Why Connection With Yourself Matters
In life, connections are critical. They are essential to have when you need support. They are important when it comes to seeking and maintaining a job. Connections are also important when it comes to forming relationships and friendships.
While the connections with others are certainly valuable, the connection we have with our inner self is equally essential. It is common to lose touch with yourself as a result of addiction. Dependence on opioids, benzos, alcohol, or other substances can cause you to neglect your needs and wellness. Your priorities tend to shift during this time. You might forget about people or things that used to be important to you and bring you joy.
Once you make the decision to enter treatment, you can begin to rebuild your connection with yourself. Let’s discuss some tips for reconnecting.
How to Reconnect
Building a strong connection with your inner self is something that can take practice. Even without addiction, learning to tune in to that inner voice can be difficult. When you throw substance abuse in the mix, you are essentially re-learning the skills you may have had before your addiction.
Connecting with your inner self requires just that, skills. It seems easy enough, right? Believe it or not, for some, making external connections can be much easier. Connecting internally involves self-reflection and, sometimes, a lot of patience. You may need to practice sitting with your thoughts and working to drown out outside distractions. Here are a few methods to consider.
Practice Meditation
Mediation involves practicing mindfulness. Mindfulness encourages several things that can aid in your efforts to reconnect with yourself. Here are a few examples:
#1. Meditation usually takes place in a calm, quiet environment. This allows you to focus on your thoughts and feelings as they occur from moment to moment. It can be easy to drown out or misinterpret both with a lot of external stimuli.
#2. Meditation is usually practiced alone. Again, while forming and maintaining connections with others is incredibly valuable in treatment and recovery, you need to be alone to really connect with yourself.
#3. Meditation promotes relaxation. When you are stressed or tense, it is difficult to devote your full attention to your thoughts and feelings in the present moment.
Meditation is something that many choose to practice daily. Some may meditate in the morning before getting their day started, while others may choose to wrap up their day with some quiet time. Find what works best for you.
Connect With a Higher Power
Spirituality is an important component of addiction recovery for many reasons. Along with healing the body and mind, healing the spirit allows you to fill a void you may feel as you leave drugs and alcohol behind. You may feel as though you have lost your sense of identity. Spirituality will help you find it again.
Connecting with a higher power can be helpful as you rediscover yourself and determine who you are and who you want to be in recovery. It can help you reconnect with the things that bring you happiness and peace from within. Those who are open to spiritual practice are often less likely to relapse after treatment.
Meet Your Needs
Meeting your needs may sound simple, but it is not always as easy as it seems. In order to meet your needs, you must first understand what they are. This is where meditation and spirituality can help. Once you have determined what you need to feel fulfilled, purposeful, and happy, it is important to act on this knowledge.
One of the ways in which you can ensure your needs are met is through practicing self-care. Self-care can look different for everyone; some may require a little more maintenance than others. Life can get busy and hectic. Making time for things that can help you feel refreshed, energized, and motivated is critical.
A few examples could include:
- Trying new hobbies
- Spending time outdoors
- Journaling
- Creating art
The Value of Self-Connection
In addiction recovery, you must be incredibly self-aware to avoid getting off track. Having a good connection with your inner self allows you to be vigilant and proactive in caring for yourself to prevent relapse. Understanding your thoughts and feelings and staying present in the moment can make all the difference.
Knowing yourself well and prioritizing your needs can help you manage stress well, avoid triggers, and stay motivated to do the things that serve you well and support your goals. At Enlightened Recovery, we will help you develop strategies and implement routines to help you maintain the self-connection required to be successful.
Connections are an important part of life. We need connections in order to work, socialize, and form relationships. Perhaps the most important connection we can have is the one with our inner self. This connection can often become strained as a result of addiction. During treatment, it is important to rebuild the connection with ourselves that we have lost and learn strategies for maintaining it. At Enlightened Recovery, we incorporate many mindfulness-focused activities to help clients learn to listen and process their thoughts and feelings in the moment. This not only helps with healing but can also reduce stress, improve self-awareness, and help clients learn to recognize and meet their needs without drugs or alcohol. Our holistic treatment model offers a variety of programs designed to help you heal and become the best and healthiest version of yourself in recovery. To get help, call Enlightened Recovery today at (833) 801-LIVE.
Begin Your Recovery at Enlightened Recovery
Enlightened Recovery is here to help you or your loved one overcome drug and alcohol addiction as well as co-occurring mental health disorders. Our holistic treatment programs treat the whole person in recovery. We have locations in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Michigan.
Get the help that you deserve now with Enlightened Recovery.