Rock bottom. That is where most people find themselves before seeking help for addiction. Everyone has their definition of rock bottom, but it can feel like your life is over whatever your definition is. Losing your job, marriage, kids, driver’s licenses, freedom, or any number of the above can be a wake-up call for change in your life. When you begin treatment for substance abuse and look at putting the pieces of your life back together again, it can seem overwhelming. Can I be successful after addiction?
Pressing the Restart Button for Your Life
Recovery is often referred to as a “second chance” or “pressing the restart button.” There are a lot of things that can happen while you are in active addiction that can feel unerasable. Some things you do are unerasable. What you will learn in recovery is that rather than live a life of permanent guilt and shame, you can make amends to the best extent possible, receive forgiveness, forgive yourself, and move forward. The most important step in restarting your life is what you learned from the experience.
You do not necessarily get a clean slate even as you press your personal restart button. You do, however, have the fact that you are still alive and are willing to begin treatment for your addiction. Every step beyond that is up to you. Your recovery journey can keep moving forward as long as you choose. Even if you take a step backward, you are always in control of the button and can keep making new decisions each day to find success again in your life.
Finding Your Own Potential to Succeed
Success is something only you can measure. For some, achieving sobriety is a success. Others want to make it through treatment before allowing themselves to feel successful. The truth is, in recovery from addiction, every day you make it through is a success. Your definition of success comes from you, making it essential to give yourself credit for your successes and achievements.
As you begin making the choices needed to work through the stages of change, you will discover you have a real potential for success. Remember when you thought that you could never become sober? Once you have become sober, you will realize that there is so much more ahead of you. You can set new goals and find potential that you may not have believed was possible while you were in addiction.
Can You Have Success in Relationships?
Beginning with treatment for substance abuse, you have the opportunity to re-evaluate all of the relationships in your life: family, friends, romantic relationships, co-workers, and more. Some relationships may be toxic, and others may have become too damaged for repair. This is your chance to look at everyone in your life and choose the people you wish to continue having around you.
How you define success in relationships will again depend on your personal views. As you learn more about yourself, you also come to know more about how you interact with others. You can learn to set and maintain boundaries, improve the effectiveness of your communication, and invest your emotions and time with the people who care about you and will support you and your recovery. Success is not perfection. It is what works for you.
Fast-Tracking Your Career Back Toward Success
Even if you lost your job because of addiction, you could fast-track your career back toward success. Maybe you realize you want a change in employment. Perhaps you simply want to improve your relationship with your boss and co-workers or become a better employee or boss.
By evaluating where you are and where you want to be, you can set attainable career goals while you are in treatment. Establishing these goals puts your career back on track for success. As you remove the substances from your life, you give yourself all new opportunities to succeed in your career.
What a Successful Life Looks Like
What does a successful life look like for you? Beyond getting and staying sober, what do you want to achieve in your life? Have you put limitations on your potential, or are you willing to remove those limitations and open yourself up to receive success as you open your mind to new possibilities? Only you can choose what success looks like for you. As you heal, what you determine to be successful may also change. Always remember that a successful life begins one day at a time.
Can I be successful after addiction? You have the choice to define what success means to you. Whether in your relationships, career, or life, you give yourself unlimited potential when you step out of addiction and into recovery. The Ho Tai Way – Recovery For Women is a residential treatment center for women with addiction. We see your potential for success and want to help you find it. Our individualized treatment plan will allow you to set your own goals and plan for your successes. Located in beautiful Southern California, we use trauma-informed care and evidence-based practices to ensure the best possible healing for you. We know that self-awareness is the first step toward unlocking your full potential, so we focus on education to increase your self-awareness. Contact us at (714) 581-3974 today to learn more about our program. You already have the tools inside you to achieve sobriety. We help you use them.
