How to Get Past the Trap of Self-Loathing

Who in recovery from addiction doesn’t have skeletons in his or her closet – well, not actual skeletons, but actions, thoughts or words we now find repugnant, disgusting, disloyal, illegal, immoral and much more? The truth is that you can’t go through the horror of addiction, then treatment, and into recovery without facing squarely some of those memories you’d much rather forget. And facing them takes courage. Not facing them leaves you at a stalemate: not able to progress, but not yet sliding backward either. But how do you get past the trap of self-loathing? Is it just a matter of time, or are there specific things you can do?
 

Take Bite-Sized Steps in Recovery

You’re out of treatment and about to begin your first few days and weeks of recovery. Now what? Just the prospect of being on your own again is both liberating and more than a bit scary. That’s perfectly understandable, since you’ve just left a structured environment where if you ever had a problem, there was always someone right there to assist you to get back on track. Now, however, it’s all about you. While early recovery can seem overwhelming, it certainly doesn’t have to be.
 

Addiction Recovery: Blame Is Not Healthy But Accepting Responsibility Is

Among the many things newcomers to recovery need to consider is how to best manage their sobriety. A lot of this has to do with attitude. You can have the right intention – to stay clean and sober – and still be defeated by outdated and misinformed ideas about addiction. One of the earliest to occur and biggest of these barriers to overcome is blame. The truth about effective addiction recovery is that blame is not healthy – but accepting responsibility is.

Blame is Counter-Productive

Think about all the statements you’ve ever heard people make where they assign blame to someone else for whatever the topic is at hand. They blame the policymakers in Congress and the President for the state of the economy, rising taxes, joblessness, national security, immigration policy, healthcare, Social Security, Medicare, and a host of other things. We blame our neighbors for their barking dogs, their ill-mannered kids, and their shoddy home maintenance that drives down the value of our homes. We blame our conniving co-workers for grabbing the plum assignments, our thieving company for not sharing profits or jacking up our healthcare premiums, deductibles, and co-pays. We blame and we blame and we blame. But blame doesn’t get us anywhere. Blame is just an exercise in futility, a way to vent that, in essence, is totally counter-productive.

The same holds true for addiction recovery. We can blame our parents for passing on the gene that makes us vulnerable to addiction to alcohol or certain drugs. We can blame our friends for leading us down the path to ruin by introducing us to cocaine or crystal meth or black tar heroin or prescription drugs to ease our various aches and pains or allow us to escape. We can blame ourselves for our cowardliness, our selfishness, our total lack of regard for the welfare of our loved ones. We can, and we often do.

But blame isn’t the answer. It never has been and it never will be. Instead of blame, what’s really more appropriate is a sense of personal responsibility. There’ll be more about that in a minute. First, let’s look more at where blame originates.

Blame is All in the Mind

People voice blame in their comments. But blame starts elsewhere. It begins in the mind. Blame is a clever way for people to divert their attention from what is real and needs attention. It allows them an escape route, a justifiable (in their minds) means of avoiding the truth. And the truth is always something too painful for them to readily accept, or something that they feel is out of their hands, or that they have no hope of resolving.

From this, it’s easy to see how blame gets in the way of effective recovery. When you allow blame to color your view of what’s possible, what, in the end, is ever possible? If you blame yourself for your failure to stay sober, your inability to stick to your word, your weak nature that propels you back into using – not only are you dead wrong, but you’re sabotaging your hopes of any lasting sobriety.

The mind is a very powerful tool. You can use your mind to aid in your recovery, or you can allow it to help you self-destruct in the quickest manner possible.

Blame is a Dead-End Street

Another point about blame is that it goes nowhere. Blame is a dead-end street. Once you or others start blaming for every thought, action, or result of inaction, there’s nothing that points to a need to do anything. You’re off the hook, neither being held accountable by yourself or others, nor required to do anything. How convenient, and how obviously germane to the subject of addiction recovery.

If you blame your parents for your alcoholism, it’s as if you’re giving yourself tacit permission to go on drinking. You’re saying, in essence, that it’s out of your hands entirely. You couldn’t stop biology, and this is the genetic hand you’ve been dealt. This gives you the excuse that you can keep on drinking, since nothing you do will change your heredity or your predisposition to addiction.

