By Steps to Recovery on November 20, 2012
You can’t do recovery alone. How many times have you heard that, whether you use the 12 Steps for recovery or your own program of choice, you have probably heard this phrase so many times. And it’s so very true. There is great importance of having a support group of your peers, it’s one of the most important aspects of recovery. If we did it all on our own, who would be there to be our mirrors? How can we truly identify what is going on with us without the honest feedback from others, especially in early recovery?
I believe it’s totally possible to work on oneself alone. I believe it’s possible to see our problems and and think about them. But without the feedback and support of others can we truly do the deeper work? It is so hard to remain accountable to oneself especially in early recovery. That’s one of the biggest things I learned in recovery, actually, how to care enough about myself to hold myself accountable, and to keep moving when I wanted to turn and run back to my old lifestyle.
My best friend told me the other day that her pastor couldn’t pray her clean, her parents couldn’t “talk sense into her”, the threat of losing her family didn’t stop her from using. She lost it all. She has worked so hard to reclaim all that she gave up because her addiction overpowered her. And now that she is clean and has her life back, these people are still not the ones who understand the struggles she now goes through in her life and recovery. It’s through the people in her life who understand personally what she goes through, who can relate to her struggles that she receives the support she needs to remain successful in recovery.
Of course there are many people who can support you that may not have walked exactly your path, people’s faith has provided support since the beginning of time, if your family is there to help lift you up then take that help. But, as my friend says, I highly recommend a group of people that have walked your path in their own shoes and have come out clean. She believes that a clean addict is the best weapon to help other addicts fight their demons. And I couldn’t agree more. You can’t do it alone.
