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If you have been abusing drugs and alcohol for a long time, it may be time to put recovery over substance abuse, health and wellness over harmful actions, and happiness over obsession. Here are 10 reasons why you should embrace recovery now.
1. Addiction Limits Your Ability to Choose
According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, an individual’s substance abuse usually starts off as a choice, but over time, the drug changes the way the brain works, making it so the individual can’t quit using it even if they want to. Seeking help in order to recover actually allows you to gain back your own autonomy and to choose the type of life you want to lead.
2. You’ll Never Black Out Again
Waking up from a night of heavy drinking or drug use and realizing you don’t remember a thing that happened definitely doesn’t feel good. Many individuals who use drugs consistently accept this as a natural part of life when really all the embarrassment and confusion stops when you put an end to your substance abuse.
3. Your Loved Ones Will Thank You
If you are struggling with a serious addiction, it’s likely the people in your life are concerned about your wellbeing and want you to recover safely. And, if the people in your life are encouraging you to continue using when it is causing serious problems, you may want to ask yourself why they’re really doing this.
4. Your Health Will Improve
Many drug and alcohol addicts suffer from health issues that would have been avoidable if they hadn’t become compulsive users. According to the National Library of Medicine, different “physical risks” are associated with different types of drugs, and the more someone uses, the more they will put themselves at risk. But you won’t have to worry about increasing the severity of these issues because, as a part of recovery, you can be assessed and treated for many of the health effects caused by addiction.
5. School and Work Will Matter Again
Many individuals become apathetic toward their responsibilities once they begin abusing drugs. As a result, addicts are often fired or receive poor grades due to poor performance. But once you begin your recovery, you can regain your motivation for life in general and especially for the responsibilities that used to matter to you.
6. You Can Learn to Deal With Stress
Unfortunately, people who abuse drugs often do so as a way of coping with stressful situations in life and especially with the chronic issue of stress (Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences). However, many individuals experience a reduced ability to cope with stress after using for a long time. In treatment, you can learn to deal with stress in healthier ways and receive lessons in coping mechanisms that will be more effective for your safe recovery.
7. You Won’t Experience Any More Crashes
The highs you experience while on drugs can be extremely intense and exciting, but are they worth the painful and depressing crash periods you experience when you’re not able to obtain more of the drug? You will no longer have to go through these extreme ups and downs if you choose to embrace recovery.
8. It’s the Cheaper Choice
While many choose to avoid treatment because they believe it will be too expensive, it has actually been proven that seeking help is cheaper and better financially for a person than continued drug abuse and drug seeking.
9. You Can Be Trusted Again
When a person begins to use drugs, they tend to lie more in order to avoid the judgment of others and to keep using. This can cause the loved ones of an addict––and everyone else in their life––to lose their trust in them. In recovery, you can begin to gain back the trust of those you love and also the trust of the most important person: yourself.
10. You Can Learn to Be Happy Again
Contentment is an essential part of recovery. Learning to be happy and well again will help you fight any urges to return to substance abuse, but you will also be able to see the huge difference recovery and staying clean can make in your life.