Drug and alcohol addiction can slowly rob you of everything, even your sense of worth. This drop in your self-esteem makes it more challenging to reach out for help at a treatment center in AZ and might even delay your recovery by making you doubt yourself and your ability to heal.
When you enter a treatment center in AZ, one of the most crucial things you can do to help yourself find your sobriety again is to start improving your self-esteem. How does addiction impact your sense of self, and what can you do to improve it once you’re in recovery?
Understanding How Substance Abuse Impacts Self-Esteem
Drug, alcohol, and other types of addiction make you feel like you don’t have control over your life. Many people feel powerless and unable to fight off cravings while also experiencing guilt about the ways their addiction affects those around them.
Even the language around substance use disorders can take hits at your self-worth, with words like “addict” making you feel as though that’s all you are. You may feel robbed of your identity and seen only as the addiction that is causing you so much harm.
All of this combines to make you feel like you’re not worth saving, leading to delays in treatment or an increased risk of relapses if you do get help. In the United States, only about 11% of those with substance use disorders ever get the help they need. While many factors lead to that small number, one contributing issue is that many don’t feel confident in their ability to recover. [1]
How to Improve Your Self-Esteem and Find Yourself While in Addiction Recovery at a Treatment Center in AZ
When you enter a recovery program at a treatment center in AZ, you can heal and rebuild your identity in a safe, supportive environment. As you navigate the treatment process, keep a few things in mind to help you boost your self-esteem.
Give Voice to Your Emotions
As you battled addiction, your emotions may have taken a backseat to the cravings you suffered through. During recovery, rediscovering your voice is essential — as is finding a healthy outlet for everything you feel.
Having a tsunami of emotions sweeping through you doesn’t help your recovery process, so doing things that allow you to vent makes it easier to manage. For some people, it can mean writing poetry or drawing, while writing in a journal is enough for others. Think of how you would feel most comfortable expressing yourself and try it.
Build a Support System
Having people around you who care about you and cheer you on allows you to see yourself differently. It’s essential, however, to be honest with the people you love.
Speaking openly makes it easier to relieve some of the burden of carrying thoughts and emotions trapped inside you. This is one of the reasons treatment centers focus so much on the power of turning to others, whether with 12-step programs, support groups, or family members.
Target Mental Health Issues With A Treatment Center in AZ
Mental health disorders like anxiety, depression, and more all play a huge role in addiction. In many cases, mental health concerns lead to substance use disorders. If you experience powerful symptoms of mental illness, turning to drugs or alcohol might have seemed like a good way of getting relief.
To give you the best chance at finding your identity once more and achieving sobriety, you have to address the underlying mental health concerns. That is one of the many ways we can help at Desert Cove Recovery.
Turn to Holistic Treatments for Addiction
Holistic treatments offer the chance to rediscover parts of yourself you may have thought were lost. You may even find layers of yourself you may not have realized were there. By engaging in sports, music, art therapy, or any hobby that catches your attention, you can learn more about what inspires you while rebuilding your respect for yourself.
Forgive Yourself
One of the most challenging things you will have to do as you recover from an addiction is to accept and forgive yourself. Blame and guilt will not keep you sober and may work against you by lowering your self-esteem even more. By understanding what you’ve been through and accepting that you can’t change the past, you can learn to respect yourself again.
Forgiving yourself opens the door to positive thinking and hope. Having compassion and being patient with yourself as you struggle with cravings makes it easier to focus on what the future holds and not on the mistakes in your past.
Set Attainable Goals
When you first begin your recovery, it’s not helpful to give yourself a huge goal you may not be able to meet for years. Instead, focusing on smaller, more attainable things allows you to celebrate those achievements. No matter how small you think the success is, it will help you to start trusting yourself again.
Begin Your Recovery at a Treatment Center in AZ
When dealing with a substance use disorder, you may feel like you’ll never be proud of yourself again. It’s vital for your recovery that you understand that’s not true. Addiction is a relapsing illness, like many others, and you deserve treatment and care. The road to recovery can be long, but by relearning how to see yourself as more than just the symptoms of an addiction, you can start the journey.
If you’re facing addiction, turn to us at Desert Cove Recovery. At our recovery centers, we offer individualized treatments to help you heal. Reach out to Desert Cove Recovery today.
Sources:
[1] https://www.aamc.org/news/21-million-americans-suffer-addiction-just-3000-physicians-are-specially-trained-treat-them
