Next Steps in Recovery Mental Health

There’s a lot of focus understandably on the challenges and opportunities in the initial day, month and years of abstinence from toxic substances. There’s less support and direction for building on one’s mental health in ways that overcome those negative emotions that inevitably re-emerge with clarity in sobriety and present an obstacle to fully actualized living along with being a potential contributor to relapse.

You hear it all the time, when the road of recovery leads through that bliss period (the pink cloud) when finally drugs and/or alcohol is out of the system then the irregular and inevitable highs and lows of life. Not only an aspect of one’s environment and history (perhaps and often exposure to trauma) but years of consistent substance use (note the word use, not abuse here as just consistent use is damaging) causing irregular production by the body of dopamine and other stimulants towards sustaining happiness and level emotions.

Easier said than done, but perception is most often the key term in characterizing how ones disposition determines their mental state. If you are not truly being harmed, there is no reason to feel harm, but we do. Following are some key considerations to keep positive in life.

Addiction rehab often focuses on simplifying life. That usually means letting go of things that are not helpful to us. Releasing negativity in your life helps you focus on the happiness that exists. Often, we let negative emotions get in the way. We become so obsessed with those issues that stir up negative feelings that we don’t even notice the pleasurable aspects of life.

Addiction comes with a lot of potential for negativity, but shedding those mental traps can help you find happiness and success in the process. Reflect on your tendencies to see if you need to let go of these potentially negative aspects:

• The past: Addiction often leads to decisions that cause damage in your life. Those decisions might cause a decline in health or legal issues for you, and they may also result in some failed relationships. It’s natural to relive every decision you’ve made in the past, but it doesn’t help you move forward. You can’t undo those decisions, but you can choose to make healthier decisions every day of your recovery. Acknowledge the mistakes you have made and forgive yourself for those past decisions. Once you find peace in those past actions, you can focus on the present and the happiness that is waiting for you.
• Perfection: Rehab gives you a chance to start over, but your second chance doesn’t have to be perfect. You are allowed to make mistakes or struggle with decisions. Striving for perfection sets you up to feel stressed. Perfection is unattainable. Sure, you want to make better decisions. You want to avoid future mistakes while staying on the path to recovery, but expecting perfection is not realistic. It puts unnecessary pressure on you that can rob you of happiness and interfere with positive decision-making. Worrying about messing up can make you avoid making decisions at all. Let go of the need to attain perfection.
• Blame: Blaming yourself, blaming other people — it doesn’t matter who you blame or why. Assigning guilt to anyone is a sure way to suck the happiness out of life. When you blame others for your addiction, you hold on to bitterness and resentment. You give away your power to recover and move on, and you often stay stuck in the past. You also rob yourself of owning up to your mistakes and moving on toward a healthier life. Constantly blaming yourself is not helpful, either. Accept your responsibility, and then let it go without reliving the blame game every day.
• Resistance to change: Change is a scary prospect for anyone. Treatment for an addiction involves a large amount of change to the way you have been living. You can no longer turn to your substance of choice as you are used to doing. Instead of fighting the change, however, embrace it. Focus more on what you gain from the positive changes that happen during recovery instead of what you give up by quitting your addiction.
• Negative self-talk: Self-esteem and addiction recovery go hand-in-hand. Negative self-talk chips away at your confidence, leaving you feeling bad about yourself. Those negative things you tell yourself take away your ability to experience happiness. You feel as if you don’t deserve happiness. When you catch yourself engaging in negative self-talk, stop immediately and send yourself a positive message instead.

If there is one activity as an ongoing item to chip away at daily if you can, its building positive connections with people in your life. From brief meetings with strangers through to strengthening relationships with your family and people you want as positive peers in life, these positive interactions strengthen our sense of self worth and positivity. In summary, just be a good person, build confidence through good positive connections and reframe your perception to feel gratefulness. Its an ongoing project worth enjoying.