Guess what? You can do something about your addiction, whether you have a genetic component that makes you vulnerable or not. It does, however, require action on your part – and a lot of hard work. Part of the reason why people use blame is that they don’t want to face an uphill battle, especially if it involves overcoming addiction. Even if they do go through treatment, any little setback is conveniently excused by assigning blame.

The only way you’ll ever be successful in recovery is to do away with the blame game. It’s just not conducive to long-term sobriety.

How to Overcome the Tendency to Assign Blame

How you overcome the tendency to assign blame requires conscious effort and practice. Here are some tips:

• Learn how to identify blame statements. – Listen to the words that come out of your mouth. You’ll soon learn to identify those which are blame statements. They’ll be the ones that include phrases such as: “It’s all his/her/their fault,” or “She/he/they got us into this mess,” or “They’re the ones that drove down the economy,” and so on.

For a week, write down every statement you make – about anything – that is a blame complaint. Do this whenever you find yourself making the statement or at the end of the day, whichever is easier. Next to the blame statement, write down how you could have stated your concerns or made your case without assigning blame. To do this, you’ll have to think of viable alternatives. It could be anything from the point that consumers need to solidify in their efforts to oppose government intervention into areas that should be left to individuals or states, to the observation that no single person accounts for all the country’s ills.

You can see where this is going. Instead of blame, the statements are veering more toward responsibility. Responsibility implies action, and action allows for growth and change.

• Apply the same technique to your self-blame statements. – Now, catch yourself when you start thinking about your own situation and how you ascribe blame to yourself. Again, write down everything you remember thinking or saying where you’ve blamed others or yourself for your addiction.

These are your excuses that you’ve allowed yourself to perpetuate for perhaps many months and years. They’re also wrong and self-defeating. You may write, for example: “I’m a drunk because my parents were drunks.” While there is a strong genetic component in some family history that means some offspring have vulnerability toward alcoholism, it’s only one potential factor. It’s not a given. Not every child of alcoholic parents will become an alcoholic – although many may, given other factors, including environmental and peer influence. Here, you’re blaming your parents for the fact that you are an addict. Where is your personal responsibility?

Don’t worry, for now, about how to translate the self-blame statements into something more appropriate. It’s enough to become aware of them. If you do think of a better way to talk about your addiction, write these new thoughts down. You may, for example, come up with some good ideas that you hear from others in your 12-step group meetings or from discussions you have with your 12-step sponsor or your therapist. As you’ve undoubtedly learned during treatment, being aware of something is the prerequisite to making the conscious decision to change such thoughts and the resulting behaviors.

• Don’t allow others to blame, either. – As you become more aware of your and others’ tendency to assign blame, make it a practice to not allow blame statements to go unchallenged in conversations. This is not meant to suggest that you become argumentative, only that you learn how to veer conversations into a more productive vein.

How to Begin Accepting Responsibility

It’s one thing to say that you should stop using blame as an excuse and start being responsible for your own actions. Easier said than done, many would say – and they’d be right. You need to do more than tell yourself that you’re going to begin accepting responsibility – but it’s at least a start in the right direction. Acknowledge to yourself that, beginning now, you will make it a point to become responsible for what you say and do, and how you think about your role in your own recovery.

Perhaps it’s best to initiate this practice by starting small. In this regard, look at the big picture, but don’t try to carve off too much in the way of responsibility. If you take too much on your plate – whether it’s promising to do too much at work or home or school or for your own recovery goals – you’re setting yourself up for failure or disappointment and, you guessed it, another round of self-blame.

Addiction recovery experts often say that newcomers to recovery take bite-sized steps. Don’t make any major life changes during the first year. Tend to your recovery needs first and foremost. Allow yourself time to acclimate your daily routine to include your 12-step meeting attendance, doctor and therapist visits, and other critical appointments and recovery needs.
Although returning home after treatment is a very big deal, it’s best if you ease into it. Just because you’re back home doesn’t mean that you can or should expect yourself to figure out everything at once, to solve all the household or family problems, to be all things to all people. Again, this is setting you up for failure. You’re too raw, too new to recovery to be able to handle all that stress – without burying it under a mantle of blame.

