You have to do it for you. That’s what old timers in recovery will tell you. Stick around the rooms of twelve step meetings like alcoholics anonymous long enough and you will hear similar sayings. Mothers couldn’t stay sober for the babies, husbands couldn’t stay sober for their wives, doctors couldn’t stay sober for their patients, CEO’s couldn’t stay sober for their companies. No matter the circumstance, condition, social class, economic level, or race, unless a person is getting sober for themselves, they’ve hardly a chance.
Getting sober has to mean something. The meaningless life of drugs and alcohol has to be outmatched by the promises of recovery. Sitting comfortably in the numbness of active addiction is easy to do. For many different reasons, drugs and alcohol became our meaning. Some of us found identities we never had, abilities we never had, or escape we had never experienced before we tried drugs or alcohol. After some time the original meaning we found in using was replaced by the bottomless search for meaning in addiction. High, low, drunk, wasted, unconscious, psychedelically conscious- that once satisfying discovery becomes a long lost and distant memory. Therefore, when we choose to get sober, we have to create meaning. There must be a reason for us to recover. Discovering that reason is part of recovery itself.
Four out of every ten people in America feel that they have not yet discovered their meaning in life or found an answer to their life purpose, according to the Center for Disease Control. Through the twelve steps we are given a simple distinguished purpose: to carry the message. By overcoming the grips of addiction and learning to live a sober lifestyle, we inherently create a new purpose for ourselves in letting other addicts, new and doubtful like we once were, know they have a chance. Living by example, we let other people who may be silently suffering see that living without drugs and alcohol is a real possibility for them.
What will recovery mean to you? As we often say, “More will be revealed.” While in the midst of withdrawals or detox, the early weeks of recovery make meaning hard to come by unless its sheer survival. Give yourself enough time and you will find that the meaning is indeed revealed, one day at a time. Make it matter. Make it yours.
This is your time. Recovery is a meaningful decision that leads to magnificent life transformation. It starts with you. If you or a loved one are in need of treatment for addiction, alcoholism, or dual-diagnosis mental health issues call Enlightened Recovery today for more information. 833-801-5483.