Category: Addiction Treatment

Radical empathy practices imagining what life feels like to someone else. 

When we have radical empathy for recovery, we understand that addiction serves a purpose in a person’s psychological ecosystem. Addiction has a raison d’être, a root cause that is far more tenderhearted and touching than we might realize. 

Radical empathy knows of the existence of this very good reason for your addiction. What is it? 

A protective, life-enhancing, life-supporting, and positive intention: to survive against the odds.

Addiction Manages PTSD Symptoms 

Addiction shows up where the soul has been harmed. Addiction manages the PTSD symptoms that go along with living with a broken self. It makes life livable (ish). 

Therefore, when radical empathy looks at addiction, it sees it for what it actually is: a strategy to make it through something that would otherwise represent a serious danger to the psyche’s chances of being here at all.

Psyches can be busted and broken. We are resilient but not indestructible. We need protection, ways to keep ourselves together. 

Even though addiction is no friend – in fact, it creates many, many very serious problems – your psyche was trying, in its own way, to keep you alive for the future, when it developed this pattern.

Forgive yourself, if you can, for making a deal with the devil. For what you chose to do and what kind of a bind you were in, that required you to make that contract. That set you up for walking the demanding road to recovery, now.

Radical Empathy is The Key out of Prison

The key out of the prison of addiction is to deeply self-approve, understand, and accept that addiction represented a solution for you. It met a need. And even though you don’t want to have a binding deal with the devil anymore, you must understand that the need itself was and always will be valid. 

A need for safety, for help managing PTSD symptoms, for experiencing an inner world that isn’t haunted by misery and demons every single waking moment, is completely human and not too much to ask of life. 

When you choose to have empathy for a human in such need and pain, that she would take substances into her body in a way that – deep down at least – she knows isn’t normal, you can begin to heal and find a better solution for the pain and necessity behind that choice. Radical empathy is the key out of addiction’s prison. 

Radical Empathy Acknowledges Psyche’s Needs

For parts of your psyche, it was, and is still, a matter of survival, of making it to the future. We often fail to acknowledge the very difficult, monumental job that psyche has to do. 

Psyche, sensitive and impressionable, has to somehow stay intact in the face of overwhelming, full-gale forces whose natural, unavoidable effect on the soul is to shatter it.

To prevent further fragmentation, further splitting into parts and pieces, the soul will grasp at all kinds of things that it wouldn’t, under safer, better circumstances.

Radical Empathy Works

Radical empathy means understanding that self-judgment doesn’t really cure anything. How often have you told yourself you should be like this, or you should be like that? Does it lead to change?

Most often, should-ing only leads to the appearance of change, to get someone or something off our backs. 

Perhaps it would be fine if shaming, blaming, and judgment actually worked, but all of these approaches have been proven time and time again to have zero impact on causing addiction to go away (in fact, the absolute opposite). 

Empathy, by contrast, is effective. It’s only in a space of true neutrality, in the light of true kindness, that we often open enough to see what’s really going on. 

When radical empathy embraces and surrounds us, we crack open and let life see the splinters in our soul. Soaked in empathy, these can, at last, be extracted from our psyche’s depths. 

Radical Empathy Leads us into a Positive Future

Radical empathy has a firmness – it doesn’t mean we consent to harm. It doesn’t mean letting us do bad things to ourselves, now that we know better. It means we understand the whole addiction cycle, the shape of the space it sits inside. 

Radical empathy has a path and a plan for us. It helps us know there is a future in which we not only survive but flourish. A future in which the holes in our soul become places where spirit plants its seeds, spirit-seeds that sprout into lush, fresh life. 

It always hurts to be in pain, but when you’re feeling the sharpness of chronic pain alongside addiction concerns, it may feel like you have nowhere to turn. The relationship between chronic pain and addiction is a tumultuous one, but it’s one you can find support for. 

That support will look different for everyone. Below, you’ll find tips to navigating chronic pain alongside your recovery and answers to the questions that may help you make sense of the complicated space you find yourself in. 

Developing an addiction in response to pain 

Living in pain makes it more likely that someone will be prescribed opiates or painkillers to manage their symptoms and make their lives feel meaningful. Over time, those medications become less effective by design. Painkillers aren’t meant to be a long-term solution, but for people who experience pain long-term, there isn’t a better alternative. 

When their medications stop giving the relief they once did, the person in pain may begin to seek other options to fill that gap in order to continue meeting the demands of their body. This is where the slippery slope begins because, at this point, neither path is going somewhere that will be sustainable for a holistically well life experience. 