Talk with your spouse or partner, your children, and any other adults living with you. Let them know that you have learned a lot about your addiction and will be putting into practice what you learned. Ask for their understanding, encouragement, and support as you begin this all-important early phase of recovery. Acknowledge that things will be a little different, as you attend to your recovery needs, but this does not in any way lessen your love for them – or your intention to be there for them now and in the future. By having this conversation, as many times as you need to, you’re setting the stage for expectations. You’re neither promising too much nor too little. In fact, you’re stating what is true and appropriate, given your situation.

In line with your personal responsibilities at home, beside those pertaining to your recovery – which has to be primary for you for now – you also have responsibilities to your spouse or partner, and your children. There are also your financial responsibilities, especially if you are the breadwinner. Take care that you don’t overwhelm yourself with assuming too much too soon.

How about at work or at school, as appropriate? You certainly have responsibilities there as well. After being in treatment for some period of time, you’d be understandably anxious about being gone for such an extended period. What have you missed in your absence? Have you lost your standing in school, jeopardized a scholarship, or failed a term? Have you suffered a demotion at work, missed key project deadlines, been assigned to lesser-important teams or have you lost your job? Take it easy. Don’t allow these consequences of your addiction to sideline your recovery. You need to take the long view. Accept that these things happened as a result of your addiction. You really need to take personal responsibility for your actions that resulted in these consequences. Don’t blame your addiction. Your addiction is a fact that you can’t change. But what you do about your addiction can and should change. You are not defined by your addiction. Your future is what you want to make it.

But a lot depends on you being able to squarely face your responsibilities and to create and adhere to your plan to do what you need to.

Many newcomers to recovery fear that returning to work will be a disaster. They feel ashamed, full of guilt and self-blame, awkward, inept, a failure, unable to fulfill commitments. One suggestion is to arrange a time to talk with your boss or immediate supervisor. He or she already knows that you were in treatment for addiction and is probably eager to see that you are well on the road to recovery. After all, you as an employee are important to the company’s success. Your boss wants you to succeed so the company will as well. Acknowledge his or her support of your recovery efforts. Commit to doing what it takes to continue your sobriety, including the fact that you will be regularly attending your 12-step meetings. Ask for patience and understanding as you gradually ramp up to speed in your projects. Any reasonable supervisor or boss will be receptive to this approach. Again, your contribution is valuable – and you need to be fully present in order to make a contribution.

It’s also a good idea to talk privately with your team or co-workers, particularly those that are important to your work responsibilities. You don’t need to go into detail about what happened during treatment. It’s sufficient to tell them that you’re better now and glad to be back. You could say that you welcome their ideas and appreciate their help as you get back up to speed on current and future tasks and projects. The specific words you use aren’t as important as the manner in which you deliver them. Portray a confident, self-assured attitude, but not one that’s cocky, or defiant, or groveling. Recognize that there may be some lingering feelings of resentment over having to pick up the slack caused by you not being there, but this should quickly pass as they see that you are, indeed, back on the team. Just take it slow. Don’t overpromise and under deliver. By promising too much too soon, you’ll become exhausted, out of sorts, agitated, nervous, depressed, anxious and – once again, prone to self-blame.

Take the Long View of Recovery

When you accept responsibility, it’s a healthy and productive sign that you are fully cognizant that recovery is very much what you make it. Keep in mind that recovery is a lifelong process from here on. You will always be in recovery, just as you will, as long as you continue breathing, be alive. Make your life the most productive, happy, and fulfilling as you can. Take the long view – and then challenges that surface today and tomorrow will be easier to overcome.

Most of all look at recovery as an opportunity to experience all the joy and riches life has to offer. These are likely things that you thought you didn’t deserve, or that you lost forever. But you not only deserve them, they are right here waiting for you. All you need to do is take it one step at a time. Be responsible. Be you. Be free to live your life in sobriety. Start today.

How to Overcome Stagnation in Recovery for Addiction

When you find yourself at a plateau in recovery – not moving forward, but not losing any ground, either – you’re in a period of stagnation. For some in recovery, stagnation seems almost comfortable. The status quo is okay because they’re not using, so they’re semi-confident in their ability to maintain sobriety. But life is just, well, boring. There’s nothing that sparks any interest. Goals seem less enticing or even not worth pursuing. Why bother? If you can get by just doing what you’re doing – the bare minimum – isn’t that enough?
 

