The Role of Forgiveness in Addiction Recovery
Addiction doesn’t just negatively impact your health and quality of life. Addiction is a debilitating disease that also hurts relationships with loved ones. About 46% of U.S. adults have a family member or close friend who’s struggled with drug addiction. Unfortunately, addiction can fracture these close relationships with loved ones. Forgiving yourself and asking for forgiveness from others who’ve hurt you is critical on your recovery journey. That’s why in this article, you’ll learn more about the role of forgiveness in addiction recovery.
At Terra Nova, we are a leading drug and alcohol addiction treatment that provides a range of different substance abuse and mental health treatment to help you achieve sobriety. Whether you’re just starting your recovery journey or looking for resources to maintain your sobriety, we’re here to help. Ready to start your recovery journey? Contact us today!
5 Roles Forgiveness Plays in Your Addiction Recovery Journey
Forgiveness is a key component of helping you progress along your recovery journey. Not only is it important to apologize to family members and friends you may have hurt, but it’s also important to forgive yourself and start anew. Keep reading to learn more about the role of forgiveness in addiction recovery.
- Personal Healing and Growth
It’s important to forgive yourself for your past on your recovery journey. Addiction is a debilitating disease that can harm your physical, mental, and emotional health and well-being for the worse. However, it’s important to forgive yourself so you can start anew and effectively progress along your recovery journey.
- Repairing Relationships with Loved Ones
Likewise, it’s critical to apologize to others you may have hurt in your past. Addiction can not just impact yourself but can hurt your loved ones. Asking for forgiveness is the beginning of starting to repair relationships with loved ones. This is because your loved ones have likely seen you at your worst and have endured emotional stress and sadness watching you fall victim to addiction.
- Take Accountability for Your Past
While addiction is a disease, it’s important to take accountability for your actions and past addictive behavior. Ignoring or dismissing the reality of your past will only hinder your recovery journey progress. While you don’t want to harp on your past, it’s also important to understand that only you are responsible for your actions– for better or for worse.
- Improve Your Recovery Journey
As detailed above, forgiveness without question can help improve your recovery journey. Not only will it help you heal, but by repairing relationships with others, they can also help support you on your journey to sobriety. While forgiveness doesn’t happen overnight, working toward forgiving yourself and apologizing to others for your past addictive behavior can significantly help you efficiently progress your journey.
- Lower Risk of Relapse
Your addiction recovery journey doesn’t just stop after you receive treatment. Maintaining sobriety is a lifelong journey with ups and downs. One of the great threats to your sobriety is relapsing. The role of forgiveness in addiction recovery is not only to help you overcome addiction, but it plays a long-term role in helping you maintain your sobriety.
Failure to truly forgive yourself and apologize to others can leave behind lingering feelings of resentment and stress which can down the road increase your risk of relapsing. Therefore, while you shouldn’t ignore your past, it’s important to acknowledge your addictive past, take accountability, and make strides to maintain your sobriety.
Premier Drug and Alcohol Treatment in Arizona
The role of forgiveness in addiction recovery is important to be able to forgive yourself and start the path to repairing relationships with others. Addiction can greatly interfere with your relationships with others. That’s why it’s critical you apologize and ask for forgiveness from others who you may have hurt in the past.
Our Terra Nova recovery team is here to help you regain control of your life for the better. You should never feel too ashamed or afraid to ask for help in trying to lead a healthier, happier life. Using an individualized approach, we offer an extensive range of treatment options so you can take back control of your life. Contact us today to learn more about how we can help you on your recovery journey.
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