Whether you are in recovery, actively still in addiction, or supporting someone who is in these spaces, it’s important to consider the impact of chronic pain on addiction in a holistic sense. 

Body

Everything hurts, or maybe just some things hurt—but it’s happening in ways that make it difficult for you to engage with your world in a way that feels safe and familiar. Pain is a powerfully invalidating variable that none of us are ever truly prepared for. We are designed to be able to handle pain in short doses, or in situations where we anticipate it may occur. When you stub your toe, it will hurt. A papercut will sting but heal. A sprained or strained muscle may give you some difficulty but it will get better with time. 

Chronic pain doesn’t get better with time, and it often leaves you feeling a whole host of emotions about how to navigate it. It’s frustrating, especially as you continue to feel incapable of carrying on with no end in sight. Having your hope stolen with every breath is defeating in an entirely new way. 

But even when your body is failing you, you can make choices other than giving up. Some days, your commitment to honoring your body may be to rest. You can find mindful meditation in bed, while you’re resting. On the days you feel capable, gently stretching your muscles or working your body in safe ways may help you to alleviate the domino effect of chronic pain like muscle atrophy and stiff joints. 

Mind 

It is a heavy mental weight to bear, navigating the pain in your body and the conflict of managing it. Many of the ways you once used to deal with the pain are no longer accessible to you in your sobriety but can be nonetheless tempting. Adding to the challenge are the complex mental gymnastics you need to endure to remind yourself of what you truly want—sustainable recovery. Be gentle with the thoughts that come up in the duality surrounding managing these needs. 

If you find yourself thinking thoughts that you thought you were long past, do not sit with them in judgment. When it feels good, you can bring these thoughts to your therapist, sponsor, or mentor to talk about the way they’re landing for you. 

These thoughts and feelings may include: 

• Doubt about your recovery 
• A desire to use that feels more powerful when your pain is high 
• Guilt that undermines the hard work you’re already doing 
• Anger at yourself or your body for putting you in this position 
• Frustration or confusion at the  turmoil of these competing needs
• Isolation from your recovery, your friends, or your life 
• A sense of failure, or negative self talk that encourages you to fail 

Thinking about things that feel counterintuitive to your healing is actually a positive part of self-actualization. Giving space to those thoughts without giving them any power will return the power they once held back to where it rightfully belongs: with you. 

Does chronic pain lead to addiction?

While chronic pain doesn’t necessarily cause addiction, there is a notable correlation between the two. That’s a hefty sentence and largely deflects the question. But there really isn’t a simple answer. Yes, chronic pain can lead to addiction. But no, chronic pain doesn’t cause addiction. 

For some people living with chronic pain whose medication has stopped working, they seek the support of other therapies to manage the pain they’re experiencing. For others, they begin seeking other medications, alternatives, and substances that reduce their pain, just so they can get through. 

These behaviors are often substance-seeking in nature and have the potential to become an addiction.

Managing chronic pain in recovery

For those who develop chronic pain after they’ve entered recovery, navigating any sort of pain management may feel like a volatile experience. How do you choose which risk is the easiest to navigate, and find support for the trauma it’s likely to bring up as you decide? Again, there’s no easy answer, but there is a plethora of support available to you through recovery and long-term support programs like therapy and group connection. 

For our clients, we offer alternative support therapy that includes opportunities to alleviate pain through routes outside of medical practice. Things like acupuncture, reiki, movement therapy, and even nutrition can complement other pain relief modalities that you may undertake with your health professionals like physical therapy or massage. 

There is no one right answer for managing recovery alongside chronic pain, but there is one universal truth: you are worthy of being supported through it. If you’ve found some validation and support in these words, we are grateful you’ve shown up to find them. If you feel ready to reach for more, we are here to help. 

These three words, “what causes addiction” elicit such a divisive response in a question that seems to evade a clear answer. The cause of addiction continues to elude research for a finite answer, but we want to examine the information we can find- and the impact of holistically considering your existence for its sum instead of its parts. 

What does “addiction vulnerability” mean?

Put simply, addiction vulnerability is the term used to describe the risk factors that you’ve experienced that often lead to substance misuse. It’s important to know and understand so that measures can be taken to support potential addiction before it becomes a greater problem.  

When you’re vulnerable to something, there’s a higher risk it could impact you and, if it does, that it will be a more difficult battle to overcome. This correlates to the lifetime risk of experiencing addiction, though it doesn’t definitively determine who may or may not struggle with substance misuse.

Identifying addiction vulnerability can help to track risk, monitor progress, and proactively safeguard against dangerous risk-taking behaviors. There’s not yet a comprehensive idea of everything that contributes to someone’s addiction vulnerability, but neuroscience is working to develop an inclusive picture to try to inhibit risk where possible. What we do know is that there are three main factors that contribute to primary addiction vulnerability.

