Recovery sabotage

Drugs and Alcohol are the symptom- You are the problem.

If you kept reading-Good! There are many things we blame for our drug and alcohol addiction, unhappy childhoods, peer pressure, trauma, and a whole host of other influences. Your recovery’s worst enemy? It is not the drugs and alcohol themselves, and while they are certainly a major part of addiction, the main culprit is you.

Addicts/Alcoholics are the masters of self-sabotage. Instead of rationally dealing with negative thoughts, feelings and situations, addicts will turn to drugs and alcohol to escape their problems, and in doing so replace that issue with a much bigger one.

There are several ways that addicts sabotage their own addiction recovery:

• Boredom.
  Boredom is one of the most common reasons for addicts to sabotage their addiction recovery. Time that used to be spent acquiring and taking drugs or alcohol, or structured time  in drug rehab, is now free time – and this means that there is too much time to think and convince yourself that you should use again. Instead,   stay busy with new activities, volunteer work, and hobbies.
• Isolation.
  Isolation feeds loneliness and depression, which in turn is most likely to lead to relapse. It is  important that you reach out to friends and family or support groups to help you through your addiction recovery. Being alone just increases the likelihood of going back to negative thinking and behaviors.
• Refusing or not asking for help.
  Addicts often withdraw into themselves and push away all friends and family, which results in the lack of a support system for the addict if something is to go wrong. It is  important to make your friends and family an integral part of your  recovery process, and to rely on them when you are having a bad day. By refusing to reach out and ask for help, you are setting yourself up for failure.
• Denial.
  Denying that you have a problem is one of the surest ways to sabotage your path to addiction recovery.  Admitting that you need help is the first step to staying on track.
• People  Pleasing/Inability to say no.
  Addicts can have a problem  saying no to family and friends, as they feel guilty for what they have put them through. But doing too much and stretching yourself too thin can result in being overwhelmed and turning to drugs or alcohol to deal with this feeling. Make your recovery your number one priority – and then commit to other people or activities. Recovering from people-pleasing  involves setting boundaries and establishing healthier relationship dynamics. Learn to identify your own needs and communicate them assertively. Surround yourself with people who respect and support your boundaries and let go of toxic relationships that hold you back.
• Dishonesty.
  Lying to yourself, your friends, and family can only lead to destructive thought patterns and behaviors.  If you are struggling, or you think you are going to relapse, do not just brush it off and lie that you are fine, because this will most likely lead you back to drugs or alcohol. Being completely honest about your feelings is a major part of successful recovery.
• Negativity.
  Addicts pile self-abuse and judgement onto themselves daily, and this negative mind-set is a sure way to sabotage your recovery. Telling yourself, or simply thinking that you are not good enough, or that you feel like you are never going to recover, leads to thoughts of hopelessness and depression that will only lead you off the track of your addiction recovery.
• Unhealthy friendships. It can be  extremely hard to cut ties with the friends that you had while you were an addict. These friends were often there in your darkest times, they may have lent you money, offered emotional support or even been a romantic partner. But the fact of the matter is, these friends will most likely try their hardest to sabotage your addiction recovery by making negative  comments, or perhaps even using in front of you or encouraging you to join in for ‘old time’s sake’.
• Stress.
  While everyone in the world is subject to stress in one way or another, addicts deal with it poorly.   Coming out of addiction treatment and back into the real world is  extremely stressful. Whether it is work, family or friends, addicts      sometimes just cannot handle the stress of everyday life, and will turn back to alcohol and drug abuse instead of dealing with the stress itself.
• Ego.
  Thoughts such as “I am better than everyone here” or “I will beat them at recovery” are typical of the ego that is a part of most addictive personalities. Thinking like this means that you are not going about your addiction recovery in the right  way. You are meant to be doing it for yourself, and not to be better than other people in the addiction treatment program with you. Instead of      seeing recovery as a competition, remind yourself daily how your life  will be better because of it.
• Missing  recovery meetings.
  Support group meetings are a core aspect to any addiction recovery program. They offer a safe place to talk, share, listen and learn from other people going through the same  things as you. But sometimes addicts feel like they “got this”, and they do not need to attend meetings any longer. This often leads to an increased sense of loneliness and boredom, which is a slippery slope towards relapse.
• Keeping  an unhealthy lifestyle.
  An unhealthy lifestyle often      leads to an unhealthy mind-set, which in turn leads to depressive,  negative thinking and behavior. It is important that while you are in addiction recovery you eat healthy food and exercise regularly.      This will help you keep your thoughts and behavior positive.
• Self-pity.
  Self-pity deflates you of your motivation to recover, and you will start to blame others instead of taking responsibility for your own actions. Celebrate each small success  in recovery and focus on building your confidence – it is a huge part of being successful and staying sober.
• Bottling  emotions.
  Addicts often struggle to express their emotions, and they bottle them up instead of dealing with the problem. This bottling often leads to an inability to deal with them when they all come to the surface, and it is easy to slip back into using  at this point.