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Finding Hope in an Addiction Recovery Center

If you are struggling with addiction, either yourself or because of a loved one, your response to “Finding Hope in an Addiction Recovery Center” may be, “Yeah, right. That will never happen.” 

It’s hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel when surrounded by darkness. Still, just because it’s dark right now doesn’t mean there’s no light ahead. 

Addiction recovery centers like The Ranch provide hope with an addiction recovery program of education and strong support around addiction’s physical, mental, and emotional effects.  

As individuals working through addiction, we tend to think we know everything. We have the answers to all questions. However, if this were true, wouldn’t we have found a better way by now?

The uncertainty of what’s ahead, especially when life is extra challenging, eats away at our hope for the future. It’s easy to believe that because things are rough right now, they will always be.

Maybe this is the story you are telling yourself. 

There’s another possibility, though. Open up to another scenario. There’s the possibility your life is about to open to a new and unexpected period of hope, happiness, and joy. It’s possible, right? Logically speaking, if the worst is possible, so is the best.

What’s ahead in addiction recovery?

Explaining what’s ahead for someone just embarking on a program at an addiction recovery center is hard. 

Listen to the words of someone with seven years clean from heroin addiction:

“When I came into this program, I wanted to die. I couldn’t see any reason to live. I looked at my life and saw only failure after failure and broken promise after broken promise. I had let down everyone who loved me. I had lost dear friends to overdose. My kids wouldn’t even speak to me. Seven years later, life couldn’t be more different. I have friends. I have friends in this program who know the real me, and they still love me. When I celebrated my seventh anniversary clean from oxy, my kids baked me a cake. When I greet newcomers, I try to explain the joy ahead but, until you experience it for yourself, it’s hard to believe.” —Brandon B.

Read Seamus Kirst describe his recovery journey in his piece, “After the Party Is Over: Searching for Myself in Sobriety,” published in 2016 on theMighty.com.

Addiction recovery centers: Close your eyes and jump, the net will appear

How many times, while in addiction, did you take life-threatening risks? Funny how easy it was to risk life-and-limb, but diving into an addiction recovery program feels like the end of everything. It’s not. Admission into an addiction recovery center is the beginning. Once you stop numbing yourself, you open yourself to feeling the good stuff as well as the bad. 

Yes, there are some rough moments when you commit to an addiction recovery center. Think about it, though. Aren’t you already experiencing the roughest of the rough? Life sure doesn’t feel good at the bottom.

In substance abuse recovery, the lows aren’t experienced alone. In recovery, you have a community of people, all in the same boat. The community waiting for you understands the cravings, the self-hatred, the disappointment, the frustration. None of this is new to someone else in recovery. 

Don’t take our word for it; listen to someone who admitted herself into an addiction recovery center more than 11 years ago. Laura Silverman wrote about her experience in 2018 for ShatterProof.org in her piece, “11 Lessons Learned in 11 Years of Addiction Recovery.”

Tell yourself a new story

Recovery is the gift you give yourself. You aren’t a terrible person. Addiction is a disease. No one ever sets out to hurt the people they love or to hurt themselves in countless ways. Consider how, with some recovery in hand, your story will offer hope to someone else in a dark place. 

You may feel like your experience isn’t anything special, or perhaps like it’s too dark for anyone to relate to, but think again. Our stories connect us, and even if someone isn’t living one exactly like yours, they will still relate to it in their own way. 

Your story matters, no matter what chapter you’re on. 

You can find hope in an addiction recovery center. No matter if it is for you or your loved one, The Ranch, PA, wants to help you rewrite your story. We are here to answer your questions, call us at 717.969.9126.

 

By Heather Berry

Contributing Writer with Promises Behavioral Health 

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