The acceptance stage of grieving, as it pertains to drug or alcohol addiction, is about more than simply admitting you have a problem. It’s about taking action to find a resolution.
This installment of our five-part blog series explores the acceptance stage and offers additional tips for what you can do to start changing your situation for the better.
Accepting Loss, Accepting Gain
Throughout this blog series, we’ve talked extensively about the difficulty of grieving for the loss of your old way of life. What we have yet to talk about, however, is that by accepting and understanding your dependency on drugs or alcohol and taking action to correct it, you’re opening the door for a brand new perspective on life.
Abstaining from substances allows you to increase your confidence, maturity level and ability to make healthy decisions. With this will come a renewed sense of pride and self-love. You may also experience a new kind of pleasure and joy that is different from the temporary, distorted pleasure achieved through substance use. So, now what?
Acceptance in Action
Taking action to interrupt your substance use introduces a new set of steps and questions. Where will you seek help? When? How? What kind of program is right for you?
The good news is that you have many great options for starting your journey toward recovery. In fact, you can even get started right now. The rest of this blog will show you what you can do on your own, with help from friends or loved ones and with help from a professional drug and alcohol rehabilitation program.
But before we begin, take a moment to congratulate yourself on finally putting your acceptance into action!
What You Can Do Yourself
Improve your nutrition: The use of drugs and alcohol and the lifestyle associated with substance use likely impacts your physical health in a negative way. Imbalanced physical health can make the initial phases of recovery feel more difficult. As you begin to replenish and balance your physical health, it becomes easier to experience the positive effects of quitting drugs and alcohol. Learn more about common nutritional deficiencies caused by addiction.
Get plenty of exercise: Whether you enjoy walking, jogging, playing sports or practicing yoga; physical activity relieves stress and helps your body stay healthy. See what the National Institute on Drug Abuse says about the link between exercise and recovery from substance abuse.
Engage in experiential activities: Activities like art, music or even cooking can provide you with an outlet to express yourself and discover your internal identity.
What You Can Do with Others
Connect with healthy people: Are there people in your life who have offered to help you in the past? What about friends or family members you have fun with without the use of alcohol or other drugs? If so, consider reaching out to them and establishing a sober support system.
Join a support group: Various support groups offer a structured, supportive environment where you can share your experience with other people who understand what you’re going through. Examples include:
Help from Professionals
Outpatient Rehab: For some, an intensive outpatient rehabilitation program may be an effective solution for recovering from drug or alcohol dependency. For example, attending individual therapy weekly with a therapist who understands addiction or attending a group several times per week.
Residential Rehab: Residential treatment provides a safe and substance-free environment for the initial phase of treatment. This is a significant safeguard for those who have tried multiple times to quit using and are unsuccessful.
In the beginning phases of treatment, before a person experiences acceptance, cravings can be intense. Decision making and reasoning are still being influenced by substance use and simultaneous conditions, like diseases, depression or family stress, can make it very difficult to interrupt substance use at a lesser level of care.
Residential care offers nursing, medical, psychiatric, nutritional, recreational, educational and therapeutic assessments and interventions to address all areas of functioning.
Counseling: Therapy can help you learn to use healthy, sustainable coping skills to deal with your addiction during and after recovery. Learn why individual therapy is essential in addiction recovery.
We Are Here to Help
Recovery is a lifelong journey. And, just like any journey, you may experience setbacks. If you need someone to talk to or you fear you may relapse into using drugs or alcohol as a way to deal with everyday life, our addiction treatment center is here for you – from grieving to recovery and beyond.
When you’re ready to start, The Raleigh House is ready to help. Call us today.