What to Say When You Have to Go to a 12-Step Meeting

If you’re in recovery, you know the importance of regularly attending your 12-step meetings. It’s something you first learned about and likely participated in during treatment – if you had formal treatment. If you never went to treatment, but are trying to maintain sobriety on your own, 12-step group meetings may be all you have. While it’s certainly not treatment, the benefits of 12-step group meetings can go a long way to helping you achieve your abstinence goals.

What are the Pillars of Recovery?

When it comes to addiction recovery, there are varying views on the number of pillars upon which such recovery depends. Instead of getting involved in a debate over which number is correct, the more important concern should be how comprehensive such lists are. Do they cover all the basic requirements for recovery? If so, it doesn’t matter if they’re condensed into four pillars or expanded into five or seven or any other number. If you or your loved one is beginning recovery from addiction, or if you are researching it for the benefit of a friend or just for general interest, it’s a good idea to have a firm grasp of what evidence-based research says makes for effective recovery.

Stop Stressing about Your Addictive Past

If you are an addict now in early recovery, you know all too well that there are good days and bad days – and some that threaten to derail your new-found sobriety. Sometimes you just can’t help yourself. You obsess over what you did in the worst days of your addiction, how you hurt people, the damage you’ve done to your reputation, how you ruined your relationships with people you love and care about, how you lost everything you have – including your self-respect. Stress is like an ever-present cloud that follows you around and the worst part is the stress you impose upon yourself. Listen up. You need to stop stressing about your addictive past and move forward in your recovery.

Take Time to Make Time for Your Recovery

Treatment’s over – yippee! Before you rush out and entangle yourself in some questionable activities or hang out with so-called friends you used to use with, think about what you may be jeopardizing. Sure, treatment for your addiction was a huge undertaking – and probably a lot more than you ever imagined. But that part is over. And, while you should be proud of your accomplishment, this isn’t a time for you to slack off. In fact, it’s vitally important that you take time – however much is required – to make time for your recovery.

How to Balance Work Stress in Recovery

Getting back on your feet after treatment for addiction can sometimes prove quite frustrating. Often those new to recovery throw themselves into their jobs, figuring that if they keep busy, they’ll avoid temptations to use. While keeping busy is a good strategy, overdoing it at work can sometimes have the opposite effect. If you sap your energy by piling up work stress, it’s more than fatigue that may get you down. You need balance, and right now. Here are some ideas on how to balance work stress in recovery.

Talk With Your Boss

Since it’s likely that your boss knows you just came out of treatment – especially if your company-paid health insurance picked up most of the tab for your rehab – your first step should be to speak with him or her. You want to be on the same page with your supervisor about your responsibilities and your ability to fulfill them. So, ask for some private time to go over what you will be working on for the next few weeks and months of your early recovery.

Granted, this is probably the last thing you want to do. Who wants to remind their boss of the fact that they were in rehab. You’re trying to get back to normal and not keep worrying if your co-workers and boss or supervisors are looking at you sideways wondering if you’re going to fall off the wagon. Recovery experts say, however, that being upfront with your boss about taking it a little slow on your return to work is perhaps the best thing you can do. It not only sets the record straight, but it also shows your boss that you are conscientious and are committed to ramping up your productivity as time goes on.

Open your conversation by thanking your supervisor for being understanding and for giving you the opportunity to again prove yourself. Tell him or her that you are working hard at your recovery and will be attending 12-step meetings on a regular basis. You need to assure your boss that you will devote your full attention to your assignments, but that you want to ensure that you do so on a gradual schedule. Once you get the go-ahead to proceed on a lighter schedule, or you’ll be given a longer deadline on certain projects, thank your boss and go back to your desk. You can breathe a quick sigh of relief and acknowledge that you’ve taken a tough but necessary step to help balance out your workload and minimize stress on the job during your early recovery.

What happens if your boss isn’t the understanding sort and more or less demands that you get back to work, that the projects you are responsible for are way past due, or that if you can’t handle your assignments, someone else surely can? First of all, don’t let your emotions get the better of you. Since you do need to work, you’ll have to figure out a way out of this non-meeting of the minds. Ask for a few days and promise that you will come up with a plan to gradually ramp up your work schedule, find others to assist you in getting projects completed on time, or some other solution. If your boss still balks, acknowledge his or her frustration and reiterate your commitment to doing the best job you can. You’re only asking for a little time to get back on your feet. If this still doesn’t work, you may need to make a trip to human resources and speak with them about the situation.

