Perfectionistic Tendencies in Recovery
There are stereotypes that people with addiction are irresponsible, and that people with perfectionistic tendencies are reliable to a fault. But these two can be the same person. Perfection doesn’t exist, making the pursuit of it distressing. It’s not unusual to get burnt out when things inevitably don’t go as planned. Some perfectionists and people […]
Self-Advocacy in Recovery
Active addiction can make you feel out of control and unsure of who you are, which means many of us learn self-advocacy when we get sober. You can’t ask for what you need when you don’t know what that is. It’s important to learn what’s best for your recovery and advocate for it, because what […]
Moving Past Fears of Sobriety
When it comes to getting sober, many people have lots of starts and stops. Six years before I got sober for what I hope to be the last time, I quit drinking for a couple months—only to pick up right where I left off. There were many times throughout active addiction that I tried to […]
Breaking Addiction Cycles
Addiction is a cycle. When you’ve been using drugs or alcohol chronically, your brain comes to expect them. It adjusts to the floods of dopamine by lowering dopamine receptors, making it harder for you to feel pleasure from other, healthier activities. Additional changes in the brain—like alterations to the prefrontal cortex, which helps with impulse […]
What Is the Difference Between Treatment and Recovery?
Treatment and recovery are related concepts, but they are not the same thing. Generally, treatment is the formal process of going to a facility for help with addiction. Treatment can include detox, inpatient or outpatient programs, and medication-assisted treatment (MAT). Recovery encompasses other aspects of your life, including emotional sobriety, mental health, physical health, and […]
Building Closeness in Recovery
Many of us in recovery spent our formative teen or early adulthood years drinking or using. During the time we might have been learning to build authentic closeness, we were cut off from ourselves by substances. I’ve always kept many relationships of all varieties, even during active addiction. But there are layers to true intimacy […]
Building Empathy for People in Different Stages of Recovery
Recovery allows the space to cultivate empathy. During active addiction, your brain changes so that you may seek out the substance above other things in life. When alcohol or drugs are no longer your main priority, it often follows that you’re less self-centered. You are better able to understand other people’s experiences. Still, sometimes we […]
Recovery on Your Own Timeline
Sometimes in recovery, it can feel like we’re behind peers who never had addiction. The years we drank or used drugs could have been spent working towards life goals. When I first got sober, I tried to work on every goal at once. I finally had the capacity to do so—and felt like I was […]
Accountability Without Shame in Recovery
In recovery, it’s important to take responsibility for the ways you may have harmed others during active addiction. This isn’t to punish yourself for having an addiction. Taking accountability can also be part of your own healing. In my recovery, learning to face the harm I caused without shaming myself has been a long and […]
9 Things to Do When Your Loved One Refuses Help
When our loved ones are addicted to alcohol or drugs, it is normal to want to help, or “save” them. We can offer our loved one help, but they don’t always take it, which often puts us in uncomfortable or upsetting situations. At TruHealing Centers, we provide support for addiction in a number of ways, […]
