Recovery

Being patient with yourself is one of the most critical parts of recovery from substance use or mental illness. Healing takes time, the process is not linear, and there is no endpoint since recovery is a life-long journey.

Addictive substances can be ingested and metabolized or injected intravenously (IV) or intramuscularly (IM). Depending on the substance being used, you may smoke, sniff, inject or ingest the drugs you are using. Of these methods, intravenous injection is the most dangerous and can cause significant harm, even with short-term use. When injecting drugs (PWID), you become highly vulnerable to severe health complications due to this harmful practice.

Sometimes, usual practices in your life can stop feeling like they are working. It may feel like you know something needs to change, but you do not know what. Visualization can help you slow down and get in contact with what your intuition is guiding you to change.

Everyone moves through the stages of change when making any shift in their life at their own pace. There is not a right or wrong way for change to happen as each individual has unique experiences. Knowing about the stages of change while in recovery from substance use and mental illness can help individuals know where they are in their own process of change.

Healing is a process of beginning to feel safe in allowing yourself to be more human. Experiences of trauma often produce the desire to be perfect through control over your environment, emotions, thoughts, and actions. Perfectionism can give you a false sense of safety when you do not feel safe without being in control due to living in chaotic environments with complex family dynamics.

Healing is a process of tapping into your healthy self and beginning to make decisions from this part of you. This is done with acceptance of unhealthy parts of you that may have kept you stuck in ways that were not in alignment with the goals and desires you have for recovery. When you can cultivate awareness around the different parts of you that exist and begin a conversation with different parts of yourself, you can also build trust with your healthy self. This is a catalyst to creating change and fostering your expansion and growth.

Having structure early in recovery can be helpful to ensure you are doing what you need to do to reach your goals, make it to appointments, and create safety in new ways of living. It is easy to miss appointments, forget what you know about how to help yourself, and set yourself up to “fail” when there is not a supportive structure in place. This is why structure in recovery is so important.

Intrusive thoughts can cause high amounts of distress, especially if individuals struggle with mental illness of any sort. Intrusive thoughts can feel all-consuming and seem like they are true. Learning to see intrusive thoughts for what they are and release them is possible and an important part of experiencing relief from musings for peace of mind.

It can be scary to seek support in times of hardship as it may not feel safe to ask for help. Perhaps you find it uncomfortable to be vulnerable, admit you are struggling, or trust others to support you. While in recovery from mental illness and addiction, it can be powerful to allow yourself to be supported and find safety in the presence of others.

Recovery from substance use disorder and mental illness can feel both exciting and scary. Healing requires you to push yourself out of your comfort zone. It is important to remember that healing is not linear, and there will be moments when you may feel like you are just not getting anywhere. It is these moments that are most important that you show up for yourself, regardless of the resistance present.

Self-trust can feel like learning a foreign language, especially if you have spent most of your life searching for answers through external validation, comparison, and doing what you “should” do. Perhaps you have never even asked yourself the question, “What do I want?” Maybe it has never even felt like an option.

Fear is a powerful emotion that can significantly impact the type of decisions you make. If you are thinking about getting treatment, you may be struggling with your fears about the future. Learning to think about your fears differently can help you control them instead of preventing you from growing. It is time to find your doorway to freedom.