Self-compassion involves understanding and accepting oneself whenever you feel inadequate, as a failure, or suffering, rather than dismissing the pain and indulging yourself in self-criticism. Whenever you are undergoing recovery from substance abuse, self-compassion is very important.
This is because shame and emotional pain are some of the driving factors of addiction, so when recovering, there’s no need for self-loathing since it only makes the recovery process much harder. Multiple studies have shown that recovering addicts who have self-compassion have better recovery outcomes than those who don’t. In this article, you will learn how to improve self-compassion to help you during your recovery process.
Practice Mindfulness
What’s mindfulness? It is a mental state that is achieved by focusing on one’s awareness and being present at the moment while you acknowledge and accept your feelings, needs and thoughts without judgment, letting them overpower you or trying to change or manipulate them. So, to improve your self-compassion, you should always reflect on your actions, quiet your inner critic, and replace it with self-affirming thoughts.
Be Kind to Yourself
Self-compassion is about associating yourself with kindness while avoiding self-criticism. It is always important that you shouldn’t beat yourself up whenever you are suffering or you’ve failed in something. It would help if you treated yourself the way you would treat a family member or friend who might be going through the same situation.
Embrace Vulnerability
Most studies have proved that being vulnerable is a sign of mental strength since it portrays that you can handle any situation. Most addicts tend to avoid, downplay or suppress their feelings since they have been brought up with the notion that being vulnerable is a sign of weakness which it’s not.
Have A Support System
It’s always wise to acknowledge that you are not the only one going through a tough situation, so you should create a support system that will always be there for you whenever you are going through a tough time. Your support system could comprise family members, friends, or workmates. When choosing your support system, you should select individuals with your best interest at heart, and they should be available to you at any time.
Always Give Your Recovery the First Priority
Self-compassion also involves putting your needs above all, and when going through recovery, your priority should always be your recovery. You should always avoid placing yourself in situations that may threaten your sobriety and surround yourself with positive influences. Whenever you find yourself idle, you can find a hobby that will keep you busy and away from temptations.
Give Meditation A Try
Meditation aims to achieve inner peace, which can help you improve your self-compassion. There are various forms of meditation that you can try, like repeating self-affirming words, sitting in total silence while self-reflating, or practicing yoga or Taichi. Meditation also helps reduce stress and boost your mental health.
Join A Recovery Community
As it is always said, there is strength in numbers, same with addiction. You are not the first person to be battling addiction; there are always people who have been struggling with addiction for quite a long time. Such individuals tend to have an insight into how to combat their cravings and navigate tempting situations. You can meet such people at anonymous meetings where addicts come together and share their experiences. By listening and sharing your experiences, you’ll find that you can beat the addiction and improve your life.
Don’t Try Cutting Conners with Your Recovery
Addiction, like any other disease, has stages you must go through during recovery, and you can’t just start and skip to the end; if you decide that you are going to skip the stages, that is a recipe for disaster because once you think you’ve beaten your addiction, you can easily backslide. Once you fall back to your past habits, you’ll always see yourself as a loser and a failure, which is the opposite of the recovery process and will diminish your self-worth.
Self-compassion is the backbone of the whole recovery process, making it the most important aspect of the entire process .so whenever you go through recovery, you can use the above ways to improve your self-compassion. Are you going through a hard time? Call us today at 732-392-7311. Our counselors are available 24 hours a day.