The three-factor model of addiction 

Most research concludes that a three-factor model of addiction is the most supported inventory of risk we have right now. While these factors do not account for every person who misuses substances, and can’t be an exclusive guide to what someone may experience, it does offer a glimpse into understanding how addiction occurs. These factors consider what you experience (exposure), where you grow (environment) and what you’re made from (genetics). Let’s take a closer look at each of these.

Environment

When you live in physical or emotional spaces that create high-stress scenarios, your environment may contribute to addiction risk. This doesn’t simply refer to the geographical location of your lived experience, but also the tone of the spaces you take up and the interaction of others around you. 

The mind is neuroadaptive, meaning that when something bad continually happens to induce stress or adrenaline, your mind will begin to rewire itself to help you cope. Above all, your brain is working hard to help you survive. Sometimes the way it goes about that is by creating a desire for escape or clinging to experiences that help you to forget your trauma or dull the pain of a difficult environment. 

Genetics

You’re born with a universe of science coded into your bones. Every cell in your body carries the map of what you’re made of—your genetic code. Inherited from the people who gave you life, your genetic makeup can play a part in the cause of addiction. 

There’s a lot of contention around just how much genetics play into addiction risk, and reports claim it’s somewhere between 40-60% tied to the risk of substance misuse, with an even greater risk to those born to people who struggle with addiction. 

It’s difficult to separate the added risk of having addicted parents from other factors like the exposure it brings, but there is no doubt that the science of your cells can contribute to the cause of addiction.

Exposure

This one ties heavily into the two that came before it, strengthening the case for your environment and genetics even as it expands on them. What you see happening around your formative years helps to develop your sense of acceptable behavior. 

From the risks you take to the values you hold, you begin to develop your sense of behavior based on what you are exposed to. Was drinking commonplace in your home? Were you exposed to drug use in the media you watched or social circles at school? These things are all a part of the exposure factor of addiction.

You are not a product of your risk, you can find healing 

There is no formula to determine who will develop an addiction, or how we can help precisely. This is because we are not formulaic beings. You are not a series of numbers to be put into a machine and output an exact answer. You are a spiritual, emotional, and incredible being made up of not just these parts but so many others that cannot be measured. 

There is no moral failing or finger of blame to point at those who develop addiction in their lifetime, and you will find no fault placed for the things that have happened to you. We are not here to judge, but we are ready to help you heal and understand how you got here. You deserve support. You deserve answers. We are here to offer both.

Addiction and mental health are intertwined phenomena. In some ways you could say they grow together, like plants that tend to be found together in the wild.

Addiction and mental health problems grow together because they come from the same root conditions. Wherever there is a lack of wholeness and safety inside the self, you are likely to see either or both crop up.

Mental health and addiction are fostered in that profound suffering – the state of inner fracture – and both can be understood as attempts by the human psyche to find a way to cope with that state. The psyche tries to keep itself together, by coming up with ways to rebalance itself. Mental health problems and addiction can both be understood in that sense, as adaptations to a core imbalance.

Addiction is what happens when dependence on an externally-sourced substance develops. That externally-sourced substance is addictive because it helps modulate (temporarily) the experience of having a broken self. Addiction can develop also to behaviors which induce a state change inside us, but the purpose is the same – to help make living with a broken self more tolerable.

Whether to substances or behaviors, addiction is characterized by a gradual loss of freedom while life becomes more and more devoted to maintaining the chemically altered state of being, as well as avoiding the state of withdrawal.

What’s tragic about addiction is the extent to which a person’s life energy can be consumed into the needs of the addiction, and the way that feeding the addiction eclipses all other life activities and purposes. Relationships, career ambitions, experiences of human aliveness – all can become less important than the requirements of the addict within. The spirit of addiction consumes a person from the inside out, much like a parasite, eating its way through its host, eventually killing it unless treated.

Mental health roughly refers to the state of mind and state of psyche which we would call whole, intact, or even just functional enough to get by. When we have good-enough mental health, we are considered sane. When there is a severe imbalance, a distortion favoring a problematic, counterproductive way of coping, it can come to be considered a mental illness.

Mental illnesses can be considered as maladaptive coping mechanisms, or ways of adjusting to life that create serious problems for us.

What is helpful to understand about the two is that they interact with each other – people with addiction almost always can be said to have had an underlying mental health condition which sets them up to need extra help finding peace and safety internally. Likewise, if you didn’t have any before, addiction gives you mental health problems. During withdrawal we suffer terribly, but also long afterwards, when the ravages visited upon a human soul through addiction can take on the characteristics of mental illness – depression, anxiety, obsessions, even psychosis.

