Drugs and alcohol can feel like our only friends at the end of our addiction. Having isolated ourselves in some way to our addictions, drugs and alcohol were what we had left. Even if our worlds were full, our hearts we’re empty. Only drugs and alcohol understood us. Yet it wasn’t a real relationship. Substances are not people and the relationship was not healthy. It is important to learn about your relationship to substances. What were the underlying reasons for using? What purpose did using serve in your life? Why do you feel it is so hard to let go of your addiction? By seeing your relationship objectively, you can begin to detach from it.
Identify How You Want To Build A Relationship With Yourself: Now that you are saying goodbye to drugs and alcohol, you have to focus on a relationship with yourself. It takes time to even approach this subject. In time, you will start to think about how you want your life to be without drug and alcohol addiction in the picture. Who do you want to be? How do you want to feel? What do you want your life to look like? The more you clarify your vision of yourself in the future, the more you realize drugs and alcohol were never going to help you get there.
Allow Yourself Time, This Too Shall Pass: One day, it isn’t going to hurt your heart to think of drugs and alcohol. You won’t feel the pain of loss anymore. Eventually, you will find closure on this period of your life as you transition into a new one. Don’t expect your grieving process to happen in a hurry or look any particular way. Let your experience be what it is and be present within it.
Engage In Self-Care: For many people drug and alcohol abuse were the ways that they took care of themselves. To deal with a bad time, to celebrate a good time, to have a little bit of “me” time during the day, taking care of the self became synonymous with consuming drugs and alcohol. Recovery puts a lot of emphasis on self-care. Participating in self-care is important for the grieving process. You learn to take care of yourself and nurture your needs in mind, body, and spirit, in order to fully heal.
Feeling a loss with drug and alcohol addiction is common. Living in a safe environment with the structure of clinical care, along with the nurturing healing of holistic treatments, can ensure a safe grieving process without relapse. Avalon Malibu proudly serves as one of southern California’s leading treatment facilities providing trusted programs for change. For a confidential assessment, call 1 (888) 958-7511 today.
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