Why Isolation is Challenging in Recovery and How to Seek Support
Addiction is costly to those who struggle with it, but also to loved ones who support them. In recovery, it seems like things will start looking up. There are costs to rehab and someone has to pay the bills for those, along with other debts in a person’s life. This can be very stressful and lead to isolation for people who struggle with the balance of how to negotiate all these things in recovery while staying sober. Self-help groups are one way, along with therapy, exercise programs, and religious or spiritual practices. That is not to say a person will not experience loneliness because they will. Here are some tips to seek help and support for loneliness in recovery.
Try the Steps
Meetings in recovery, whether they are 12-step or not, can help you feel less isolated. During failed sobriety attempts, it can be hard to feel confident and self-assured. Perhaps you are feeling like a failure. The opposite is true. Relapse happens to so many people in recovery. The brain and body crave drugs and alcohol. It will take a long time to work through these issues and rebalance the body and mind. If you look for where you can seek help, you will see it is right in front of you all along. Being alone on the journey is not a bad thing. It teaches people to live with themselves better. It brings them to a place of deeper faith in directing their thoughts and actions towards humility and hope. When the silence feels heavy, try this instead:
- Keep going. Don’t give up going to meetings. Find an accountability partner or sponsor who keeps you accountable and honest for the journey
- Call someone to help. Reach out to those who say they will support you and ask for assistance
- Get out of your head into yoga. Find a space to do yoga or meditation and just sit or lie there the whole time, if needed. Just show up for yourself but also to be around other people (even if you don’t feel like talking)
Don’t Ruminate
Everyone has dark thoughts and feelings from time to time. Perhaps you struggle with mental health issues. Don’t fear not measuring up. If you learn to recognize the dark corners of your mind for what they are, you begin to feel like you are healing those spaces. Come up with a plan to negate further damage by changing to positive thinking. Self-pity can take over your life so don’t let it get that far before you finally reach out and ask someone who accepts you as you are, for who you are, right here and now.
It Will Pass
Sometimes the only way to get through is through. Don’t fear the journey, just go along for the ride. If you are lonely and sad, know it will pass. You will be in a new place on a new path soon and you will experience more community the more you put yourself out there. If you are willing, the recovery journey can teach you how to lean on others and not isolate through the struggles of life. Lean into that and you’ll see new roads open before you of healing and hope.
The Palmetto Center is based on a Therapeutic Community model. We help people learn how to live free of addiction. Our community support provides structure while trained counselors offer life skills training and therapeutic techniques to help you move past addiction. 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.
