Admitting a Substance Use Disorder Doesn’t Make You a Failure

You have finally come to the realization that you might have a substance use disorder and you need help in order to quit. While this can be a scary realization, it is important to remember that it is not one that makes you a failure. Looking in the mirror isn’t easy, and neither is admitting to your misgivings or the fact that the way you have been living hasn’t been the right way. One of the hallmarks of addiction is that you have no control over your use, and chances are you have realized that this is true. Admitting a substance use disorder doesn’t make you a failure, instead, the loved ones around you will see you as someone who is ready to take control and live a better life.

The Stigma of Addiction

One of the reasons people don’t like admitting a substance use disorder is because of the stigma surrounding addiction. Before addiction was better understood and studied, it was seen as a choice or like people wanted to live with their addictions. They were seen as people who had no regard for their responsibilities, who have low moral standard and who don’t care about the people they may be hurting. However, the complete opposite is true.

Understanding Addiction

The understanding of addiction has come a long way to prove that substance abuse makes people act in ways they normally wouldn’t, however, the stigma hasn’t come quite as far yet. Admitting to a substance use disorder can be tricky because chances are, you have been defending it for so long. You may have hidden it very well or denied that it was an issue. Admitting you are wrong and that others have been right all along isn’t easy, but it is important to remember that people only want the best for you.

Addiction is now much better understood, so it is important to do more research and educate yourself and your loved ones as to why you may have come to have a substance use disorder, and the steps you will be taking to make it better. The more you know, the less you will feel like this decision to get help is less about failing, and more about your survival.

Make Self Care a Priority

When you begin the process of going through treatment, a lot of new emotions will come up that substance use disorder has kept numb. One of these can include feeling like a failure. That is one reason why self-care is so important during the recovery process. Making sure you get a good night’s sleep, are eating healthy, maintaining exercise, meditating and taking time to do things that make you happy will all keep you in a better overall mental state. In addition, therapy will help teach you methods to overcome these feelings of failure, and what to do when you start feeling them.

Addiction is a Chronic, Fatal Disease

When someone has diabetes, they do not feel like failures when they admit that they need to use insulin in order to function. When someone has high blood pressure, they do not feel like failures when they need to take medication in order to regulate that. As such, admitting a substance use disorder doesn’t make you a failure, either. You are suffering from a chronic, fatal disease that, without help, will surely lead to death.

Taking Control of Your Life

While feeling like a failure when admitting a substance use disorder is a normal emotion, it is also important to remember that people who are making you feel this way is not. If there are people in your life who are making you feel bad for getting help, chances are, they are toxic relationships. Getting help for a substance use disorder should always be championed, and if it is not, you should re-evaluate that relationship.

When you admit a substance use disorder, you take control back of your life. The substances you are addicted to can no longer control your every move and thought. You will learn the skills to control your own every move and thought, and that includes being able to evaluate relationships and whether or not they are conducive to your recovery and sobriety.

About Pinelands Recovery Center

Beginning the treatment process and admitting you have a substance use disorder is very overwhelming. With time, you will be able to overcome your feelings of being a failure. Learning how to cope with these feelings and overcome them are key in recovery because life will throw many hardships your way. Learning how to deal with these hardships and emotions without the “help” of substances is crucial, and instead of feeling like a failure, you can feel like a champion.

Pinelands Recovery Center of Medford is widely known as one of New Jersey’s finest, most respected addiction treatment facilities. With comfortable 30-bed accommodations and 24-hour professional staff, we can offer clients a serene, relaxing environment amid the lush piney woods. This stress-free setting with its sense of warmth and welcoming enables you to feel comfortable and confident about your clean and sober life ahead.

We will establish clear goals, both general in nature and specific to your needs. We continue to monitor those goals, to make sure that our clients are progressing and buying into their recovery plan. We thrive on assisting clients in feeling connected to the recovery community, share and demonstrate effective coping techniques, help clients to modify attitudes and patterns of behavior and everything else you will need to be happy and productive living a sober, healthy life.

We ensure that clients complete their planned concrete tasks, encourage hope, optimism and healthy living. Our recovery program is not a revolving door treatment program; it is a recovery model designed to help clients go on to lead productive, happy lives. For more information, visit pinelandsrecovery.com