The best approach for healing mental illness and addiction is to treat both at once, while understanding that more important than the names and classifications, which particular diagnostic code you may be given, is to understand that suffering can be healed.

Whether that suffering looks most like addiction, mental health imbalance, or most likely, a combination, the cure is the same for both. The cure, in essence, is to develop a path back to wholeness that is just right for you.

Via this personalized path back to wholeness, you come to experience a kind, loving presence at the center of your experience. This kind loving presence inside can bear witness and teach you to tolerate and withstand the many shifting states of being which come to arise in you in the course of your life.

12 step programs help you anchor that presence in by calling upon a “higher power” who comes to help you with your daily life, all your activities, to help you tolerate your feelings, make decisions, know what to say and do. Mental health programs and therapists help you to activate the aspect of your own self who is like that higher power, the wise one. Both usually work best when there is an element of community as well, so that people outside of your own psyche can help you recall your value, your tools, and your belonging to the family of life.

Ultimately it does not matter what you call it or how you think of it, as long as you develop a personal relationship of trust and relying upon this centered, loving best wisdom to help you get through life with a sense of coherence, purpose, and safety.

The addict within lies to us about many things, but most of all it lies to us about what we are doing to other people. That is why when we get sober we may find ourselves surrounded by people who are not quite ready to forgive us.

Some of us are lucky enough to have a wise friend or family member who can give us the understanding and support we need. More often we will find our close loved ones blaming us for being addicts, cutting us out of their lives, or withdrawing sympathy.

If we want to recover, we will have to understand that while we should not victimize ourselves further by blaming ourselves for having an addiction, we have to accept that this is what addiction creates. It devastates bonds of love and relationship.

It is also wise to be aware that people who love us are entangled with our illness in a way that can result in some very dysfunctional behavior. When there is an addiction present in a family or other kind of love relationship, the loved ones are sick too, with a co-occurring condition called codependency.

Codependency is what happens when a family or partnership becomes fused and mixed up psychologically so that no one is sure whose feelings are whose. Controlling, scapegoating, denial, and enabling are typical dysfunctional behaviors where codependency is present.

Addicts tend to exist in families and relationships that are enmeshed psychologically. When enmeshed, people are not fully free to be healthy and whole, nor do they get to experience a balance of individuality with belonging, but rather share a mashed-up group psyche.

Such a condition of fusion tends to co-exist with the presence of unhealed traumas and their corresponding trauma-bonds. Trauma bonds are fused, unhealthy interpersonal attachments formed during overwhelming experiences.

Just like people with addiction, people with codependency can come back to wholeness, but it takes time and work for them too. The upshot of recovery for loved ones is that everyone must learn to care for themselves, which takes self-acceptance, self-forgiveness, and a willingness to experience feelings and vulnerability in the light of conscious awareness.

Each person will have to learn to take responsibility for their own feelings, thoughts, and behaviors. All must end the cycle of perceiving one’s inner experience to be caused by, therefore only be cured by, what other people do. (The victimized state has to be healed). This means trauma work, which helps develop an understanding that the fused state was an adaptation to unhealed trauma.

Family and/or couples therapy can be extremely helpful and supportive for a family who is sincere about helping the addict to recover. That means the family is ready to look at the ways they have benefited, not only suffered, from having one member be addicted. This means honestly investigating if they have in any way supported or cooperated to keep their family member sick. Education about what does and does not heal a person from addiction is helpful too.

Funnily enough, the addict who gets into recovery often finds herself in an unexpected position. As the person who has committed to healing, she is now a family leader, someone who will gently pull the family forward to evolve out of the state of pain they have been in this whole time.

Through developing more self-awareness (a requirement for sobriety), she becomes someone who can help the family recover from its deep state of trauma-caused enmeshment, and the corresponding avoidance of feelings and truth.

However, it’s also important to grasp the paradox that even though this is her role now, the addicted person can’t actually do recovery for anyone but herself. Rather, to understand that by devoting herself to healing, she is palpably helping the whole family to do the same someday.

In other words, once you free yourself to a good-enough degree, you may be able to assist others. Not by pulling them out, but rather by coaching them through the process of self-disentanglement.

Once disentangled, the individual members of a family can now love each other in a new and healthy way, which will support sobriety and happiness all around.

Most of all, I want you to hear that families and loved ones that want to can heal, with work, patience, and surrender. It is not rocket science, but it does take time and courage, and the reward is limitless. I send you and your loved ones every encouragement to find out for yourselves, how different life can be with loving relationships at its core.

