Addiction affects every aspect of your life, from your relationships and financial situation to upholding your morals and values. Coming to terms with the aftermath of your substance use during recovery can be difficult. Having an understanding and empathetic support system can be a valuable part of the recovery process. We at Spero Recovery want to be part of your support community and help you cope with your past so you can prosper in your new sober lifestyle.
Coming to Terms With Your Past
There are a lot of things that you may have to face when you start your recovery journey and work to become sober. Substance use is a consuming and life-altering mental illness. Obtaining and taking your substance of choice becomes your main priority, even if it means hurting the life you’ve built for yourself, putting yourself in dangerous situations, or hurting and pushing the people you love away.
Hurting Loved Ones
Your loved ones can be big casualties of your substance use. They are on the frontline of people trying to help you and witnessing what the substance is doing to you. Family and friends are also the ones you are most likely to take advantage of to continue using.
Some ways that they end up getting hurt are:
- Financially- by giving you money because you tell them you need help, but then spend it on drugs. Or from you stealing money or things to sell from them because they stop willingly giving you money.
- Physically- depending on the type of substance you are using, it may cause you to lash out while under the influence. This can be due to auditory or visual hallucinations. You may also put them in dangerous situations with you so you can obtain your substance or while under the influence. An example would be driving your younger siblings in a vehicle while under the influence and crashing. This can hurt your sibling, yourself, and anybody involved in the accident.
- Mentally- your loved ones witness the consequences of your substance use, which can sometimes include traumatic experiences. They can see your physical, social, economic, and moral decline. Your loved ones watch you destroy the life your built and potentially morally compromise yourself to obtain your substance.
- Emotionally- it can be draining trying to remain a part of an addict’s life, especially when you can see they need help but don’t. Even more difficult is when you have to choose to cut them off for your health, well-being, and sanity.
Criminal Behavior
An article published in June 2020 by the National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA) states that “85% of the prison population has an active substance use disorder or were incarcerated for a crime involving drugs or drug use.” This means that it is not uncommon for drugs and criminal behavior to go hand in hand. Not everyone with an addiction ends up committing crimes or being charged with criminal activity.
For those that resort to committing crimes to obtain their substance or get pushed into doing something they wouldn’t sober, it can be a long-term effect on their life, especially if they get caught. It can affect your relationships, job opportunities, and how you see yourself when you get sober.
Coping With These Behaviors
Coming to terms with this behavior and the consequences of it during recovery can be overwhelming. There are ways to cope with and heal from these actions. Some techniques include:
- Understanding that the behavior and actions you committed while under the influence do not define who you are now.
- Evaluate your past and identify the events where you hurt others. Bringing these events to the surface helps you start to seek forgiveness from yourself and others.
- Be open to forgiving yourself and seeking forgiveness from others. Self-forgiveness lifts the weight off your shoulders to open the path to recovery. You have to be able to forgive yourself before you can expect others to. These can also be learning experiences for you. What can you do to prevent it from happening? Were the people involved trying to help me or encouraging me to do something I shouldn’t?
- Focus on the good you are accomplishing and the positives in your life.
- Ask for help. Reaching out to get the help and support you need during recovery can greatly increase your chances of reaching long-term sobriety.
Spero Recovery Helps With Coming to Terms With Your Past
A residential treatment facility that prides itself on providing effective and affordable care is Spero Recovery. We use grants and donations to keep our costs below the national average. This makes us the perfect place for under and uninsured individuals seeking help.
Our program is based on the 12 steps. There is no religious affiliation. More so, we emphasize that you are not in control of your addiction, the use of community in recovery, and seeking forgiveness from yourself and those you wronged. Working The Twelve Steps gives you goals to reach to overcome your addiction and maintain sobriety. It can make the recovery process easier to handle when you know what you are working towards and have a support system to help you get there.
Our use of alumni to lead therapy sessions is beneficial for you and them. It gives you a chance to connect with someone that has been through a similar situation and successfully worked the program. The alumni get the chance to give back to their community, connect with others working on their recovery, and feel a sense of purpose. They lead programs like woodworking, meditation, hiking, and cooking classes.
Being under the influence of a substance can lead to you participating in behaviors you wouldn’t if you were sober. These behaviors can include things like swearing at your boss, breaking up with your significant other, and pushing away family. They can also include robbery, assault, or prostitution. No matter what the behavior, coming to terms with it during recovery can prove difficult. Forgiving yourself and seeking forgiveness from those you wronged can be even harder if you feel like you are struggling with coming to terms with your past while on your recovery journey. Reach out to Spero Recovery at (303) 351-7888 for more information today. We want to help you thrive in your new sober life.
