He who conquers himself has won a greater victory than he who conquers a city.- Proverb
Addiction is a disease that is often associated with a grueling road to recovery. Those who have found themselves dependent on a substance or a self-defeating behavior often experience cycles of attempts to heal themselves and painful relapse. In fact, the road to recovery may in itself be traumatic: full of frustration and self-loathing.
“I tried. God knows I tried. But I am stuck in this rut. I cannot do anything.”
The public commonly perceives addicts as so deep into the disease that they do not have periods desiring sobriety. But this couldn’t be further from the truth.
Addicts, like you and me, have moments of clarity and self-awareness. They have periods when they come face-to-face with the consequences of their illness. They feel guilt, remorse, frustration and even fear. Deep down, most of them do not intentionally set out to inflict emotional pain on their loved ones. They make plans to change. They make promises to be better. The problem is that they cannot keep them.
But recovery is NOT impossible.
A good number of people have found help and support and they have moved on to live full and tempered lives. Many have found healing from addictive behaviors as an entry point to healing other things in their lives: healing their personal life, relational life and work life. But what is clear is that recovery takes WORK. You cannot say goodbye to addiction overnight. It may even require from you months, even years of consistent personal processing. But it is not impossible.
And it will be well worth it.
2076
Kay Vardeleon
Counseling Psychologist
Learn more about addiction and other mental health issues at http://www.clarityandwellness.blogspot.com/
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