The Value of Patience in Addiction Recovery

Recovering from a substance use disorder requires more than merely finding an accredited treatment center and enrolling yourself in the program. You might be surprised to learn it’s a multi-stage process that may include detox, psychotherapy, group meetings, education on healthy coping mechanisms and self-care strategies to prevent a relapse.

For many people, two significant stressors in addiction recovery are the time commitment involved and the realization that maintaining sobriety requires a lifelong process. Patience will be an essential ingredient in your success. Consider these benefits of becoming a more patient person.

1. Learn to Live in the Now

The idea of temporarily putting your life on hold so you can fully focus on completing an addiction treatment program might be daunting. After all, today’s always-on, instant-gratification culture has led to the prevailing mindset that there should be a quick fix for any problem. However, in many cases, this attitude can be dangerous and can even lead to addictive behaviors in an attempt to “solve” problems. For best results, it’s crucial not to rush through your recovery process. Take things one step at a time and appreciate what you learn at each stage of the journey. Practices like yoga and meditation can help you become more mindful and less likely to dwell on the past or worry about the future.

2. Process Challenging Emotions

In addiction recovery, you may find difficult feelings like shame and guilt bubbling up to the surface. If you abused substances to mute mental health symptoms or sweep emotional responses under the rug, you’ll need to learn healthy ways to work through these once you achieve sobriety. Patience can help you accomplish this goal. In setting realistic objectives and taking steps to achieve each one, you will learn the value of putting in the work to receive the reward.

3. Appreciate All Your Progress

When you embrace the idea that there are no overnight solutions in recovery, it can be incredibly encouraging to look back on the progress you’ve made and evaluate how far you’ve come on your path to sobriety. You might find it helpful to keep a journal and review past entries on a set schedule – for example, once a month. You’ll be able to see how you’ve grown and evolved as a person when you consider the solutions you’ve found to various obstacles.

How to Cultivate Patience

If you’re easily frustrated or find yourself giving up at the first sign of adversity, you will be glad to know you can build your capacity for patience the same way you might work on improving your strength, balance or agility when you exercise. Here are some tips for doing so.

• Don’t try to take shortcuts: No matter what you’re doing, focus your full attention on it. Remind yourself that anything worth your time is also worth your energy.
• Pick up a new hobby: Pastimes that require a slow, deliberate approach, like crossword puzzles, gardening or needlework, are excellent for helping make you a more patient person.
• Add daily mindfulness practices: Meditation and breath control exercises can help you de-stress, let go of negativity and live in the moment.
• Stop rushing through your days: Be grateful for the simple pleasures in life; slow down and reward yourself for daily accomplishments, no matter how small.

Cutting-Edge, Alternative Addiction Treatment

Complete Harmony offers a full range of clinically proven addiction treatment modalities, coupled with holistic amenities like acupuncture, massage and yoga, to put you on the path to wellness. To learn more about non-12-step therapy in California, contact us today.

How Patience Helps Your Recovery

An important yet oft-overlooked skill that needs to be practiced during recovery is patience – patience with the process, patience with yourself, patience with your loved ones, patience for your mind, body and spirit to heal. 

Just think of the definition of patience: “The capacity to accept or tolerate delay, trouble or suffering without getting angry or upset.” 

For those in recovery, this translates to the capacity to stick with the process, despite any setbacks, challenges or even relapses. Sobriety is a lifelong journey; there’s no quick fix. What’s more, being impatient will just lead to feelings of frustration and even failure. 

That said, it’s perfectly normal to want to get to the finish line as quickly as possible. But being patient and making an effort to enjoy the lessons, friendships and emotions along the way will benefit your overall health and your recovery. 

Here are a few of the good things that come to those who wait. 

• You’ll have better mental health. Patient people have been shown to better cope with stressful situations. In turn, they tend to experience less depression and negative emotions and have more mindfulness and gratitude – both key recovery skills.
• You’ll have healthier relationships. In recovery, you’ll need patience with family and friends who might not be ready to move past any conflicts caused by your addiction. Being patient can also prevent loneliness, according to studies. This makes sense since making and keeping friends generally requires a healthy dose of give and take and patience. 
• You’ll achieve your goals better. Research shows that patient people tend to exert more effort toward their goals than those who want to see results immediately. 

Experience Continuous Growth

Personal growth and relapse prevention is key for long-term recovery – and we're here to help. At Complete Harmony, our holistic treatment and relapse prevention plans provide a firm foundation for lifelong sobriety. To learn more, call: 866-930-4673.