If you’re thinking about getting sober, yes, do it! You’re worth it and life is a million times better sober, it just is. Addiction is a false friend and you’ll be happily surprised how much better your life is when you end this relationship.

There is a huge community of very loving, funny, interesting, kind people who live beautiful lives in recovery without needing to use any kind of substance. You will be warmly welcome among these people, if you can get yourself here.

These people, the recovering, will understand you and accept you in ways that you have not felt in the isolation of addiction nor among those who are not addicts.

If you’re ready, here’s an overview of the basic path to sobriety.

1. Sober Up Safely

Getting sober is relatively straightforward, as you probably already know: stop ingesting the substance that is chemically altering your body, and you will eventually return to a state of sobriety.

You probably already know what it’s like to detox, as most of us experimented with quitting a few times before we were finally demoralized enough to get help.

The process is essentially this: remove the substance completely, set yourself up somewhere where you will not have access, and allow your body to go through the complete process of adjusting to the lack of this substance.

Please note that many should consider a medical detox because depending on what you are withdrawing from, the withdrawal process itself can kill you. Medical detox is a place where you check in to go through the withdrawal process. You may be given medications to ease or counteract the immediate pain and danger of the withdrawal process.

Whatever approach you take, it’s important to understand that you will be sick during this time. You can’t expect yourself to function normally, and you will be at high risk of relapse if you ask anything of yourself. Protect your detox by making sure you are not interacting with friends or trying to live some kind of a normal life during this time.

2. Enter Treatment and/or Join 12 Step

Once you have the substance out of you, you are in a very vulnerable stage in which the risk of returning to your substance is very high.

For that reason, it is very supportive if it is available to you to enter a good residential treatment program, in which you are removed from your normal environment completely for a short term respite during which you have a chance to undergo a lot of work on your inner being in a neutral, safe environment.

Residential treatment will typically involve aspects of education about recovery & help you plan for what you will need to do upon returning to your past life. You will be expected to participate in individual therapy and groups, whether you’re feeling great that day or not, but you will not be judged and your experiences will be understood through the lens of addiction recovery.

You will be allowed and encouraged to let it all hang out, though there will be rules you are required to follow and you will need to surrender to the structure there. You will not have a lot of choice, especially about the schedule–there will be a lot of planned hours for your own good, and it is best to just go with it.

Typically the first days in treatment are the roughest, and by the time you’re ready to leave, you feel excited about the changes you are now making in your life to live a sober, happy life.

If you are not able to go into residential treatment, don’t worry, you can still recover, through 12 Step (which is completely free) and/or intensive outpatient treatment (IOP), where you stay in your home environment and attend treatment intensively.

If residential treatment is like boarding school, outpatient is like regular day school. This has advantages and disadvantages, but it will work as long you are able to put serious, sincere effort and intentions into recovering. A sincere wish to recover is good enough, you don’t have to know how.

Whether you join 12 Step or treatment, or best of all, both (it has been proven most effective to follow treatment up with joining a 12 step community, so you can have the support of some wise, recovering friends long term), know that by undergoing this stage of deep, hard work changing habits now, you are saving your own life and setting yourself on a path that will lead you to joy, purpose, and meaning. You are worth it, my friend!

Are you chemically dependent on a substance or behavior?

If you are chemically dependent on drugs or alcohol, it means that when the substance or behavior isn’t available to you, you go into a state of pretty strong discomfort. You might have physical symptoms (tremors, headaches, cravings, etc) as well as unpleasant emotional states (grumpiness, depression, aggravation, panic).

Two other hallmarks of addiction are obsession and compulsion. If you are obsessed, your thinking centers mostly around your drug: getting it, recovering from it, craving for more, the how and the when of it.

If you are compulsive, that means your behavior happens almost on its own, without your full consent or control. Even when you have good reasons not to, you find it hard to override your urges to use.

If you think you may have an addiction, and you would like to break it, congratulations, you’re in good company. There are many, many benefits to living free from the enslavement to substance or behavior, and there are many wonderful, interesting, and smart people who have done the same. These people will be your friends and community once you do the work to get yourself there.

Here is how to break an addiction once and for all.

1. Give up mood-altering substances, forever.

Addiction creates a change in the body, brain chemistry, and the spirit, and it is very, very unlikely that you will be able to recover the ability to use your substance casually.

Most people with an addicted profile also find that they cannot engage in another substance as a substitute. For example, if cocaine is your main drug, you can’t switch to only beer or marijuana, and make it very long. This is because the core mechanism of dampening your experience chemically rather than through healing it from within will sooner or later lead you down the same path.

