One thing to keep in mind as you journey through the highs and lows of addiction recovery is time will ease your cravings. This thought is a beacon of hope to many people who are fighting with everything they have to protect their recovery. The more time goes by without a relapse, the lesser your cravings for the addictive substance or activity become. Your brain forgets the exact sensation of the high you would experience under the addiction’s influence and the urgency to experience it again dissipates.

The strength of your recovery actually builds over time. The initial emotions you experience when you begin your recovery are a poor example of how you will feel in a month, or a year, or in five years. It will be hard at first and you will stumble, struggle and possibly even relapse and be forced to start again. But sooner or later, it will dawn on you that are setting new records for time gone by without thinking of your addiction. The passing of time without relapse is its own remedy to addiction and very much a reason to celebrate.

Do not be hard on yourself when you are new to recovery and struggling. It would be entirely abnormal if you did not experience some hardship while adjusting to a new way of life. Do not compare yourself to others or criticize your own efforts. Every person’s recovery is as individual as they are. Allow yourself time to improve and be mindful of the subtleties in your thoughts and behaviors as you progress. Chances are, you will surprise yourself with your metamorphosis.

The golden rule with recovery is that practice makes perfect. This means you might mess up more than once while you are finding your groove. You may walk into situations that trigger your addiction and catch you unaware. If you relapse, forgive yourself. If you relapse repeatedly, forgive yourself repeatedly. Aim to have progressively longer periods of recovery in between relapse. Do not expect perfection of yourself right off the bat.

If your addiction is to a substance, cravings will always be worse if you have not allowed yourself to detox from the substance you were abusing. It is best to use the services of a professional detox center, such as Vancouver, Montreal or Calgary detox center.

 

Recovering addicts who experience a relapse often have similar things to say about relapse. For most recovering addicts, relapse is very discouraging. It can leave many people disheartened with their recovery and want to give up. Others have the ability to overcome a relapse and try again. If a relapse is going to happen, it is far better to develop the attitude of overcoming the relapse to start again than it is to give up. It is this perseverance and resilience that leads to positive outlooks on relapse.

The idea that a recovering addict should be making progress instead of perfection is very valuable. Recovering from addiction is difficult and sometimes, the pressure to have a flawless recovery is so stressful that a person may relapse under the weight of their expectations, whether real or perceived. Rather than enforce perfection on one’s self, it is far healthier for a recovering addict to see their recovery as a gradual uphill climb rather than a leap to a high point. It is far more important to make continuous strides than it is to never make mistakes.

Many people who relapse feel discouraged and want to punish themselves. They feel that they have broken something that they cannot get back. Nothing could be farther from the truth. Relapse is, simply put, a chance to start over again with more understanding. In fact, the spirit of endurance in the face of relapse is a critical part of recovery. The truth is a majority of recovering addicts experience a relapse of some variety. It should never be a source of shame or discouragement, but rather a renewal in your commitment to your recovery.

The saying “tomorrow is another day” is a cliche, but it is an effective cliche. If you have relapsed, simply accept responsibility for your relapse and remember what you learned in your addiction treatment. Sleep on this insight, then wake up to restart your recovery on a brand new day.