Recovery should feel like hope. But for many who live with addiction, the magnitude of the unknown in recovery can be paralyzing. Uncertainty about what your future holds can stop you from breaking free of the chains of addiction and seeking the supported treatment you deserve.
Fear of what your future may hold, or worse, failure, are powerful detractors from the fulfilling life you deserve. This fear and the hesitation in asking the important questions can drive you into fight or flight mode, but getting answers is the only way forward, even when it’s stressful. So what does recovery look like? What does it feel like?
It’s important that we focus on answering those questions honestly. Worse than the unknown is being presented with an idealized picture that strays too far from reality. A hopeful glossy concept helps no one if it’s not the reality of what you’ll face once you arrive.
If the potential roads that lead beyond addiction seem to always end up with you getting lost, let us help you with an honest look at what may be in store in your recovery.
What does recovery feel like?
Honestly (and that is the reason we’re here), recovery is going to feel like a lot of things. Many of them may not feel very good. It feels like getting sober, moving through withdrawal for some, and experiencing the first tentative steps of sober living. Much like a toddler learning to walk, those steps may be wobbly, messy and frustrating.
While active addiction may have felt like avoidance or numbness, recovery may feel like being bombarded with an endless stream of too much. It may feel physically challenging, emotionally chaotic or like a rollercoaster of experiences from which you can never quite catch your breath.
Often, recovery feels more like anger, denial and regret than the anticipated sense of relief. The truth is, recovery is a grieving process. You will grieve the choices you made and the ones you didn’t. Each step in those early days may hurt.
What does recovery look like?
It looks like a long road with a faded map. Recovery looks like the rest of your life, hinging on those first tentative steps. It looks like creating an ongoing support system you can build on, with grace built-in for missteps and new routes. Recovery means taking messy paths with your own creative solutions to problems other people may not have faced or have the capacity to understand.
Whether you are finding sobriety from a substance or a process, recovery looks like creative care for the whole self. From keeping your stress levels manageable to filling time and curing boredom in sobriety, recovery looks like careful time management and emotional regulation.
Bravery takes only a moment; choosing sobriety is a split-second choice you can make. However, staying sober and moving through recovery is a lifestyle. There is nothing stopping you except you, and there is nothing braver than to be afraid and choose to do it anyway.
You’re well on your way in the fact you’ve ended up here, researching these scary what-ifs. Moving toward recovery is like walking toward the edge of a cliff. Getting sober may feel like flinging yourself off while blindfolded, but we will be your safety net.
Use your next few moments of bravery to give us a call at 844-675-1623. Our friendly admissions coordinators are standing by to guide you through your next steps.
