People who have yet to receive addiction treatment often have very limited views of what rehab entails. Most only consider the detox process and the likelihood of undergoing individual and group counseling. Although the overarching goal of addiction treatment is to help patients get sober and stay that way, rehab is also structured to promote growth and healing. When addiction treatment fosters a positive, proactive, and confident mindset, the likelihood of long-term success invariably increases. If you’ve been struggling with addiction, you may have a hard time imagining yourself with high levels of self-esteem.
Drug and alcohol addiction often leave people riddled with grief, regret, shame, and many other negative emotions. It’s important to note that until you confront and move beyond these emotions, getting clean and avoiding relapse will always be a challenge. The good news is that rehabs in South Florida focus on growth and healing in a variety of ways. After you have successfully completed the detox process, you’ll be ready to start working on self-development. In many instances, this means tackling long-held misconceptions about your value and potential, addressing negative behavioral conditioning from your past, and working through traumas and other pain that may be contributing to your addiction. Read on to discover five ways in which a good treatment center can help you feel better about yourself and your future.
Self-Forgiveness Lies at the Heart of Every Successful Addiction Treatment
When you attend a South Florida rehab, you’re guaranteed to meet people who’ve made similar choices, suffered similar consequences, and who share similar regrets. Addiction is a destructive force that ruins careers, relationships, and lives. Thus, not only are most rehab patients struggling to fight their way back from addiction, but they’re also dealing with the weight of many oppressive emotions. Addiction counselors understand how overwhelming and discouraging these emotions can be, and they frequently use talk therapy and other therapeutic strategies to help alleviate them.
One of the most important steps that you’ll taking during your recovery is forgiving yourself for the mistakes that you’ve made. Among some of the strategies that rehab professionals might use to assist you on your journey to self-forgiveness are:
- Encouraging you to write letters of apology to those you feel you have wronged
- Helping you view your addiction as an illness rather than a weakness
- Empowering you to make better decisions both now and in the future
- Fostering a better understanding of the life experiences and beliefs that contributed to unhealthy choices
- Encouraging you to accept each new day as an opportunity to make a clean, fresh start
Grief is also a strong, negative emotion that can derail a person’s efforts to get well. In fact, for many people in rehab, grief can also be an underlying cause of addiction. When people experience overwhelming losses that they are unable to move beyond, they often turn to drugs or alcohol to mute their despair. Talk therapy can be used to promote acceptance of loss. Some patients also discover that learning to process their grief opens the door to being able to help others. The feelings of accomplishment that people gain by learning to be positive influences in others’ lives can be both rewarding and motivating. Addiction treatment itself fosters healing by helping people better understand their past choices.
This is especially true when those living with substance abuse have the benefit of comprehensive and needs-specific treatment. For instance, if you have a co-occurring disorder or co-morbidity, your struggles with addiction may actually stem from an undiagnosed mental health disorder. Much like unprocessed grief, issues such as:
- Bi-polar disorder
- Post-traumatic stress disorder
- Chronic anxiety or depression
can cause people to self-medicate with harmful substances as a way of promoting relief. In a South Florida rehab, you’ll find new and healthier ways of managing secondary mental health issues. These can include natural stress management techniques, medication, therapy, and other strategies. When underlying health disorders are fully understood, patients tend to feel less guilt and shame about their pasts and their past decisions. In addiction recovery, self-forgiveness does not hinge upon having those you’ve wronged forgive you. True forgiveness in recovery starts within.
Learning to heal from the traumas, pain, and guilt of your past promotes growth. Treatment centers also foster growth by helping people discover their strengths, talents, and interests. In fact, many South Florida rehabs also host workshops and classes that help patients set goals, establish plans for accomplishing them, and find resources for supporting their lives and aspirations post-treatment. If you’re tired of being addicted to drugs or alcohol and want to find a rehab where you can start healing and growing, we’re able to help. Call us now at 833-846-5669.