3 Keys to Building A Foundation in Recovery | Guest Post by Daniel Wittler
Entering recovery for drug addiction can be extremely overwhelming. Not only are you having to deal with your past when you weren’t in the right state of mind. You now need to change a lot of things in your life to prevent yourself from entering the same lifestyle. This can result in advice in all sorts of areas, coming from every angle from all different people. From my experience there were a few basic necessities in building my new life that absolutely saved my life and continue to. I pray this article finds those new in recovery that need to just read the simple, yet effective things they need to do in order to build a successful foundation in recovery.
A Support Network
The most important thing to have in recovery is the right people surrounding you. I believe the most common mistake those who enter recovery make is the belief that they can do it themselves! I always say to people, “If you could do it yourself don’t you think you would of done it already?”. We need to find people who have been in early recovery like us, and found a way out. We need them to tell us what they did in order to get out of the grips of addiction and do it ourselves! It really can be that simple. I struggled for this forever because I had a hard time opening up to others with my real problems, my ego wanted me to make sure people thought I was doing great when I was really screaming for help inside. My treatment facility I went to actually had an alumni program, which is offered at many treatment centers and it introduced me to my peers in recovery right away. If you surround yourself with people who are taking the right actions, you will do them yourself.
Practicing Honesty
The life of an active drug addict is usually a life drenched with lies. Not only lies to other people but also lies to themselves. I lied to myself all of the time to justify and rationalize my terrible decisions. Once we enter treatment, honesty can be practiced right away. There needs to be transparency with the help that is provided at facilities so you can finally address lifelong issues that have never been resolved. I truly believe that without complete honesty, the process of getting sober through something like the 12 steps is just a waste of time. My biggest moments of growth occurred when I was really in fear of something or feeling down about something and just completely laid it on somebody who was there to help me. There is something about getting our problems and issues out of our head and into the universe that genuinely makes it seem like these problems aren’t permanent and all we need is for someone to guide us in what the solution may be. Once you find your support network, make sure you have one or two people you can be honest with at all times. It is a life saver.
Action, Action, Action
How are we supposed to build a new life if we don’t take action? A key to my early sobriety was making small, achievable goals and working on something every single day. Whether it was finding a job, finding a sponsor, meeting a sponsor, doing step work, going to the gym, making a budget, the list could go on and on. There is always something to do, the most detrimental thing we can do in early sobriety is become stagnant and complacent. Once you start getting more active in your own life and building it, you will feel the benefits very quickly and will want more! The hardest part is just getting started. In recovery, we get what we put out. I promise if you put your heart and soul into it, the rewards will amaze you.