Many alcoholics and addicts who truly want to get sober, but find themselves unable to stay sober for long, struggle with the concept of recovery. It can be hard to picture ourselves freed from the prison of our disease. Of course, we see that recovery is possible. We see it in meetings, or we have an acquaintance who got sober and changed their life. But we don’t really believe it’s possible for us.
What’s worse, maybe we don’t believe we deserve it. How could someone with a past like ours ever be happy? How could someone like us deserve a good life? Even if the idea makes you uncomfortable, each and every one of us deserves to live a life that is happily and usefully whole. The 12-Step program of recovery is for anyone willing to do the work. As they say, “it works if you work it”.
And here at Jaywalker Lodge, it does work. Many people just like us with similar stories, backgrounds, and feelings are sober and happy right now. We can join them if we choose to. But we must be willing to take the 12-Steps and to ask for help. We must be willing to believe that we can recover and we deserve a good life. Above all, we must be willing to embrace recovery.
Why Should I Embrace Recovery?
It’s a heartbreaking fact that not everyone who needs to get sober embraces recovery – but sobriety and recovery are available to anyone and everyone. We need only to be willing, open-minded, and capable of being as honest as we can with ourselves and others.
If we can embody those attitudes, we can take the 12-Steps with a sponsor. We can have the sobriety and recovery that we see others enjoying. The 12-Steps can work for anyone who takes them honestly.
But sometimes there is something holding us back. Whether we notice it or not, that thing which keeps us from achieving the happiness and sobriety we so desperately want is us. Our opinions of ourselves and our attitudes towards our own life can be detrimental.
If we dislike ourselves, it is unlikely that we will do anything to help ourselves. Who wants to do something nice for someone who is mean to them? That same principle works for our inner dialogue, too.
If we can just begin to entertain the idea that sobriety is actually possible for us, we might allow it into our lives. If we can learn – even just a little bit – how to embrace ourselves, we might begin to accept that the solution for alcoholism and addiction that works for so many can work for us, too. We are not too broken.
We are not too “bad” or undeserving. We are simply sick with a disease. If we can embrace a spark of hope for life, just a little bit of self-love, we can begin to embrace sobriety. It is so much harder to achieve something if we think it is not possible for us.
How Can I Embrace Recovery?
It isn’t always easy work to change our minds and opinions of ourselves. It takes a lot of practice – and practice doesn’t mean getting it right all the time. Practice simply means trying our best, day after day. When we slip or make a mistake, we don’t belittle ourselves. Never! We look at the lesson learned and use that to help us next time. This is our life we’re talking about here, and we are all worth the effort.
Luckily for alcoholics and addicts like us, help is abundant at places like Jaywalker Lodge. There are the 12-Steps to guide us, and many people who have been living sober and working the 12-Steps long before us who can help us out along the way. In order to truly embrace the idea of recovery, we must allow hope into our minds.
For many, this will take the practice we just talked about. Allow yourself to believe that it’s okay for you to be happy. Allow yourself to believe that you can get sober, stay sober, and live a fulfilling life in recovery. We have to train our minds to work with us, not against us. For most of our lives, we have been trapped by pain, fear, and active addiction.
When we get sober we can’t let those things persist and expect to remain sober. We must bravely expose our pain to have it healed. We must face our fear and replace it with hope. We must work the 12-Steps, and get involved with a sober community.
There are many ways to do each of these things, and obviously attending meetings and taking the 12-Steps is the most direct approach. Many of us need additional assistance, like professional help in any of its various forms.
And that is great! You deserve to live a happy, sober life. Pursue anything that sets you on the right path with enthusiasm and hope. It takes bravery to embrace happiness and recovery, but you deserve it.
Many people who struggle with alcoholism and drug addiction also suffer from things like depression, low self-esteem, and destructive thinking. If you need help getting past these hurdles in your pursuit of recovery, Jaywalker Lodge is here for you. We have been in your shoes, we embraced our recovery, and now we stand ready to help. Call us today at (866) 529-9255.
As Chief Executive Officer Bill provides leadership and manage all day-to-day operations of Jaywalker Lodge, an extended care residential addiction treatment program for adult men.
