Addiction and substance abuse can present countless roadblocks to recovery and healing. These problems have a way of turning your best intentions upside down and can make it much harder to make progress towards getting on a healthier path. Throughout your recovery, there will be certain critical points in time which, when handled correctly, can be vital in making the changes to your life that you’ve been seeking. Being aware of these crucial moments can help you be ready to act in your own best interests when you may need it most.
Addiction or substance abuse can be exceedingly challenging problems to tackle. Although your addiction may not always be predictable, identifying critical points of time that could occur in your struggles with these problems may help you to more effectively figure out what to do next when the moment comes. It will continue to be important to become aware of these critical moments so that you can better deal with situations and scenarios which may require you to make important decisions with a lasting impact on your life.
Experiencing Cravings or Triggers
Experiencing cravings or triggers can be one of the most difficult and significant challenges in dealing with addiction. It’s best to have a plan in place so you can be prepared for how you will handle this situation if it should arise. Practice acting out different scenarios for how you can react to cravings in a positive way. When a craving or trigger occurs, try to practice controlling it as much as possible. Have all of your options in place for who to reach out to and where to go, and waste no time in recognizing the situation and responding accordingly. Reach out to someone to help you through it whenever possible – these pressures are easier to deal with if you’re not doing it alone.
Feeling Completely Overwhelmed
Being overwhelmed by addiction, substance abuse, mental illness, or even by life in general can create feelings of sadness, anger, confusion, pressure, and stress. It can make you feel as if there is too much piled onto you, and that things have become too much to handle. A good way to relieve feelings of being overwhelmed is to take a moment, breathe, release the pressure from your mind, and understand that many problems are not as bad as they may seem at first and can surely be overcome. It may take some time, but nearly anything in life can be improved with effort and determination.
Isolation and Hopelessness
If you’re dealing with addiction, you may regularly experience feelings of loneliness, hopelessness, or isolation, including the sinking feeling that you have no one to talk to. Feelings like these can be incredibly difficult to go through and can make it even harder to address problems like substance abuse or mental illness. Even though loneliness can be a great challenge to tackle head-on, it’s a critical sticking point of your addiction. It can even become a life-changing moment during which you use negative feelings as an opportunity to reach out and build important connections with others who can help you through your addiction.
Health Problems and Complications
Health problems, whether physical, mental, or emotional, can have an impact on the progress you make in recovering from addiction, and your addiction can have an impact on these things in return. When you’re in pain, are in bad health, or are experiencing other health issues, your addiction can worsen. You may also develop stronger cravings or triggers, as some people may use drugs or substance abuse to relieve their health problems. It’s important to know that there are more productive and positive ways to take care of health problems and any other problems that you may be facing.
Experiencing Strong Negative Emotions
Having negative feelings or facing a bad situation can be a significant moment of your addiction. These things can trigger the desire to use drugs or alcohol. Emotions such as anger, sadness, or stress can contribute to worsening addiction and prevent you from making progress in recovery. Effectively managing and responding to negative emotions can help you to handle unfavorable situations in a more positive way, and can encourage you to act in favor of healing and recovery from addiction, instead of worsening it.
Feeling Like You’ve Lost Control
When it comes to addiction, our problems and negative mindset can easily build up until it seems like it’s all too much to handle and that we’ve lost control over our lives. Although the sensation of losing control is a deeply difficult feeling to wrestle with, remember that this and all problems you face do have solutions. Realizing that you can overcome anything, including getting your life back on track, will help you to regain control over yourself, and start putting in the work to get things back to the way you want them to be.
It can be confusing to try to figure out when and how addiction or substance abuse can affect you, as these problems can be unpredictable and sudden. Being aware of the vital moments in your recovery and knowing how to handle them can help you to be more prepared. Promising Outlook is a rehab center in Riverside, California. We offer services and solutions for stress reduction, anger management, mental illness, Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT), Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), addiction, and substance abuse. Promising Outlook also offers individualized treatments, as we address the uniqueness of each person as an individual to ensure the best possible treatment and care. We take pride in our dedication and service to those in need of a renewed sense of hope. If you would like to learn more about how we can help you make a positive life change, please give us a call at (951)783-2487. We look forward to helping you to become the best possible version of you.
