After 25 years of active addiction to alcohol and pharmaceutical pain medications, I’ve spent a lot of time in the rooms of recovery and around other people struggling with substance use disorders.
One common thread I have found is this concept of isolation and social anxiety.
So often (and from an early age) we find ourselves feeling apart FROM, never apart OF in social situations, family events, school, and work…
The dangerous thing about this is the inner negative our brains can create. That voice in our head that tell us “no one understand”, “no one else could possibly feel the way I do”…
The danger is that we were actually built & created for connection… For relationship. But the addictive narrative seeks to isolate and keep us feeling alone and ineffective. In order to get well we have to come to terms and view this narrative for what it is.
A lie.
The truth is your potential is your greatest superpower.
The truth is you were created to love and to be loved.
The truth is that the people in your life are operating from one of two places:
- They love you more than you’ll ever know.
Or
- They too are broken people struggling just to love themselves and therefore fall short in loving you the way that you deserve. View these people with compassion and empathy.
It’s been said that every action is either an expression of love or a cry for help.
No matter what you have gone through, in fact the more you have gone through, the more powerful your testimony of survival and strength is.
You are stronger, wiser, and have a greater capacity for love because of the fires you have walked through.
I encourage you to list as many things as you can think of today that you are grateful for.
Write them down.
Take a walk. Breathe deeply.
You don’t have to have all the answers today but being sober and looking at the world with clear eyes and a clear mind is our only chance to become the light that we have so desperately sought for so many years hang in there!
You are worthy of love and stronger than you know.
God bless you all!