Generally speaking, most bosses are more than eager to have their employees back – particularly if the employee is a valued one necessary to the organization’s success. So, talk to your boss on your return and pave the way for reduced workplace stress.

Engage Your Co-Workers

Naturally, you have friends among your co-workers who are happy you’ve returned to your job. A good move is to talk with them privately, away from the job – so that you can’t be accused of carrying on personal conversations when you’re supposed to be working – and let them know that you will be gradually easing back into your work schedule. Ask for their understanding and assistance, if appropriate, to get certain projects or assignments completed on time. They may need to get approval from the boss as well, or their own supervisor if that person isn’t your boss.

Even if they don’t help you out with the workload, they can provide good moral support and encouragement during lunchtime and informal get-togethers after work. Just be sure these gatherings take place at neutral locations – no bars, clubs, or venues where alcohol or other addictive substances are available. You definitely don’t need to put yourself in harm’s way by having to deal with the temptation to use when the booze or drugs are right in front of you.

Keep your social calendar with your work friends a bit fluid. You can suggest that you participate in some sporting activity or go to a gym or park to work out. Exercise is a great way to rid your body of accumulated stress from the job or other responsibilities.

The point of engaging your co-workers is that these are the people you most often interact with. They know what’s been going on with you. After all, you were away from work for some period of time for treatment or while you were drying out. They may not know the entire story, but if they’re true friends as well as co-workers, they’ll have your best interests at heart. They will try to help you as much as they can. Just don’t expect them to continually pick up the slack from you as that will just cause resentment.

Having someone to laugh with and carry on general conversation – on the job and off – is an important part of your strategy to balance work stress in recovery.

Maximize Your Efficiency

Every employee knows how to waste time. It’s amazing how much time can be gobbled up just chatting in the coffee room, at the copier or water cooler – even in the parking lot. Ditto while you’re on the job. The phone calls, endless searching for missing papers, going to get supplies, getting lost answering non-stop emails – all of these time-robbers eat away at your day. The result is that you increase your stress level by trying to finish up projects and assignments before the end of the day. This is a vicious cycle, but it’s one you can easily break. Here’s how.

Every day before you leave work, make a list of the projects and assignments you will be working on the next day, along with noting the status and due dates. The following morning when you arrive at work, look over your list. You will need to prioritize which ones you tackle first. It may be that you have a deadline looming and you’re nowhere near completion. You may need to do some work on that project first. At least get some help so that you make some progress. If you need an extension because materials or reports or something else is missing and it’s beyond your control, get to it and secure that extension.

What often happens is that people tackle the easy things on their daily to-do list first. It’s nice to see the items crossed off until you get to the end of the day and see that your biggest project, the one with the looming deadline – and also the most difficult or complicated project – hasn’t been touched. You’ve completely ignored it, caught up in doing the easier ones. This is something you’ll need to work on, since avoidance of important projects will not only cause increased stress over lack of progress, but your stress level will likely ratchet up when your boss inquires in a not-too-kindly fashion what the heck is going on with such and such project. Do yourself a favor. Put in some time early in the day – when you’re fresh – on your toughest assignments. Then tick off a couple of easy-to-accomplish ones. You’ll be helping to balance out your work stress in an efficient and reasonable manner.

Leave the Job at Work

You’ll be tempted to bring your work home with you at some point after you return to the job. Don’t. You need to ease yourself back into the daily regimen of going to work, putting in your full 8 hours, ticking off completed assignments, and marshalling your plan for the next day, week, month, etc., according to project due dates and other considerations. What’s the harm in bringing some work stuff home with you? Do you really need to ask this question? When you leave your job at the end of the day, you need a break. This means no bringing folders for review, reading material, travel itineraries to check, none of that. There’ll be time enough the next day or the following Monday to get done what you need to.
The truth is that people who clearly separate work from home are happier and less stressed than those who are constantly trying to sneak in a few hours of work away from the job. If you get the rest and relaxation you need at home, you’re better prepared for the next day’s agenda – whatever it may be. You may be surprised to know that your productivity increases when you have that clean break. Sure, there are tricks that you can use to maximize your time at work, but it is true: You can be more efficient in your 8-hour day than someone who routinely puts in 12+ hours and/or takes work home nights, weekends, holidays and vacations. Which person would you rather be, anyway? Think about your family as well. When you’re home, wouldn’t they really have you completely there, instead of having you physically there but mentally otherwise occupied?

