Making peace with yourself is often the goal when beginning therapy and treatment for substance use and addiction, even if that is not the language you may use to describe what you ultimately desire.
After years of chaos, peace may feel unattainable and even unsafe. Through slowing down, receiving help, and allowing yourself to change, inner peace is possible.
Slowing Down
Being busy and constantly “on” may feel like the safest way to be as it distracts you from your thoughts and emotions. Speeding up and doing more is also praised in society, whereas slowing down can be viewed as lazy—by yourself or by others. Because of this, taking action to slow down can feel like a threat to your survival and belonging in life.
Beginning to cultivate safety by slowing down, letting go of distractions, and building a connection with yourself is a crucial piece to feeling at peace with yourself.
Receiving Help
It can be incredibly helpful to receive help from professionals or loved ones while discovering what inner peace means to you. It may feel difficult to accept help, especially if you do not feel safe trusting yourself or others, which is often a symptom of mental illness and substance use disorder.
Beginning to let others into your world, receiving help, and cultivating safety to trust others and yourself are important parts of establishing and experiencing inner peace.
Allowing Yourself to Change
Change, although uncomfortable, is exactly what is needed to shift your baseline of functioning from chaos to peace. Change asks you to get out of your comfort zone, especially when it feels scary. You must allow yourself to experience change and let go of what feels familiar so that you can make room for new, more peaceful spaces within yourself.
Cultivating safety and discovering what inner peace means, looks like, and feels like for you is a long journey. Beginning to slow down, getting curious about what brings you peace and what does not, receiving help, and allowing yourself to change are what ultimately lead to inner peace and freedom.
Making the changes to experience inner peace with yourself is not an easy feat, but it is possible. Living in chaos can become comfortable and experiencing peace may feel boring. At Avalon Malibu, we recognize how hard it can be to feel at peace with yourself after trauma, mental illness, and substance use. Our team of professionals is here to support you as you begin to change old ways of being into new ways to experience healing. If you are ready to begin your journey, call Avalon Malibu today at (844) 857-5992 to learn about our recovery programs.
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