This is more true the longer you have been doing it, and the more severely you have become chemically dependent, but either way it is almost always best to accept that there is no going back to casual use.

This might be hard to fathom just now, but rest assured there are millions of people around the world who are completely clean and sober, all the time, every day, living normal lives, attending weddings, parties and concerts, having sex, experiencing the full rainbow spectrum of human experience, all completely sober.

2. Change yourself from the inside

Understand that you must replace the drug with something else –a natural, organic way of transmuting your suffering into a life you can tolerate. That means you need to heal your thoughts, your emotions, your spirit, and your body, so that you are an intact, fit human being who is up for the task of life.

This can be done, but it takes work and it takes time. The good news is, it is accomplished in a very small, piece by piece way, breath by breath, day by day. You don’t need to know how you will get through tomorrow, but only get through right now without reverting to using your substance.

Typically, a full on, head to toe, thorough personality renovation is required to be able to stay sober longer term. That’s because the reason we turned to addiction in the first place is because of what we’re like on the inside – what our thoughts are like, what feelings those thoughts create in us, how we experience our lives.

We would not become addicts in the first place if we were having a good old time being us. No, usually it’s no fun to be us, sober. That can be changed, but it is a slow process, like restoring topsoil. It is not done overnight.

There are 2 main paths to this self-restoration: treatment and 12 Step. 12 Step has the advantage of being free of cost and mostly likely available in your local area without you having to go too far.

All in all the best approach would be treatment in combination with a 12 step program like AA or NA, for ensuring the long term follow through and daily habit changes which are typically required to turn into someone who doesn’t find life unbearable without substances.

All in all, it’s good to know this: People all over the world recover from addiction and live sober every single day. They live lives of joy, deep meaning, fulfillment and purpose. They have lives far beyond what they ever imagined for themselves. You can have this too!

Much like a yoga practice requiring consistent attention and self-compassion, recovery is exactly that—a practice. It’s an evolving effort toward something that you can never truly master but always find space to grow. Making room for both joy and peace in equal measure is one of the best ways to make continual progress in your recovery practice and avoid becoming burnt out. 

Including meditation in your recovery plan is a versatile way to capture those feelings and many others. This unique tool requires dedication to a single goal: to look inward and discover the profound capability already there. So what is meditation, exactly? And how does it overlap so beautifully with addiction recovery?

Meditation & Recovery: Same, but different

While meditation and recovery are vastly different processes, they ask a few similar things of us: to be patient with our bodies and minds, to continue even when it’s frustrating, and to learn to observe our thoughts and feelings without acting on them. Both meditation and recovery mean accepting our past actions (and our future ones too) without judgement so that we can reconcile those things within us and find peace. Maybe that peace is brief, but the practice of reaching for it is the experience we’re after. 

Meditation doesn’t ask you to be someone different. It’s not asking you to show up without a past or without a future. Recovery is much the same. And, like meditation, you may find yourself frustrated as you try to exercise a new skill you haven’t accessed before, but no one expects you to get either perfect on the first or thousandth day of practice. 

How to begin 

It’s easy to get caught up in how long it takes to develop a habit, especially if you’re new to something and want to be able to gauge when it will feel like second nature. Trying to find that answer may just be setting yourself up for failure in meditation or recovery- so try starting from the beginning every day that you show up. 

You may choose to listen to a guided meditation, watch a video or remember your time in treatment benefitting from a meditation program like ours. No matter how you begin, remember that your mind will wander, and that’s okay. Let the mind wander as the body relaxes, and you learn to find your center. Celebrate the little successes when you show up for yourself, and in meditation, those successes may truly be little. Setting realistic goals and expectations for yourself is the most empowering tool you can give yourself as you begin a meditation practice. 

Benefits of Meditation for Recovery 

There are as many benefits to meditation as there are types of meditation. While you’ll be the best expert in what you need from a meditation practice as you begin to narrow down which style may be the right fit for you, there are a few constant benefits when paired with your recovery. 

• Improved mental health comes from spending time clearing out the dust and settling into the spaces between them for a fresh perspective. 
• Thought awareness will allow you to notice what you think and feel without attaching judgment or obligation to act on them. 
• Stronger self-control results from the discipline to return to a practice that isn’t innate to how our world moves and will condition you to respond with patience and persistence to your body and mind. 
• Experience more confidence in your thoughts and decisions, as well as your ability to navigate them when they feel overwhelming. 

