What is Recovery?

There are many paths to recovery. No one path is the same. No one path is right. The best thing about recovery paths is their uniqueness. Each person is unique. Why should their recovery path be any different? Recovery also looks different depending on what you are in recovery from. This article explores recovery and the essential components that set you up for success.

What is Recovery?

Recovery is defined as by the Oxford dictionary is “the return to a normal state of health, mind, or strength; or the action or process of regaining possession or control of something stolen or lost.”

I will forgive the Oxford dictionary for referring to it as normal. It’s one of my pet peeves. No one is normal. We are all weird in our own fantastic ways.

There’s a phase “Normal is only a setting on the washing machine.” Because life is so mess and unpredictable, there is no such thing as normal for humans.

However, there is healthy and unhealthy. I would say it’s better if the Oxford dictionary put it as healthy state vs normal state.

Empowerment

But how powerful are both those definitions?!

When we think about those definitions regarding addiction and/or mental health recovery, it can be empowering. Recovery is then about finding your way back to healthy. When we are active in our destructive states of mind, we create havoc on our mind, body, and souls that require healing matter if it’s addiction or mental health. Recovery becomes that healing process.

The process to take back what we lost to our inner critics and our external demons. It’s building a better life. Recovery becomes about taking back our power. 

Early Recovery

Early recovery is about building the foundation of our recovery. It’s about learning about our struggles and what got us here. It focuses on triggers and how to avoid or cope with them until they lose their power over us. 

How Do We Take Back Our Power?

So, the first step in taking back our power is identifying what it is we want to change. This could be substance use, self-esteem issues, disordered eating or lifestyle issues, depression, anxiety, and the list could go on.

You may even have multiple ones. It is important to not to overwhelm yourself. Pick the one that is the most problematic for you.

Maybe it’s the one having the greatest impact on your health, your relationships, or your mind. Maybe it was chosen for you by family or the legal system.

Even if it was chosen for you, it is going to be important for you to choose it. If not, you won’t be ready for recovery. You will cycle through recovery and relapses until you are ready. It will take you getting honest with yourself.

If you aren’t ready, that’s okay, too. Recovery will always be here for you when you are.

Community

Early recovery is where your self-discovery begins. During this time, make sure you build up a community to support you.

Your community should embrace your changes and the lifestyle you want to achieve. You need to protect your recovery, so that means some people will not fit into your community.

Be ready to accept that you may lose people to your changes. You must decide if it’s worth it. Changing your people is hard. Especially with family, whether they are blood or a chosen family.

Skills

You will face several challenges in early recovery. Temptations to go back to old behaviors, emotions without your old faithful unhealthy coping mechanisms, and naysayers who think they know what is best for you are obstacles that await your every turn down your recovery path.

Coping skills, refusal skills, and confidence skills are three skills to help with those obstacles. They are the weapons to fight your inner and outer critics.

These skills empower you to make the best decision for your recovery, which is why they are an important foundation in early recovery.

Late Recovery

Life is late recovery. It stops being focused on the change you’re making because it becomes your lifestyle. You made the changes and now it’s time to live your life.

You built your foundation in early recovery, so late recovery is taking off the training wheels and knowing you got this! You built a community that is your lifestyle and have the skills to handle anything that life throws at you. Now it’s time for exploration, adventure, and dreaming.

Late recovery is time to set new goals and keep setting them after you accomplish them. It’s a time to try new things, be adventurous. Make your dream a reality. Never get comfortable in life. Always be striving for personal growth.

Maybe that growth is starting a new recovery path for another change you want, or maybe it’s continuing to better your current recovery path. When we get stagnate in our growth, relapses happen.

Relapse

Relapse doesn’t have to be part of our story, but there is nothing wrong with you or your story if it does. Remember, everyone is unique, as is their recovery path.

If you want to avoid relapse, it’s important to know that relapse occurs when we stop doing the things in recovery that keep us from our old behaviors. My favorite quote is “Relapse isn’t a part of Recovery, it’s the lack of it.” I am not sure who said this, but it’s brilliant.

How to Get Help?

Finding your recovery path can feel daunting. You might feel alone. Just know you are not. Many start the recovery path in the rooms of recovery like support groups for several areas, AA, NA, Refuge Recovery, SMART Recovery, etc. It’s a great way to find community.

Many therapists also offer groups. This is a great way to check out different therapists if you aren’t sure who would be the best fit for you. You can also find a community, learn some skills, and it is often cheaper than seeing a therapist individually.

If you are in Oklahoma, I will have groups starting the first week of November focusing on early recovery skills for addiction, late recovery skills for addiction, and self-esteem. You can email me here to be put on the wait list or find out more information. I am also accepting new clients for private pay and HealthChoice.

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Disclaimer: This is in no way a replacement for a therapeutic relationship or substance abuse/mental health services. This is for educational purposes only and should be in used only in conjunction in working with a licensed mental health professional. Reading this blog or responding to it does not constitute a provider-patient relationship. If you are looking for a local mental health professional feel free to use the contact tab to request an appointment or search Mental Health Match, Therapy Den, or Psychology Today for local therapists in your area. If this is a mental health or substance abuse emergency and you need immediate assistance, please call 911, call 988, go to your local ER, visit your local detox center, or call 211 if you are in Oklahoma.