(800) 447-2766 | info@buffalovalley.org
Buffalo Valley, Inc.
  • Home
    • Contact
  • About
  • Directions
  • Treatment
    • What To Bring
    • Prescreen Application
    • Pre-admission Resources
    • Medically Monitored Detox
    • Residential Rehab
    • Partial Hospital
    • IOP (Intensive Out Patient)
    • Co-Occurring Disorders
    • Prioritized Admission For Block Grant Program
    • PTSD-M
    • Psychosocial Assessment
  • Veterans
    • VA Housing
  • Housing
    • Housing
    • Rental Assistance
    • Rentals
    • Elderly/Disabled
    • COC
  • News
  • Links
  • ACA
  • Make Payment
    • Rent Payment
    • Treatment Payment
    • Medical Record Payment
    • Donations Payment
    • DUI School Payment
  • Online Payments
  • Donations
  • DUI SCHOOL

Increasing your self-esteem in addiction recovery

3/31/2014

1 Comment

 
Picture
By: Lisa Hann
Published: March 31, 2014

In early addiction recovery, feelings of guilt and shame are common and expected. In fact, it can bet difficult to overcome those negative feelings…but a proactive approach can help you develop self-confidence. This article describes several things people in recovery can do to boost their low self-esteem. Then, we invite you to share your own experiences about building self-esteem in recovery or ask questions about the techniques at the end.

Increasing Your Self-Esteem In Addiction Recovery

Addicts are prone to self-loathing, and negative feelings about ourselves tend to spike in early recovery. As you come off the drugs or put down the bottle, you can look back at addiction with clearer eyes and really see the extent of the damage you caused to yourself, life, and loved ones. Feelings of guilt and shame in early recovery are to be expected, and it’s so important to learn how to manage the negative feelings and low self-esteem in recovery and get past them.

Overcoming those negative feelings is difficult, but it’s possible. Self-esteem is something that needs to be developed, and it’s best to take a proactive approach. As long as you want to feel better about yourself, in time, you will. Here are some suggestions that can help you.

Four (4) Tips To Increasing Self-Esteem In Recovery

1. Forgive yourself.

In recovery, forgiving yourself for what you did during your addiction is often one of the hardest things to do. There is no one more critical of ourselves than ourselves. But you need to remember that the person you were under the influence is not the person you really are. You cannot change the past, so you need to forgive yourself for it and move onto the present with the promise that you’ll learn from your mistakes and won’t repeat them. Accept your past, and focus instead on being a better person today.

2. Be proud of yourself.

Once you’ve forgiven yourself, it’s time to try and turn some of those feelings of guilt into feelings of pride. As addicts, we tend to beat ourselves up even when we should be giving ourselves credit. Instead of feeling guilty about your past addiction, feel proud of yourself for doing the hard work it takes to make a change. Quitting drugs and alcohol is incredibly difficult for an addict, so you’ve already overcome quite the hurdle, and that is nothing to shrug about.

3. Surround Yourself with positive people

It’s essential to have a support system in recovery, because overcoming addiction isn’t something you have to or should do alone. If you surround yourself with positive people, by proxy you’ll start developing a more positive attitude about life and yourself. Your friends and the people you associate with should make you feel good about yourself. Anyone who puts you down or is a negative influence should not have a place in your life.

4. Be kind to yourself

Finally, be kind to yourself. Treat yourself the way you would treat a beloved friend or relative. You would most likely never be as hard on a loved one or hold them to standards as high as you hold yourself to. Don’t criticize yourself, and don’t get caught up worrying about what you “should” be doing. Love yourself, compliment yourself, and focus on all your good attributes and accomplishments no matter how “small” you think they are. You’re someone who has been through a lot and deserves compassion.

Self-Esteem In Addiction Recovery
Do you have more ideas on how to improve self-esteem? Please share your thoughts or comments in the section below. We do our best to respond to all feedback with a personal and prompt reply.

1 Comment
Ric Clayton
9/16/2021 12:59:56 pm

I really want to thank Dr Emu for saving my marriage. My wife really treated me badly and left home for almost 3 month this got me sick and confused. Then I told my friend about how my wife has changed towards me. Then she told me to contact Dr Emu that he will help me bring back my wife and change her back to a good woman. I never believed in all this but I gave it a try. Dr Emu casted a spell of return of love on her, and my wife came back home for forgiveness and today we are happy again. If you are going through any relationship stress or you want back your Ex or Divorce husband you can contact his whatsapp +2347012841542 or email emutemple@gmail.com website: Https://emutemple.wordpress.com/ Https://web.facebook.com/Emu-Temple-104891335203341

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    BLOG TOPICS

    All
    Addiction
    Anxiety Disorder
    Drug Abuse
    Pain Management
    Physical & Emotional Abuse
    Pregnancy
    Self-Esteem

    Archives

    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    November 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013

    RSS Feed

Buffalo Valley Inc.
501 Park Avenue South
Hohenwald, TN 38462

Local: (931) 796-5427
Toll-free: (800) 447-2766


Picture
© 2021  Buffalo Valley, Inc.  | Privacy Policy  |  BVI Staff

​​Site Powered by InnerDigital
Photo used under Creative Commons from H o l l y.