Today’s post is Step 9 of 11 basic but powerful strategies for achieving addiction recovery. Look for a Recovery Step and Strategy every day through September 18th. Use these steps and strategies to help guide you to a solid recovery.
Step 9 – Get counseling for psychological distress.
Many people engage in addictive behaviours to ‘self-medicate’, i.e. escape painful emotions, moods, memories, grief, loss, relationships or symptoms of trauma. You may find yourself feeling anxious, sad, empty, irritable or confused in early recovery as emotions that were being masked by addictive behaviours start to show themselves, or due to Post Acute Withdrawal Symptoms (PAWS). You may also experience grief over time, plans, dreams or relationships lost to addiction. Some people struggle with feelings of shame as they attempt to get a foothold in recovery. If you are experiencing psychological pain that is interfering with your life, you owe it to yourself to take steps to heal properly. The good news is that help is available, and you do not have to struggle alone. You can develop the psychological ‘self-management skills’ that are so important to a stable, long term recovery.
Recovery Strategy:
See the Recovery and Articles pages on my website for more information on overcoming psychological challenges, pain and distress. You may also benefit from reviewing my article Emotional Sobriety – The Golden Key To Addiction Recovery
Stay Tuned Tomorrow For Step 10!
Need help getting your addiction recovery on a solid footing? Contact Glynis to Request an Appointment
Counseling and therapy is available online by Video worldwide. Visit my Addiction Recovery Counseling web page
Glynis Sherwood – MEd, CAC is a Certified Addictions Counselor working online and based in Halifax Canada