With the arrival of the new year, you are once again presented with the opportunity to make new goals and resolutions to ensure that you are living the best possible version of your life. With this comes a new chance to recommit yourself to your recovery journey.
No matter how long it is that you have been sober or how devoted to your recovery journey you may be, there are always things that you can continue to do to further educate yourself and re-devote yourself to your recovery.
There may also be times in life when you may feel as if your commitment to your recovery is starting to waver. This doesn’t mean that you’re ready to give up; it just means that it is time to re-access things and figure out how you can best move forward while keeping your sobriety a top priority.
Understanding the Ups and Downs of Recovery
There can be a lot of ups and downs when it comes to your devotion to your own recovery journey. Consider, for example, if you were straight out of your initial stages of treatment, whether it be inpatient or outpatient treatment. At this point, you would have been sober for an extended period of time. Perhaps this is even the longest time you’ve been sober in a while. This can cause you to feel not only proud of yourself but more in control and hopeful and excited for things that are to come.
A lot of the reasoning behind why some people in their initial stages of treatment feel so hopeful and confident is because they think that recovery will always feel this way. All of the things they learned during treatment is still very fresh on their mind, and they are feeling confident in regard to their next steps in moving forward in life.
In reality, however, the recovery journey is not without its bumps along the way. Some of these bumps may seem predictable, while others may seem to come out of nowhere. However, it is up to you to be prepared and know how to respond to these bumps when they occur.
Addressing Obstacles in Your Recovery Journey
There are a great variety of reasons why someone might turn away from their recovery journey, despite having devoted lots of time and effort to it. Some common examples could include:
- Not yet seeing the progress they would have expected at this point
- Feeling overwhelmed by trying to keep up with life events and still attending treatment
- Feeling a sense of discouragement when life in recovery does not appear as expected
- Not getting the sense of support from loved ones that was expected from them
- Feeling as if recovery is not a possible long-term option
Recommitting to Recovery Today: Your Turn
At the end of the day, nobody will tell you that recovery is easy. It is not something that you can decide for yourself for one day and be done with the next. Rather, it is a continuous decision that you must choose to make every day for the rest of your life.
Let’s talk about why recommitment is so important. It may seem as if recommitment takes so much time and effort from your already busy life. But if you feel as if your focus and dedication to your recovery journey may be fading, then this is probably one of the most important things that you can do for yourself.
It can help to think about some of the reasons that you considered when making the decision to get sober in the first place. Some examples may include:
- I am ready to start living the life I deserve without drugs or alcohol
- I am confident enough to overcome any challenge that may come my way
- Any strength that I need, I hold inside of me
- I am strong enough to re-devote myself to recovery
Some of the most important things that you can do to re-commit yourself to recovery are to reach out to your treatment provider and let them know of your struggles. They may have certain adjustments or recommendations they may want to make to your treatment plan.
More Ways to Recommit to Your Recovery
Some additional ways to recommit to your recovery journey include:
- Making an effort to attend support group meetings whenever possible
- Attending therapy sessions, whether they be in person or virtual
- Making a conscious effort to avoid temptations in everyday life
- Further educating oneself about how to deal with anger and resentment in a positive way
- Making sure to practice self-care on a regular basis, including attention to both physical and mental health needs
Don’t forget to make some time for self-care as you recommit to recovery. This involves doing anything to make yourself feel better mentally and physically.
No matter how long you’ve been in recovery or how committed to your recovery you might be, there may still come times when you are not feeling motivated. Perhaps this is because of certain obstacles you may be going through in your life or simply because you need to go through the process of recommitting yourself to your recovery. Part of the re-commitment process involves reminding yourself why you ever made the decision to get sober in the first place and why this process means so much to you. If you are struggling with substance use disorder, our team at The Ho Tai Way can help. Call (714) 581-3974 today to learn more.
