Being addicted to drugs, alcohol, or harmful behaviors is a strong mental health challenge. If you're dealing with addiction and want to quit, it can be tough. Addiction affects your brain in ways that make stopping hard, both physically and mentally.
Some people think that overcoming addiction means just not using drugs or alcohol anymore. However, dealing with addiction often involves therapy and special care from a professional addiction and mental health sober living facility. There are different reasons why people become addicted, like having a family history of it, having a genetic tendency, feeling pressured by friends, or using a highly addictive substance.
Money Problems
When you're dealing with addiction, it can mess up your finances. Drugs and alcohol cost a lot of money, and sometimes, people end up with high debts, legal fees, and medical expenses. This financial mess can be overwhelming, especially after going through treatment and trying to turn your life around. It takes time to fix these money problems, but it's easier when you're sober.
Loneliness
Starting the journey to recovery can be tough because hanging out with old friends who still use drugs or alcohol is risky. But making new friends takes time, and people often feel lonely during this period.
Loneliness can lead to boredom, depression, and anxiety, which aren't good for recovery. Making friends in your recovery community, whether from treatment or a support group, is essential. These friends understand what you've been through and share your commitment to staying sober.
Boredom
Boredom is a surprisingly big challenge in recovery. When you quit drugs or alcohol, you suddenly have a lot of free time. Also, addiction rewires your brain, making substances the most interesting thing. Coping with boredom requires smart strategies and patience as your brain adjusts to a sober lifestyle.
Cravings
It's expected that dealing with cravings would be tough during addiction recovery since you likely had plenty of them while using drugs or alcohol. However, managing cravings when committed to staying clean is an even bigger challenge.
Cravings can feel like strong commands that are hard to resist. Learning to cope with cravings involves various strategies, including identifying and avoiding triggers, using behavior techniques to resist cravings, regulating emotions through distractions, riding out the craving, and staying focused on the present moment.
Relationship Issues
While your health and career can take a hit from addiction, relationships often suffer the most. Substance use problems can quickly lead to dishonesty breaking trust in relationships. Your priorities shift towards drugs and alcohol, causing neglect of responsibilities to friends and family.
Mental Health Issues
Many people dealing with substance use also have mental health issues. A good treatment program addresses both because managing mental health is crucial for long-term recovery. Trying to get sober alone or through support group meetings might highlight mental health problems, requiring therapy for lasting recovery.
Dealing with Tough Feelings
For many people, staying away from drugs and alcohol is not too hard when everything in life is going well, and they're feeling good. But unfortunately, these good times don't last forever. Problems arise, bad things happen, and sometimes we feel down for no clear reason.
Handling these difficult emotions is a big challenge in recovering from addiction because, often, people start using substances as a way to cope with these feelings. Stress is a major trigger, but shame, anger, grief, sadness, and anxiety are also tough to deal with.
Transitioning Home
Returning to normal life after a treatment program can be tougher than expected. The structured and supportive treatment environment is different from the real world, where addiction spiraled out of control. Transitional care, like outpatient programs or sober living environments, becomes crucial for a smoother transition and lasting recovery.
Relapse
It's important to know that addiction is a long-lasting problem, and it's not uncommon for people to go back to using substances even after trying to quit. This can be risky and disheartening. You might feel like you've wasted time and money and let down those who care about you.
You might even think that since you've already messed up, you might as well give up entirely. However, a relapse doesn't mean you've failed forever. Many people recover after multiple attempts. The key is to minimize the harm and try again as soon as possible.
At Transcend Recovery Community, we understand that substance use problems are not just about the substances themselves. Getting better doesn't just mean avoiding drugs and alcohol with sheer willpower. It comes from creating a life where you feel happier and more connected without relying on substances to get through the day.
To learn more about our treatment approach, call us today at (800) 208-1211.
