I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve heard “an addiction is an addiction is an addiction.” It doesn’t matter what substance, drug, or behaviour has its grips on you — it’s what it’s doing to your brain that results in the addiction.
We are fallible humans who are prone to different things at different times, and we will respond to different things in different ways. It’s a certainty in life that we will all deal with traumatic and sometimes horrific events at some point in our life, and how we respond and react to those events will be different for each of us.
Something that has worked well for me, as I maintain my freedom from drug and alcohol addictions, is CBT (cognitive behavioural therapy). CBT helps me to be consciously aware of my thoughts and gives me various tools and techniques to help me contradict destructive and harmful thoughts. CBT tools teach me to recognize when my thoughts might be leading to relapse, and provides me with the knowledge of exactly what I can do to prevent it.
There are hundreds of tools to use in recovery from addictions. The K.E.Y. is to Keep Educating Yourself and find a solution that works for you.
I compiled a
playlist that I find helpful to reinforce the idea that Unconditional Acceptance of myself, others, and life is a great way to soften the path of my recovery from drug and alcohol addictions.
Instead of treating your recovery journey like a walk on a high-wire without a net – reset your mindset with tools, techniques, and strategies (and accept that you’re not entitled to be happy all the time). You can’t stop the birds from landing in your hair but you can prevent them from building a nest there!
May the force be with you, and – remember – YOU are the force!
Tanya