Why Can’t You Cut Corners in Addiction Recovery?
Reliance on shortcuts and crutches is a hallmark of active addiction. If you have a long history of substance abuse, you probably used drugs or alcohol to avoid dealing with stress or conflicts in your work or home life. The haze of intoxication eventually evolved into a cushion between you and healthful behavior, shielding you from criticism, anxiety, shame, guilt and other complicated emotions.
Once you begin working on maintaining a sober lifestyle, you’ll encounter a variety of ups and downs along the way. Some moments will feel inspiring, while others will be frustrating. When faced with challenging times, you might impulsively seek short-term fixes, thus jeopardizing all the progress you’ve made. As you’ll learn, however, you can’t cut corners in addiction recovery.
Mindfulness Is Crucial
Using drugs or alcohol to push your feelings under the rug, rather than taking things as they come, is not constructive or healthy. Developing a practice of mindfulness in recovery will help you learn to be patient, live in the moment and take life at a slower pace. There are many easy ways to incorporate mindfulness into your daily routine, from taking time to notice minor details to meditating when you first wake up.
Healing Takes Time
If you envisioned yourself in residential treatment, you might have pictured spending a month in a rehab program to “cure” you of your addiction to drugs or alcohol. The reality is that treatment programs of 35 days or longer have better outcomes in helping people achieve long-lasting freedom from substance abuse.
In other words, the first month of detox and initial therapy only builds the foundation for a lifetime journey toward sobriety and the fulfilling, joyful life that awaits you on the other side of addiction. If you try to rush through your recovery instead of taking it one phase at a time, you will put yourself at a higher risk of relapsing.
Addiction Is a Chronic Brain Disease
It may sound pessimistic to say addiction is not a curable condition, but on the bright side, you can improve over the long term. Again, you can’t cut corners in this process, but that doesn’t mean it’s unattainable. You might know someone living with a chronic condition such as cancer or diabetes who has had to learn ways to manage their symptoms and live a healthier lifestyle. As a recovering addict, you should think of yourself in that same way.
You Need an “Attitude of Gratitude”
Addiction recovery takes tremendous dedication, and it will probably seem like an uphill battle at first. However, every milestone you achieve will be more rewarding as you appreciate how far you have journeyed from the scared, miserable, self-destructive person you were when addiction had you in its grasp. In hindsight, you can be grateful for everything you’ve learned along the way. Even if you have a setback or a bad day, value it for how it has made you stronger and more resilient.
Addiction Recovery Takes Patience
The fact that there’s no quick fix for addiction and co-occurring mental health disorders may seem disheartening, especially in the beginning, but you will discover it’s worth the effort. Like any other worthwhile endeavor, addiction recovery is more meaningful when you put in the work. If you embarked on a diet, you wouldn’t expect to be able to drop 15 pounds overnight, so why would you expect there to be shortcuts in something as life-changing as healing your mind, body and spirit?
Though you may not make instantaneous progress in recovery, by finding an accredited treatment program, you’ve taken the first steps toward independence from substance misuse. To learn more about residential rehab in Florida, please contact us at Beach House. Our commitment to providing a healing retreat in a culture that combines clinical excellence with love and compassion remains unwavering.