Sometimes when we are having a hard time getting or staying sober, our instinct is to think that we’ve done something wrong, or that we haven’t applied ourselves diligently enough. We beat ourselves up for not trying harder, for not working tirelessly, or for having any emotional resistance to our recovery. We may not consider that we haven’t tried the right approach yet or that we maybe haven’t received adequate support. We’re quick to blame ourselves rather than taking the time to assess how we might do things differently moving forward in our recovery in order to have different results.
Experimenting With New Therapists and Forms of Therapy
If therapy hasn’t been effective for us, we might not have developed an open, trusting relationship with our therapists. Their perspectives might not resonate with us. We might disagree on certain fundamental ideals. We might not vibe with a certain therapist. Certain types of therapeutic approaches might not be effective for us. This doesn’t mean that therapy doesn’t work, or that it can’t help us. It can simply mean that we might want to try a different therapist or a different form of therapy.
Needing Further Treatment
When we relapse after going to a treatment program, we can feel defeated and out of hope. It might serve us to remember that a huge percentage of people who attend a recovery program relapse after their first round of treatment. Sometimes we need to complete treatment more than once to reap the full benefits. Sometimes we have to spend more time and energy on relapse prevention work. We might want to work with a recovery coach often and more extensively. We might want to live in a sober house after finishing the program, to help us have a smoother, more stable reintegration experience.
Getting More Support
When we’re not seeing the results we want out of our recovery, we may simply need more support. We may have been trying to solve all of our problems on our own. We might have tackled our sobriety without any help, professional or otherwise. Trying to recover alone isn’t always realistic for all of us. Many of us need support, and there’s nothing to be ashamed of for needing to receive help, for needing to work with a therapist, or for needing to go to a treatment program, once or more than once. When we’re having a hard time with our recovery, rather than beating ourselves up, let’s look at what we could do differently. There might be some unmet needs we haven’t addressed or things we hadn’t considered. We might just need to switch our approach in order to be successful in our sobriety.
Are you ready to take the first step on your journey to recovery?
Call The Guest House today! 855-823-5463.