Recovery from addiction is a lifelong journey that requires constant effort on a daily basis. While it is a truly inspiring and transformative journey it involves resilience and strength both emotionally and mentally. In fact, some would argue that resilience is the most important part of addiction recovery. If we don’t react to what life throws at us in a healthy, positive manner it may be easy for us to spiral out of control, which, for some, means a return to previous vices like using drugs or drinking alcohol.
Building resilience in recovery involves taking the techniques learned in treatment and using them to develop healthy coping mechanisms, foster strong connections, and manage emotions effectively. While this may seem easy to do in a controlled environment such as a treatment center, being resilient requires constant effort when presented with real-world challenges.
Defining Resilience in Recovery
To put it simply, resilience is a person’s ability to cope with obstacles, adapt, and then continue forward. While this may seem simple enough, resilience is one of the most important aspects of the recovery process. Without the ability to tackle head-on any of life’s challenges, people open themselves up to mental anguish. For someone in recovery, this can ultimately result in relapse.
The most crucial components of resilience in recovery can look like:
The Ability to Cope With Obstacles and Challenges
Maintaining a Positive Self-Image
If a person isn’t in a good place mentally, it can be difficult to deal with challenges in a positive manner. This includes bouts of negative self-image. When a person is able to see themselves in a positive light, they are more likely to be able to confront life obstacles and not allow them to deter them from their ultimate goal (which includes maintaining sobriety).
Emotional Regulation
Being able to manage emotions in a healthy way is another crucial component of recovery. During therapy, a person may have learned healthy coping mechanisms for dealing with emotions such as frustration, sadness, anxiety, and even joy. The ability to do this on a daily basis and in difficult times is an essential aspect of resilience. It is the ability to regulate emotions so a person doesn’t find themselves experiencing extreme emotions and seeking eternal sources of regulation (such as drugs).
What Eats Away at Resilience?
Just like there are ways to actively strengthen and cultivate resilience, there are also a number of factors that can do the opposite. Certain activities and habits can weaken resilience and leave a person more susceptible to setbacks.
Factors that can eat away at resilience can include:
- Mental/Physical Health Conditions: Depression, anxiety disorders, or other chronic illness can zap emotional and physical energy, making it harder to stay resilient.
- Loneliness: Humans thrive on social support and can be very affirmed to stick with goals if supported by others. Feeling isolated or disconnected can take a toll on a person mentally, weakening overall resilience and ability to cope with stress and adverse events.
- Lack of Self-Care: Whether it is self-inflicted or the result of life obligations, neglecting self-care can lead to burnout and emotional exhaustion. Both of these can cause resilience to slip.
- Lack of Safe and/or Supportive Home Environment: Living in an unsafe or chaotic environment can increase stress and make it harder to restore oneself in times of stress. This can trigger a relapse in substance use as a person feels they cannot achieve relief from stress on their own.
- Past Trauma: Unresolved trauma and negative childhood experiences can create deep-seated emotional wounds that make resilience harder to maintain.
Guidelines for Building Resilience in Recovery
It’s possible that resilience can be negatively affected by many factors. But it is possible for a person to actively avoid resilience deterioration through their own efforts:
Practice Self-Care
There are a number of reasons why people neglect self-care. But regardless of the reason, not looking after yourself and prioritizing your own health first (as selfish as it may seem) is detrimental to your overall well-being and that of the people around you. Taking the time to take care of yourself can include:
- Prioritizing proper sleep, nutrition, and exercise
- Engaging in activities that bring joy and relaxation
- Setting boundaries to protect mental and emotional health, including around obligations to others
Be Open to Changing Thought Patterns
- Practicing mindfulness and self-awareness
- Using cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) techniques to reframe negative thoughts
- Seeking other forms of therapy or counseling to address limiting beliefs
Work on Emotional Regulation
- Deep breathing or meditation during moments of stress
- Journaling to name and process emotions
- Establishing routines and activities that can act as mooring lines for sobriety, even when circumstances are not difficult
Be Realistic About Past Efforts and Challenges
Reflecting on past experiences can provide valuable insights. Honesty about what did and did not work for coping with emotions in the past can provide insight, and help build self-confidence in one’s own ability to manage emotions. This can include:
- Decisions and techniques that provided immediate relief
- Coping mechanisms that led to setbacks later
- How to apply past lessons to current circumstances
Build Confidence in Your Abilities
Confidence in your own resilience grows through consistent work and experience. Small victories lead to greater confidence, which in turn can strengthen resilience. Ways to slowly build self-confidence include:
- Setting and achieving small, manageable goals
- Celebrating personal progress milestones, no matter how minor
- Recording and reminding yourself of past successes
Take Action on Personal Goals
Resilience is not just about weathering storms, but also moving forward. Trust in oneself increases when there is enough progress and results over time, even if it’s in just doing something consistently over a certain period. Actions to take to move forward and build resilience include:
- Establishing short- and long-term recovery goals
- Breaking down overall life goals into actionable steps
- Taking daily actions that support personal growth and recovery
Build Connections with People Who Support Recovery
Having a strong support system both in and outside of the home is key to a successful recovery journey. If you are looking to build your support system in recovery, consider the following:
- Joining a recovery support group such as Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) or Narcotics Anonymous (NA)
- Finding a mentor or sponsor
- Spending time with and opening up to family and friends who encourage sobriety
Acknowledge Your Lack of Control
Accepting that some things are just simply beyond your control is a powerful step in building resilience. It can relate directly back to the first step of 12 Step Programs, which relates directly to acknowledging helplessness over addiction. This can be put into practice by:
- Focusing on what you can control, such as attitude, actions, and choices
- Practicing letting go of what cannot be changed, whether in thought or action
- Practicing acceptance and patience in the face of difficulties
Cultivate a Growth Mindset
Viewing challenges as opportunities for learning and growth can help to strengthen resilience. This reframing can set up a person to embrace challenges with an attitude that provides better results in other areas of life. This may include:
- Embracing failure as a learning experience
- Seeking new skills and knowledge to aid personal development
- Staying curious and open to new perspectives
Develop a Routine and Structure
Creating a consistent daily schedule can provide stability and a sense of purpose, both of which are essential for building resilience. Ways to establish structure include:
- Setting a regular schedule for meals, exercise, and sleep
- Allocating time for self-reflection and relaxation
- Prioritizing the fulfillment of responsibilities and commitments, to avoid feeling overwhelmed later
Build Resistance in Recovery at First Steps Recovery
Resilience is a vital skill in recovery, and it is one that can be strengthened with time, effort, and support. At First Steps Recovery, we understand the importance of resilience, which is why we help individuals build up these skills through therapy and peer support in our treatment programs.
If you or a loved one needs support in building resilience during recovery, we are here to help. Contact us today to learn more about our programs and how we can support you on your recovery journey.
Dr. Curl is the Medical Director and primary on-site provider for First Steps Recovery. He is a Board Certified Internist and Addiction Medicine Specialist having attended the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and completing his residency at Mount Auburn Hospital with Harvard Medical School. Following several years work as an internist and physiatrist (physical medicine and rehabilitation). Dr. Curl completed the Addiction Medicine Fellowship at Howard University in Washington DC and participated as a RAM Scholar (Research in Addiction Medicine). While part of the fellowship, Dr. Curl pursued research investigating the barriers to expanding and improving medication for opioid use disorder. Following his fellowship, Dr. Curl spearheaded the Opiate Use Disorder outpatient clinic and worked in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences within the Howard University Hospital. In 2023, Dr. Curl completed his Board Certification in Addiction Medicine.
