What Are You Expecting From Addiction Recovery Support
You have a problem and you need to get it off your chest – now! The last time you talked about your addiction troubles you got a pretty ho-hum response from everyone. What gives? You may not even stick around with AA because you are pretty sure they don’t give a darn about you.
What Do You Want People to Say About Your Problems
You may think you want sympathy for the problems you share in support groups or with your friends. Are you sure about that? What are you really saying in your support groups, and how are you saying it? When you share the difficult times of your life, you may need to consider what your purpose really is for speaking up.
When you are struggling with drug and alcohol addiction, problems with relationships and money and even work are bound to arise. Losing a family member to an illness will usually draw comments of sympathy. Getting kicked out of your house because you had a fight might get some sympathy, but it may also stir some questions about your responsibility in the matter.
Why You Might Not Hear What You Want In Addiction Recovery Groups
Are you really just having a bad streak of events, or are there some decisions and people that are keeping you in a drug addiction mindset? Perhaps the fight was a blessing because you are away from the liquor cabinet in their house. Maybe others in the group have had something more devastating happen to them that week.
It’s even possible that a mild response is all the people at that group are able to muster. Remember, pretty much everyone at an AA meeting has been down (or is going down) a tough addiction road. In fact, your troubles may be triggering their own memories at that moment. Just because you don’t get a lot of affirmation every time you speak doesn’t mean the group (or your friend) aren’t being helpful.
Sharing Your Story And Complaining About Your Addiction Woes Are Two Different Things
There is a subtle difference between sharing and complaining. Sharing is being as honest as possible about your situation, which accounts for your own part in the situation. Complaining usually comes out in a blaming tone, minimizing your role or responsibility. The difference is subtle, and this description is not meant to put anyone off, just to make you think.
Sometimes a little venting or passionate speaking about your difficulties is OK. But when you follow it up with comments about something you might do about it, your comments uplift your character and possibly earn you respect from others. Constant complaining with no “call to action” upon yourself gets old and irritating.
Where Are You In Your Addiction Recovery Journey
So what do you really want to hear from people that you talk with about your difficulties with addiction recovery – compassion and encouragement or sympathy and “poor you”? That says a lot about your place in recovery. Hoping for compassion and encouragement might mean that you are open to learning more about yourself, picking yourself up along the way with the help of others. If you are just looking for just sympathy and agreement with how bad your life is, you may be stuck in a “poor me” mode.
Drug treatment, alcohol rehab, and addiction support groups can provide tremendous support for you during this challenging time in your life. But it comes with a price – your honesty with yourself. You don’t get away with half-truths or self serving actions. When you keep that in mind, your addiction recovery journey will be worth the price.