The iconic American author and philosopher Joseph Campbell famously said, “We must let go of the life we have planned so as to accept the one that is waiting for us.” This is what embracing your recovery is all about. It is about being willing and open to the idea that there is a happier, healthier life just beyond the horizon of addiction. Also, it is about taking action and achieving that life that you or your loved one desire and deserve.
Embracing Your Recovery in Rehab
There are three key components when it comes to embracing your recovery in rehab. These components are “acknowledging that there is a problem,” “accepting help for that problem,” and “taking action to correct that problem.”
There are many ways to achieve these three vital aspects of recovery. One is to set goals for your recovery, two is to find some joy in recovery, and three is to expand your horizons in recovery. However, none of these essential steps can happen if one is unwilling to put themselves and their recovery above everything else.
Embracing Your Recovery: Putting You First
It may seem like a difficult concept to focus on yourself to maintain sobriety and recovery. After all, don’t many people go to recovery because they want to be better for the loved ones that their addiction is hurting? While yes this may be true, what’s even more true is that these relationships cannot be mended unless you get well first.
One way to think about it is with the oxygen mask analogy. If there is trouble on an airplane, it is important to secure your own oxygen mask first before helping others. If you don’t, then you may pass out and not be able to help anyone (including yourself). The same is true in recovery. You must get well first.
Also, putting your recovery first is not enough. You must continue to put your recovery first to maintain long-term sobriety. If this doesn’t happen, then there is a greater potential for relapse and losing everything you worked so hard to recover. As is said in many recovery circles, “Anything you put above your sobriety, you are liable to lose.”
Embracing Your Recovery: Setting Goals
Setting goals is also a major part of embracing your recovery. Many people get side-tracked by the phrase “one day at a time.” Yes, recovering one day at a time is vital. However, making sure to embrace daily steps toward long-term goals is also pivotal.
A big part of setting goals is creating a mindset that there is something beyond the struggles of active addiction. It also keeps you accountable to your recovery plan. Stick to the plan and the goals not only become possible, but they can become probable.
Embracing Your Recovery: Finding Joy
We don’t recover to be miserable. There was enough misery in active addiction. No, we choose recovery to bring joy back into our lives and the lives of others.
This joy can come from embracing your recovery and the process of getting well again. The joy will come from feeling psychologically better from therapies, physically better from experiential activities, and emotionally and spiritually better from holistic healing methods like yoga and meditation. Joy also comes from expanding your life.
Embracing Your Recovery: Expanding Your Life
In active addiction, our lives often get very small. We isolate ourselves from those who love us, and we lose interest in activities that we once enjoyed. Embracing recovery can bring all of that back.
In recovery, our lives often get bigger because we are open and willing to allow new people and experiences in. We also no longer fear change and are willing to be momentarily uncomfortable to achieve monumental gains.
Our lives also get bigger because the people we once hurt and turned away slowly start to come back, giving us an opportunity to make amends and create new significantly stronger bonds. We also meet many new people in recovery and we embrace these relationships fully because we know that they are going to help keep us sober and living a life beyond our wildest dreams. It also gives an opportunity to help others who are struggling in recovery. You are uniquely qualified to help other people embrace their recovery as well.
Embracing Success With Rancho Recovery
Here at Rancho Recovery, we know that embracing your recovery is also about embracing your success. Recovery is possible, and when that recovery starts to happen it is important to hold onto it and enjoy the ride.
After all, recovery is all about the journey, never the destination. That journey is much more fun when it is embraced fully. At Rancho Recovery, we’ll help you start and stay on the journey of a lifetime.
In rehab, it is important that clients fully embrace the process. When this happens, it sets us up for success in recovery. Embracing the recovery process includes engaging with an array of recovery professionals like psychologists, therapists, dieticians, and counselors, working with our recovery peers, and being willing to try new recovery methods like cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), art therapy, yoga, and meditation. If you feel like you or a loved one are struggling with issues of addiction, mental illness, or both, we can help get you on the right road to long-term recovery right away. You don’t have to go through this alone. For more information about embracing the process, please reach out to Rancho Recovery today at (877) 484-1447.