What Willingness to Recover Has to Do With Healing
Nobody can be forced to recover from addiction. The first step to healing is admitting a problem exists, followed by the second step, which is the willingness to receive treatment. Addiction steals many things from a person’s life, but it can be the will and desire to seek treatment that has the most power to transform a person’s life.
Battle of Wills
When someone says they are not willing to do this or they are willing to do that, they are expressing an inward desire. This desire is evident in toddlers who are adamantly opposed, generally, to doing just about anything an adult asks of them. As adults, we may adamantly oppose something a boss, co-worker, or someone else in authority tells us to do, whether it is good for us or not, but we still must get on with our lives. Fighting against the tide can only take people so far because, with addiction, not being willing to let yourself receive help can have life-threatening consequences. However, there is another side to what feels like a battle of wills. Addiction changes a person’s brain chemistry and body composition. The brain actively seeks more of a drug or substance to help it find a ‘fix’ or the moment when it will feel better again, or feel less pain, or whatever it wants to feel. When it abates quickly, the brain and body begin eagerly searching for this feeling again. So, quite often, willingness to recover is about releasing those triggers and cravings as they pop up to say you are not giving in this time and taking back the reins from addiction. It is not as easy as it sounds.
Step 6
Looking at the AA’s 12 Steps, Step 6 addressings the willingness to recover. The focus is being ready to have a higher power remove defects of character. The willingness to release power and control to a higher power presents an intentional space of letting go. To submit to another’s will releases the onus on the individual so they may focus trust on that higher power to support the journey of healing when they feel too weak to do so. This can be a big, important, step in the journey for people in recovery who follow the 12 step process and believe a higher power is at play in their lives.
How to Be Willing
One of the biggest challenges of recovery is learning how to be willing to live a surrendered life. You may not be willing to stop using drugs or drinking alcohol, but you can ask a higher power to help visualize what this will look like. You can stop and ask how to find the strength to keep going even when it feels like everything is fighting against your recovery. Seeking peace of mind is a good start, but then continue to search for a deeper surrender to the journey of recovery if you want to find a good starting point in being willing to let go. Some other helpful tips:
- Seek to be transformed: don’t just sit back and wait for recovery to change your life. Seek opportunities to grow, other mentors and people to follow, and most of all think about what your life can look like in recovery, without substances, Imagine the possibilities that open when you look at your life and realize you can have so much more than you ever dreamed if you are willing to release other desires for new ones
- Seek space for quiet: whether you quietly meditate, contemplate, pray, or sit in silence, it is helpful to find quiet spaces where there is a void. Fill your space with quiet solitude so you are not trying to fill it with noise, hustle and bustle, or other things. When your mind is too preoccupied with worldly things, you tend to forget how to quiet yourself and focus inwardly on the journey. Recovery is not just about being willing to not use drugs or drink, it is about transforming the way you think about it, how you see yourself in the world, and how you want to transform your life in the future
There are myriad ways to work towards personal transformation in recovery. The starting point is whether or not you are willing to accept one of the biggest changes you will make in your life. This change in your life begins with asking for help. Seeking a supportive space where people will understand you and offer real world help for treating addiction. The key is not to give up before you get started and think it won’t work, even if you’ve traveled that road before. Open yourself to the possibility this may just be the right time and right place for you to kick addiction to the curb and live the life you’ve always wanted.
The Palmetto Centers helps transform lives with our treatment program focused on meeting individual goals and plans you have for your journey. Our program provides special focus for professionals including chiropractors, nurses, doctors, lawyers, and more who need help with addiction recovery. Call us to find out more: 866-848-3001.
