Part of recovering from mental illness and substance use includes getting to know who you are outside of those things. Experiences such as addiction, anxiety, depression, and other mental illnesses can cloud your sense of self and block you from knowing your true self.
You may use these conditions as protective layers that distract you from your power, purpose, and truth. You may have lived with a mental health condition or substance use disorder for so long that the symptoms have become familiar to you. Finding yourself without them can be a disorienting experience.
It can be liberating to get to know yourself outside of mental illness through reconnecting with your inner voice, doing what brings you joy, and experiencing life outside the box of your diagnosis.
Reconnecting With Your Inner Self
When you are freed from using substances and experience less severe mental illness symptoms, there is space created to connect with your authentic inner voice. This is the voice of intuition and your healthiest self who can hear more clearly. It may feel like a whisper, guiding you to be who you are and creating your most desirable life. The more you listen to this voice, the more of yourself you will find.
Leaning Into Passions
Recovery is a wonderful place to begin discovering passions and hobbies you want to begin or perhaps revisit. It can be helpful to consider what you loved to do as a child, something you have always been curious about, or what brings you the most joy. Leaning into your passions will help you rekindle a healthy, loving relationship with yourself.
Allowing Yourself to Change
It is not uncommon to feel destabilized in recovery as you let go of identities wrapped up in mental illness and substance use. Perhaps it feels like you do not know anything but your condition. Even when you desire change, it is scary to let go of what you know because it feels safe.
Part of you may feel like you do not have permission to change, or that you are not able to change due to feeling uncertain about what these changes entail.
Change can be scary, but it is liberating. Allow yourself to receive support from a treatment team and those who support your recovery. You have the innate potential to create the life you desire, and getting to know yourself outside of who you have been is what allows you to do so.
Recovery from mental illness and substance use is like getting to know your true self all over again. Such an experience can be filled with just as much uncertainty as liberation. At Avalon Malibu, we understand how difficult it can be to let go of what is not serving you and find who you are outside of mental illness or substance use. Our team of professionals is here to support you as you begin or continue your journey toward healing and wholeness. If you are ready to experience freedom, call Avalon Malibu today at (844) 857-5992.
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