Accepting and coming to terms with our addiction may be one of the hardest things we’ll ever have to do as addicts. For many of us, we’ve spent much of our lives embroiled in our addictive behaviors and caught in vicious cycles of suffering and self-destruction. We may or may not have realized we struggled with addictions. With the stigmas, judgments and stereotypes surrounding addiction, we may have been afraid to identify as addicts. Acceptance is a powerful part of the healing process.
Many of us are in denial about the severity of our addictions. We know our addictions well and aren’t prepared to give them up yet. Some of us haven’t become conscious of our behaviors yet, and we haven’t put it together that our recurring, problematic, self-destructive issues are related to addiction.
When it hits us that we are addicts, we can feel a whole range of emotions. We feel deep sadness, regret, shame, embarrassment- about who we are, how our lives have played out, the people we’ve hurt. We might be filled with fear, dread and panic at the thought of being in this much pain for the rest of our lives.
The sooner we come to terms with our addictions, the sooner we can get better. When we have acceptance, we can surrender, allow ourselves to receive the lessons and then move through the pain. We often try to resist the truth about ourselves and fight against it. We take our fears and pain about who we are and bury them under more drugs, alcohol, relationships, sex, food, gambling, video games, etc. Eventually it catches up with us, though, and after a few more go-rounds, we hit “rock bottom” – that place we know we can never let ourselves get back to, if we want to stay alive. Sometimes we’re in that place and still haven’t accepted what it is we’re up against- addiction.
We’re often afraid of being judged and rejected by the people we care about. We’re afraid of disappointing the people who believed in us. Sometimes we try to hide how bad it’s gotten, for however long we can, until we can’t, and we surrender. We accept. “This is my truth. I am an addict.”
To help pull ourselves out of that place, we can start to change how we think and talk about ourselves- as recovering addicts. We can choose faith and hope. We are capable of change, and we have the power to heal.
The community at Enlightened Recovery is here to support you, and we understand the recovery process firsthand, from personal experience. Call (833) 801-LIVE