt ending their lives was the only way out.
These same people, individuals at a crossroads in life, are now heartwarming stories of recovery. The how, explaining how they did it, is really rather simple. They started by taking the first step and asked for help.
Then, through shared experiences of hope and strength, they learned how to recover. You will be asked to be honest, most importantly with yourself. If you\’ve asked for help with your addiction, you have already made a giant step towards self-honesty.
You will be asked to be open towards new ideas and concepts for living clean and sober. It doesn\’t require you to be open to everything, just the notion that you will consider the suggestions of those who can claim sobriety.
Finally, you will need to develop a level of willingness. This may be something that evolves over time. The key is that you only need to open the door slightly. Once you are open to considering ideas and willing to put helpful suggestions to work in your life, you\’re on your way.
The Journey
Once you\’ve taken that first step towards a life free of addiction, you will be at the gates of a new and exciting journey. Recovery is not a pinpoint destination to reach. We all stay clean and sober from one day to the next.
The joy isn\’t in the struggle; it\’s in the journey itself. As time passes, you will develop friendships that will last a lifetime. These new friends will become more than just acquaintances acquired while mired in an addiction.
Addicts with a lot of clean-time under their belt explain how their entire concept of friendship has changed in recovery. They not only appreciate what a true friend looks like, but how to become one themselves.
Recovering from an addiction isn\’t magic. It\’s a process, a journey. If you have an addiction problem, and have become willing to accept openly suggestions to help yourself, you are walking a journey. The idea that recovering from addiction really is that simple, proves it\’s possible as well.
The evidence to prove that an addict can recover is in the numbers. If it were not possible, millions of lives would be lost to the disease of addiction. On the contrary, there are millions of wonderful stories from addicts and alcoholics who have turned their lives around.
However, even as addicts, we have choices. You can choose to continue down a road of self-destruction; ultimately becoming a negative statistic. Or, you can ask for help. Help is available. With help, you too can recover and begin to experience a joyful zest for living that you never dreamed possible. Call us today at 833-610-1174.