Though there are sometimes specific circumstances or eye-opening life events that motivate someone to seek recovery, the reasons why are ultimately endless. Some may have experienced an overdose and are now quite literally fighting for their lives. Other individuals may be in a fight to win their family back, whether they have lost figuratively due to a consistent cycle of disappointment, or have lost them literally in legal custody battles. Then there are those who seek to embark on a path to recovery as a way of divine intervention.
Whether it’s an epiphany, realization, or just a final acceptance that they cannot go on like this any longer, it is an internal shift in themselves that finally puts them on that path. Whatever the reason, taking that first step is something to be celebrated, but it is just the beginning. To maintain recovery, it is essential to develop love goals, identify key reasons to want to stay in recovery, and grow in the knowledge to do both.
Taking the First Step
As said previously, taking the first step towards recovery is a big step, even if it feels very small. It might just be picking up a pamphlet on the 12-Step program that happened to catch your eye at your local church. Sometimes it is picking up the phone for the first time to locate resources or even just admitting to your family and loved ones that you are looking for help.
Oftentimes, that first step is actually internal, where you finally admit to yourself that you have a problem and you need help. Admittance is typically a recurring component of addiction recovery. Not only do you need to first admit to yourself that you need help, but recall that the first of the Twelve Steps is admitting that you are powerless over your addiction. In order to take control, you need to let go.
Another reason why it is essential to take this first step is because the real work cannot begin until someone has reconnected their mind with their body. Substance use is a very dissociating experience. When first entering recovery, individuals will often feel disembodied. The reconnection process helps them get in touch with their feelings and restore a sense of peace within themselves. This clarity and connectedness to one’s mind are important for people to fully understand the steps that need to be taken on this new road to recovery, reasons for recovery, and to consciously set long-term goals for themselves and their recovery.
Identifying Reasons for Recovery
Before setting long-term goals that may at first seem unattainable, identifying the main reasons you have chosen to enter recovery can be helpful and less daunting. A powerful motivator is the desire to be there for your family.
When men falter in their ability to support their family in being the rock they can lean on, they can begin to feel guilt, shame, and maybe even emasculated. If your addiction prevented you from being able to be there for your family, that may be your primary focus, and keeping the thoughts of them in mind can continue to fuel your fire to get better.
Family motivators are just one of the innumerable reasons to enter recovery. Whatever your reason may be, there is one common underlying motivator – the desire to get your life back. Addiction can take so much away: your family, careers, loved ones, and the very essence of who you are. The overwhelming desire to get your life back is something we can all relate to in any time of struggle, and sometimes the best thing you can do is gift it all over to your High Power and leave it in those hands.
Setting Long-term Goals
Once you have identified your primary reasons for recovery, taken the opportunity to heal and reconnect your mind with your body, and have begun to learn and develop the necessary tools to maintain recovery, you can begin to create long-term goals for yourself.
Take the time to consider what might be next for you. This includes what kind of job you might want to try to obtain, deciding if you want to go back to school if you are able to, or maybe deciding to take on a new hobby once out of treatment. Whatever that goal may be, set it, stick with it, and hold onto even tighter on your darkest of days.
These long-term goals not only help you keep going, but they help to fill up the time you might normally have not been thinking about using. In the final weeks of the residential program at Renaissance Ranch, you and your loved ones will be provided with intense case management. This is designed to help with job searches, house hunting, and identifying any other resources available to you at the beginning of your time newly out of treatment and in recovery. These resources can help you put your goals into action, and maintain your recovery long-term.
Though our reasons for seeking treatment and desire to enter into recovery may differ, there is one underlying motivator we all experience – the desire to get our lives back. Addiction takes so much from us, our families, loved ones, and sometimes even our faith. Admittance and seeking help are the first crucial steps in recovery. Once in treatment, it is important to identify our reasons for recovery, as those reasons can serve as a constant reminder on our darkest days. Next, we develop long-term goals we hope to obtain outside of treatment after learning more about the tools and resources we can utilize. Our team at Renaissance Ranch can help you to compose your list of reasons for recovery and aid you in the development of your long-term goals. To learn more about how we can help, call us at (801) 308-8898. Take that important first step towards recovery today.