A massive part of active addiction involves avoiding emotion: drinking or getting high when you feel frustrated, happy, excited, sad, angry or nervous.  No matter what the emotion is, it is likely that you felt more comfortable just being numb.

 

When you are in recovery from addiction, though, you have to start confronting your emotions.  You will have to face up to things that make you feel uncomfortable – and you will have to do so with a longing to go back to feeling numb.

 

Emotions are a part of life.  Emotional turmoil, though, can cause enormous amounts of stress, and can challenge your best intentions for recovery.  Self-destructive emotions can threaten your life in sobriety.  Keep reading this article from people that have been there to find out you can manage these emotions so that you can get back on track

 

Guilt

In almost every instance of addiction, it is probably the case that something has gone wrong.  Whether the guilt that you have stems from one incident, or a pattern of behavior, having a guilty feeling is often an emotion that pops up in early recovery.  There is nothing wrong with guilt, with some form of remorse for your actions acting as a motivator for you to change.

 

What you can do:  Acknowledge the wrong-doing in your life and work towards making amends.  While some people in your life might choose to not forgive you, understand that this is their choice and not yours, and that you are not able to control other people’s reactions.  If you feel like your feelings of guilt are overwhelming you, speak with a sponsor or therapist about how you can make amends.

 

Shame

Shame and guilt are often confused.  Shame is a little different to guilt, though, and occurs when you believe that there is something which is inherently wrong with you.

 

Shame leaves us with low self-esteem and a feeling as though you are helpless to improve your life.  You might feel like you are worthless and are not able to accomplish anything in life.  Shame keeps you from forming relationships and seeking help, and traps you in the belief that you deserve to feel a certain way.

 

What you can do: Getting over shame usually involves the assistance of a therapist, sponsor, or a close friend who is in recovery.  Keep a journal of success can be helpful.  Rebuilding self-esteem is one of the keys to battling shame.

 

Alumni of Caron Renaissance know about the benefits that come from the hard work involved in working on emotions:

 

“Caron Renaissance was difficult but an amazing experience that changed my life and the life of my family. Anything worthwhile takes hard work and that doesn’t end when it comes to health and wellness. Caron Renaissance was hard work, emotionally, because that is what was needed for me to recover.” - https://reviews.caron.org/caron-florida-reviews/ - Caron Renaissance Reviews

Worry

When you spend your day worrying, it is one of the most useless experiences you can have.  You put loads of energy, time and effort into something you have no control over.  You might imagine scenarios that have not happened, visualize events that will never happen, or think about possible disasters that are not even possible.

 

Life has unfolded a certain way, and the future is sure to unfold also – regardless of how much worry you have.

 

What you can do:  Focus on one day at a time, or even one hour at a time.  Stick close to people who are in recovery, as well as around supportive friends and family.  This can help you remain in the present.  Once you are able to do this, you can put it in to the things that you can change.

 

Resentment

Holding onto resentment is akin to drinking poison and hoping that the other person gets sick.  Keeping hold of anger or bitterness towards other people is more harmful to you than them.  While you are thinking about injustice, the hurt or pain that someone has caused you in the past, they are likely to just been going about the day, and not even thinking about you.

 

What you can do:  Holding onto anger will not do you any good, and in some cases can push you to use your drug of choice.  Working towards forgiveness can help you to mentally move forwards.

 

Loneliness

Cycles of loneliness can be overwhelming while in active addiction – but you can also feel lonely in recovery.  People who are new to recovery might have realized that they should cut ties with people they used with and family members who trigger them, but doing this can cause intense loneliness.

 

What you can do:  We grow when we are connected with other people.  As you root yourself into recovery, it is vital that you make strong connections with people who are either in recovery or who are supportive of your recovery.

 

It takes time to get rid of feelings of loneliness.  Know that you might have to give yourself a bit of time to heal.