Enlist Family Support

Your family, a crucial part of your support network in recovery, is also important as you learn how to balance work stress. Your spouse or partner, if you have one, is the one person who likely knows your struggles the best, and can aid you immensely in helping to balance your life to reduce stress. When you’re home, spend some uninterrupted time with the family. Talk ideas over with your spouse and make plans for weekend activities the entire family can enjoy. Get involved in leisure activities, playing family games, going out to the movies, renting a family video, enjoying a barbeque or extended family meal.

What you do isn’t as important as the fact that you put your entire focus and effort into sharing this quality time with your loved ones. Rebuilding relationships that may have been strained during your addiction and subsequent treatment requires time, and this is something you’ll need to work at over the months ahead.

The net result of getting your family involved – and getting involved with your family – is that you’re all working together as a cohesive unit. Granted, they’re not sharing in your work stress, but they are helping you to reduce the impact of stress caused by work responsibilities. Think how relaxed you feel after you’ve been on vacation for a good week to 10 days. Everyone needs time away in order to rejuvenate. This is also a good time to make plans for a family vacation at some point in the coming months. This gives everyone – you included – ample time to plan for the getaway. Having a desired goal in your sights helps keep things in perspective. You can overlook some things that would otherwise get you down when you think about the things you’ll do together with your family during your days off or away from work.

Pay Attention to the Basics

While you’re making your daily to-do lists, securing help and assistance from others as needed, spending quality time with your family doing fun things, it’s also important that you pay attention to the basics. The human body doesn’t run on good intentions alone.

• You need to refuel it by eating well-balanced and healthy meals.
• You need to get an adequate amount of sleep each night – the average adult requires between 8 and 9 hours of sleep nightly – allowing your body to restore and revitalize.
• Be sure to drink plenty of water during the day. Rehydration is an excellent way to maintain sufficient bodily fluids and keep stress in check.
• Take appropriate vitamins and supplements.
• If you are on medication, take it as prescribed – especially if the medication is for a chronic condition or is part of your recovery program.

Attend Regular 12-Step Meetings

How do others in recovery manage work stress? Your 12-step fellowship meetings are an excellent place to find out. The group discussions, workshops, and group and individual sharing provide an invaluable source for tips that you may find useful in managing your own work stress in recovery.

The best part about talking over stress-reduction strategies with others in recovery is that they know exactly what you’re going through. They’ve each had to deal with stress in one form or another. Chances are they have a lot of good ideas. You’ll never know if you don’t open yourself up to their suggestions. Take what works and use it, or modify it to meet your needs. Keeping on an even keel, managing stress, learning how to cope with cravings and urges, and helping each other with support and encouragement to maintain sobriety is what 12-step participation is all about. These folks can really be of great assistance in your effort to balance work stress in recovery.

What If You Cave?

Not everything will work out the way you want it to. There are bound to be times when you’ve just had enough and feel that you can’t take the stress. When this happens, take some deep breaths to calm yourself. If you can, walk outside and take in some fresh air. Maybe walk around the complex or parking lot or sit in an employee-designated rest area for a few minutes.

If things are really bad, call your 12-step sponsor and talk things over. Sometimes just having the reassuring sound of your sponsor’s voice will be enough to get you back to being able to deal with the situation at hand. In any event, use this resource if you feel things are getting beyond your control. Above all, don’t look at your current situation as a failure. You just temporarily were unable to deal with the stress or the challenges related to your job. You need a short break, some solid advice, reassurance, and a pep talk – and, not necessarily in that order.

Once you collect yourself, you can go back to work and resume your responsibilities with perhaps some new insight. Stress is part of the workplace. That’s a simple fact. It isn’t that stress occurs, but what individuals do about it. You can fight it and allow stress to overcome you, or you can utilize time-tested strategies to deal with it appropriately. Kick work stress to the curb.

One thing is certain: Once you’ve experienced work stress, you’ll be able to recognize it when it starts to occur again. Symptoms of stress include shortness of breath, rapid pulse, chest pain, nausea, dizziness, aches and pains, constant worrying, poor judgment, anxious thoughts, inability to concentrate, memory problems, procrastination, nervous habits, moodiness, depression, agitation, irritability or short temper, feeling overwhelmed, and a sense of loneliness or isolation.
You may need professional help to deal with work stress in recovery. Through therapy, you’ll learn how to better manage stress, how to relax, how to invest in your emotional help, and how to rely on your support networks. If you have continuing therapy as part of your recovery program, make use of it. You can also go to private counseling to deal with stress.

