When you’re coming back from medically supervised alcohol detox and a drug recovery rehab center, You have to remember that the work isn’t over. Detox opens up the space for you to get clean, Rehab starts you down the path toward sobriety. But you have to keep in mind, it is a path that you’ll need to chose to walk for the rest of your life. And the great news is? The best way to do it is by being yourself!
Feeling Shame or Self Loathing
So many folks end up addicted to drugs or addicted to alcohol because of a sense of shame or self loathing. If you can find the path to self love, your recovery will come more natural and hopefully, with fewer growing pains.
Here’s an exercise to help you on the path to self love. You’ll need: a timer, a journal, a pen, and an open heart.
- Put 15 minutes on your timer. When you first start writing, this may seem like a lot, but once you get started I bet it will come pretty easily. You don’t have to write for the whole time, but we are looking for as exhaustive of a list as you can write in 15 minutes.
- Sit down and spend the entire time writing about the things you love. Here’s the trick. We’re not writing here about why you love yourself or how hard it is to love yourself. You just want to write a list of all of the things you love most. Are you a farmer? Do you love walking the fields and seeing progress in your crops? Do you get excited about a beautiful piece of furniture? Maybe you love lasagna. Do you paint? Maybe you love swimming. Or biking. Maybe you can’t get enough Jane Austen and you’ve read Pride and Prejudice so much that the pages all fell out. The first thing we are doing here is just making a list of the things you love. Give it all you’ve got. Write about anything that you can think of that you love. Just make sure you leave out drugs, alcohol and gambling. This list is meant to be actionable. These are things you can still engage in.
- When your timer goes out, read over the list. Cross out or erase anything you catch as you’re reading that doesn’t fill you with excitement or a sense of joy.
Hold on to this list. Stick it on the fridge. When you start to feel bad about yourself, read this list. Don’t just read it though, find something on the list and do it, or eat it, or sing it. When you engage in what you love, you give yourself a reason to love life.
If you or someone you know is struggling with addiction to drug abuse or alcohol abuse? We are here to help. Call us now at (833) 596-3502 to get on the lifesaving road to sobriety.
