Sometimes the most damaging effects our addictions can have on us are the limiting beliefs they cause us to adopt and believe to be true. Very often these limiting beliefs contributed to the development of our addictions in the first place. We come to think so poorly of ourselves that our mentality is one of self-disparagement. When our addictions have overtaken us, we come to believe that we are powerless over them. When we feel depressed, we come to feel that we are hopeless. If we want to have hope for recovery, we have to change our perspective on ourselves and our ability to heal. When we are struggling with our addictions, we can choose to see ourselves as having survived our battles for all this time. We’re not weak for being addicts as we commonly believe. We’re mustering our courage and strength for some of the most difficult challenges of our lives. If we believe we can recover, we will be able to. Believe in yourself. Affirm that you are strong and brave. Tell yourself you are capable of healing yourself. Look to other people in recovery for inspiration and let them motivate you. Believe that you deserve support and allow yourself to receive it. We can start to see our recovery as a journey of empowerment and growth, of coming into our potential, of redemption and fulfillment. We can choose to see it only as a painful struggle, or we can choose to focus on all of the positive elements – the lessons we’ve learned, the kindred spirits we’ve found, the changes we’ve already made. Everything we go through was meant to be a part of our journey, from the best things to the most difficult. Embrace the pain and thank it for making you stronger. Welcome the challenges and be grateful to them for making you work harder. Celebrate your resilience. Congratulate yourself for surviving this long and for not giving up. Let’s start to change our self-talk and notice whenever we’re being self-disparaging rather than self-empowering. When you hear yourself speaking negatively about yourself, pause, take a deep breath, and commit to transforming your inner self-perception. Begin to talk to yourself in affirming, encouraging ways. “I believe in myself. I am empowered. I am strong. I am brave. I am healing.”
Adopting a self-empowering mentality opens us up to healing. We’re here to help.
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