Mantras and Reassurance for your practices 

It can be frustrating to try things you aren’t good at or contrary to the habits you’ve cultivated, even when those habits aren’t serving you. You’ve already done the hard work of recognizing that and reaching for healing that will benefit you in undertaking addiction recovery and now considering adding meditation to your daily practice. We’d like to offer a few mantras you can repeat to yourself when the complexity of emotions overwhelms you. 

“This is not a waste of time.”

“My efforts are my success, not the end result.”

“I am worth the energy to try.”

“I showed up today and that is good.” 

“I cannot force this.”

Each of these mantras represents an essential part of your empowerment in developing these practices alongside one another. Both your recovery and meditation efforts will benefit from taking the time to recognize your capability to continue to show up and put energy into yourself as you are. You do not need to be anyone else or let go of any of the core parts of you to succeed in connecting body to mind to move toward a harmonious future of healing. You are already something wonderful: you are yourself, and that’s a perfectly precise thing to be. 

Addiction impacts everyone differently. Whether you are experiencing it for yourself or someone you love has a damaging relationship with a numbing agent, the impact extends into every facet of your being. From past to present and stretching well into the future, addiction has a way of lingering. For each of those instances, we want to ensure you’ve got a starting point to cope with what you’re going through and find healing when you’re ready. 

Discover the coping skills for addiction needed to successfully find healing on your journey.

When you’re addicted

There is a single most important skill, strategy, and reminder you deserve to have offered, today and every day until it is as innate as drawing breath and it is only one sentence long:

You are not your addiction, and it does not define you. 

Regardless of the space you’re in on your journey of stability and recovery, this is the truth. Addiction may define the choices you make or the actions you take, but it will never be the sum of your parts or the beat of your heart. You are a whole person, worthy of healing and compassion just as much as you are accountable for your hurt. 

In the thick of it 

Is it a daily battle to keep your tumultuous relationship with alcohol or other substances in check or under wraps from those around you? Are you actively denying your risky behaviors but still feel that twinge of discomfort reading this? 

Take a moment and read the paragraph above once more because even if it speaks true, you are still not defined by your addiction. When you’re in the middle of a raging storm, it may feel dangerous to take the first step toward safety- and it may well be. However, as you work toward that step of owning your struggle and seeking the support you deserve, there are steps you can take to cope with the space you’re in now. 

Wait. When you feel a strong reaction coming on or the urge to use, take a moment. It doesn’t matter if you use this moment to meditate, breathe, or listen to a favorite song but putting a pause between impulse and action can make a big difference.

Open up. Whether it’s to your journal, a friend, or a medical professional, telling someone you trust about the fears and worries you have about your use can begin to build a support system you’ll rely on as you move through the following stages of healing. We’re happy to be a part of that system if you’re ready, and you can reach us here. 

Throughout recovery 

Spending time in recovery can help you feel confident in the skills needed to maintain your sobriety and continue walking a path of holistic healing. Even in those times of recovery, you may find yourself drifting with old temptations nudging against your new lifestyle. You can move through them, and while your support network is the best place to turn to combat those things, there are small skills that will support your agency in your own recovery: 

Stay busy. Find a hobby, a task, or a skill that interests you and commit to learning it. Maybe it’s a single hobby like reading or a niche interest like knitting. Indulging in a consistent activity to keep the mind and body busy and engaged can circumvent the risk of restlessness. 

Talk. It’s that simple. Talk to a loved one, your counselor, a sponsor, or other recovery guide. Talk to your cat, or a song, or your journal. Just purge the silence of your uncertainty into a space you trust. 

Ground in gratitude. Start a gratitude journal that you carry with you, and every time something happens to make you feel unsettled, triggered, or doubtful, jot down something you’re grateful for. It doesn’t have to be big—maybe you’re particularly charmed by the shape of the clouds or that small moment of clarity during the morning’s meditation—but the act of focusing on joy and gratitude can change the focus of your emotional energy. 

Coping with a loved one’s addiction 

When someone you love is struggling or has struggled with a tumultuous relationship with substance abuse, it can be challenging to refocus the relationship and all the emotions that go along with that. Perhaps you’re supporting someone through their early detox, or you’re years in recovery with someone dear to you. Maybe you’ve got a new friendship with someone who has an old relationship with substance abuse. Having a collective of coping skills for addiction to support your loved one while caring for yourself is key. 

One particular skill you can develop is refocusing your social time together. Find activities that don’t include the focus of your loved one’s addiction- and that doesn’t just mean making sure they aren’t exposed to triggers during your time together. Try new hobbies and hangouts to avoid old feelings while they’re feeling vulnerable. 

