Going Beyond the Symptoms
A hugely important part of learning from our experiences with relapse is investigating why we’ve relapsed in the first place, what prompted us to give in to the temptation of our drug of choice, and what triggered us to fall back into old patterns after working so hard to get sober. We want to work to understand ourselves and our addictions and mental health issues on a deeper level. We want to go beyond the symptom of the problem, the substance or behavioral use, and find the underlying causes of our unwellness. Understanding the reasons behind our relapse, finding the motivations behind our patterns, can provide us with the information we’re looking for in order to prevent ourselves from relapsing again in the future.
Subconscious Self-Destructiveness
For many of us, the motivation behind our addictive patterns lies in our subconscious self-destructiveness. We’re carrying so much pain within us that we unconsciously are looking to hurt ourselves and sabotage our recovery. We often don’t think we deserve happiness. We subconsciously believe we’re destined to fail. We believe we’re unworthy and inadequate. We don’t have confidence or faith in ourselves. We don’t love ourselves. When we’re internally programmed to undermine ourselves at every turn, relapse can become pretty inevitable. How can we possibly withstand all of the many attacks we’re launching against ourselves? Our self-destructiveness is a common factor in relapse for many of us, and an underlying motivation for us to return to our drugs of choice. We’re driven instinctively to want to self-destruct.
Lack of Preparation
Another reason so many of us relapse is that we lack preparation around this particular issue. We might not have learned that there are tools we can use to help ourselves prevent relapse. We might not have begun to develop mindfulness around relapse. Fortunately, it’s never too late to prepare ourselves for any future recurrences. We can actively learn to be more mindful of our thoughts, feelings, choices, and behaviors. We can practice taking inventory of anything tempting, pressuring, triggering or bothersome for us. We can become more mindful of what things we’re most sensitive to, what things we feel make us more susceptible to relapse, and what our weak or vulnerable points are. We can prepare ourselves by speaking to our therapists, coaches, sponsors and support groups about relapse in particular. We can read more on the subject, and take this preparation work seriously as an integral part of our recovery.
The Guest House is a welcoming and supportive recovery home where you will be met with open arms, wherever you are on your journey, without judgment or expectation.
Call 855-483-7800 today for more information.
theguesthouseocala.com
3230 Northeast 55th Avenue Silver Springs, FL 34488