Maintain a Positive Outlook

It’s easier said than done but the best way to start to balance work so that you minimize stress is to maintain a positive outlook. Remember that work isn’t your life. Work is necessary to help you support yourself and your family, but it’s only a part of your life.

In recovery, one of the great things is that you get to chart your own future. Put your recovery planning in high gear and figure out where you want to be in a year, 2 to 5 years, or 10 years down the line. You may have some goals today that you never dreamed you’d want to tackle before. Recovery is a time of self-discovery, of making dreams happen, of daring to go for the gold.

Think about your near- and long-term goals the next time you feel a little work-related stress coming on. Take a few deep breaths and tell yourself that you’ve got better things to do than choke up over stress. Cut yourself some slack. Smile. Get on with your life. You deserve it. Good job, by the way, in balancing work stress in recovery.

Win Back Your Self-Respect and the Respect of Others in Recovery

When you hit rock bottom in addiction, chances are you’ve lost every shred of self-respect you ever had. And not only that, no one else has much, if any, respect for you either. Frankly, when you’ve bottomed out, you’re probably not thinking about your self-respect. You’re primarily interested in survival – and getting out of your addictive quandary. After you complete treatment for addiction, however, you’ve got a lot of work still to do. There’s the whole recovery plan that you need to implement, and practicing how to live clean and sober. Part of the new you will undoubtedly involve rebuilding your self-respect. Here are some tips on how you can win that back, for yourself as well as the respect of others.

How to Structure Your Environment in Early Addiction Recovery

One thing you know is true almost the minute you get out of treatment for your addiction: You need continued help to move along in your recovery. There are a lot of very good reasons for this, but most important among them is the fact that you’re still so new to being clean and sober that you haven’t yet become comfortable in practicing your recovery skills. There’s so much that gets thrown at you when you return to your home, family, job and friends. Sometimes – often, in fact – it’s too much. Without structure, your recovery may either be much more difficult or even collapse. Here are some tips on how to structure your environment in early recovery.

Avoiding Stress Rather than Adapting Can Be a Trigger for the Recovering Addict

Stress affects different people in different ways. Some individuals can handle quite a bit before they buckle under the pressure, while others are at risk of a number of negative side effects from minor pressure in their lives. For the recovering addict, stress can be a trigger that is hard to overcome.

Break Out of Your Past – Make a New Life in Recovery

No doubt you have a few things you’d like to forget about your past addictive behavior. It’s safe to say that everyone who goes through treatment and enters recovery has some skeletons in their closet they’d prefer to keep hidden away. The trouble is, if you don’t face your demons and own up to your responsibility, there’s no way you can make progress in recovery. Easier said than done, you say? No one said it would be easy, but the alternative really isn’t much of an option. You know you don’t want to slide back into your old habits. So, just how do you break out of your past and make a new life in recovery?
 

5 Steps to Prioritize Your Recovery Goals

Life is all new now that you’re in recovery. It’s all about a second chance, an opportunity to create a new direction in your life that you may never before thought possible. You may already be brimming with excitement and hope for the future – but don’t be disappointed if these feelings don’t come right away. After all, you’ve just come through a difficult period of active treatment and you may still feel a bit uncertain for some period of time. Looking ahead, you wonder how you’ll be able to put together a workable action plan for your recovery – or flesh out the one you began toward the end of your treatment. Take it in stages. Here are 5 steps to help you prioritize your recovery goals.

How to Live a Life of Principle in Recovery

Striving to live a life of principle is good advice for all human beings, but it’s especially important when you’re in recovery. It doesn’t matter whether you’re just beginning your life in recovery or have a few years under your belt. It always helps to add new strategies and techniques to ensure that you remain true to your goals. When it comes to the matter of principle, however, you might be unsure what it really means or where to start.

Definition of Principle

Various definitions exist for the word, “principle,” but the one we’re concerned with here is the one that pertains to a rule or code of conduct, a standard of moral or ethical decision-making. Principle is always a noun, say the experts, and it’s very often confused with the word principal, which is both a noun and an adjective and generally refers to a person who plays an important role or holds a high position.