During active addiction, people often tell themselves they are fine, even if they don’t feel that way. They often blame other people for their problems. It’s not until they get sober that they see the full extent of the damage addiction caused. Here are some things people in recovery regret most.
Alienating friends and family.
It’s pretty common for people in recovery to realize that their addiction was responsible for many strained and broken relationships. Perhaps most painful is realizing just how much your parents and some of your friends actually put up with. Some relationships will never heal, and others will take a long time to repair.
Damaging their health.
You don’t care that much about your health during active addiction, but you might face some stark news early in recovery. It might even be health concerns that finally convince you to get help. Most of the damage will heal if you quit early enough, but you might be stuck with some problems. If you contract HIV from IV drug use, get bad teeth from meth, or develop liver cirrhosis from alcohol, you just have to live with it the best you can. Other problems such as fatty liver, malnutrition, and mild cardiovascular damage will heal eventually, but it won’t be fun and you’ll probably worry about it a lot.
Missed opportunities.
Addiction subverts your priorities and impairs your judgment. Often your performance at school or work will suffer. Addiction may cause you to lose opportunities because you’re too impaired or distracted. This might take the form of getting fired, or it might be subtler like not getting a promotion or scholarship because of mediocre performance. You might not even realize what happened until after you get sober.
Wasted time and money.
Addiction takes up a lot of time and money. People in recovery are often surprised just how much extra time and money they have once they quit. All that time and money could have gone to better things. You could have been earning interest on the thousands, or hundreds of thousands of dollars you spent on drugs and alcohol. You could have learned several languages or spent more time with your family with all that extra time. It’s natural to feel some regrets. To some extent, regret is inevitable when you begin to see your situation more objectively. The important thing is not to fixate on it. You can’t change the past. All you can do is learn what you can, remember what addiction cost you, and do whatever it takes to stay sober today.
If you or a loved one struggles with addiction, we can help. Recovery Ways is a leading addiction treatment provider with an excellent recovery rate. Our expert staff includes masters and PhD level therapists and board certified addiction psychiatrists. Our comfortable facilities will help to make your treatment as enjoyable as possible and our therapists use proven techniques like sensory integration and recreation therapy to help to engage the world without the assistance of drugs or alcohol. Call us today at 1-888-986-7848 or email us through our contact page to learn more.