There is a myriad of coping skills for addiction that we can focus on learning together at any stage of recovery.  Whether you are looking for ongoing support alongside your life or a residential reset to renew your commitment to your healing, we have options that will help you to strengthen not just your coping skills but your flourishing power as well. 

 

Addiction recovery is definitely not something that will happen overnight. And you cannot just know that you have an addiction, wish that it will go away – and sit back to watch it happen. If overcoming addiction were that easy the term addiction probably wouldn’t even exist. 

Addiction recovery is tough. It is a struggle. There will be days when getting out of bed and facing the world will feel like the hardest thing you have ever had to do. The work and dedication you have to put into overcoming your addiction may even have you questioning if it is all worth it. Wouldn’t it be easier to just give up and continue to live this new life of addiction, pain, and heartache? Never. 

In this article, we’re sharing the essential addiction recovery steps for women so you can begin to plan your recovery journey.

Addiction Recovery Steps for Women

Letting go of the woman you once were is not an option. You have to fight for yourself. You have to give everything you’ve got to fight through your addiction and get to the other side. Will it ever be easy? Well, not actually – even though it may feel like it gets a little easier with time. Why? Because you get stronger! 

As you begin your recovery journey, there are certain steps you will likely take. 

Here are seven addiction recovery steps you will need to take on your journey.

1. Admit There is a Problem

When it comes to anything in life, you can’t begin fixing something if you don’t believe there is a problem. The same holds true for your addiction. Until you are willing to accept that you may need help and are able to verbalize that to your friends and family – and most importantly yourself – you can’t get started. You have to truly know you have a problem before you can address it – and find freedom from it. 

2 . Have a Support Team

Overcoming addiction is not something you do on your own. You need professional help throughout the recovery process, helping you prepare for all the ups and downs and tough challenges you will face. Friends and family can be great beacons of support, but also be sure to invest in those who have dedicated their lives to helping people in your situation. From addiction to mental health and all that goes with the recovery process, seek help. It will give you the greatest opportunity for success. 

3. Make it Through Detox

Before you can get to the real work of recovery, you have to join a detox program for women. This will take place during the first few days of the recovery process. You have admitted you have an addiction and you have surrounded yourself with supportive people – now this is where you take the first step toward getting yourself on the other side. Detoxing is the process of going through withdrawal and removing all the drug’s harmful properties from your body. 

Detoxing can be scary, leading to many unpleasant physical symptoms. But it is important to remember that it is all temporary. And, every moment you spend detoxing is one more moment closer to finding freedom from addiction. 

You can do this. 

4. Approach Daily Life In A New Way

If you continue to do the same thing, you will get the same results. If you want to make positive changes in your life, then you need to change your daily routine and begin approaching life in a new way. Take note of times when your thoughts would turn toward your addiction or any triggers you may encounter. And start turning things around. Quash isolation and loneliness with the support of others and change your habits to be more productive at caring for yourself. 

5. Celebrate Your Accomplishments

Recovery Road is a long, treacherous one. There will be a lot of struggles and tough moments. But when you get through them, you need to celebrate it. You need to acknowledge that you made it through something really tough and challenging. And that you are going to be ok. 

The more you focus your attention on your victories, rather than just the challenge, the stronger you will begin to feel — and the more victories you will have. 

Celebrate along the way. You deserve it. 

6. Don’t Allow Relapse to Take Over

You may be walking through life entirely free, feeling strong and over your addiction. And then something happens — you find yourself getting a little sad or feeling a little lonely. Or maybe you have reconnected with some old friends because you feel like you are strong enough to be friends since you are recovering successfully. Then again, maybe you are dealing with a huge life-altering situation such as the death of a sister. 

Just because you feel free, doesn’t mean relapse isn’t real. In all that you have learned, you must recognize your triggers and symptoms so that you can take the necessary actions and keep yourself from relapsing. Admit when you are feeling vulnerable or weak and seek support. It is the only way you will stay out of the dangerous cycle of addiction. 

7. Keep On Keeping On

When you find freedom in recovery, you can exhale. You know you have worked hard to get here and you wouldn’t do anything to compromise that. Let the new routines and habits you formed become permanent ones. Do not allow yourself to fall back into old habits — always, always be aware of your triggers. And, most importantly, learn to practice gratitude for all that you have, all that you have been through, and all the good things that are to come. 

The above steps are not part of a formal program, but instead, offer you guidance in the steps you can take to pull through. Of course, having the help of a women’s holistic treatment center is always a positive step in the right direction, too.

Recovering from addiction is one of the toughest things you will ever have to do. And even if it doesn’t seem like it is possible for you, it is. Seek help today, my friend. You are so worth it.