What’s More Difficult; The Beginning or End of Recovery?

Every person who’s been through the recovery process will tell you different things about their experience. While some people find that the first few days of recovery are the hardest, others view the long haul as being the most challenging. The best way to know whether the beginning or end of recovery is the most difficult is to try to view the whole journey as a bit of a hilly road. You’ll likely experience a few high’s and low’s at each stage of your recovery, but there are a few distinct challenges that most people go through during the process that you’ll want to be prepared to handle.

What Challenges Do You Face In the Beginning of Recovery?

You might already be well aware of just how hard it is to even start your recovery. You might have spent many days just trying to figure out if you really had an addiction. Now that you’re ready to begin the process of getting sober, you can expect to encounter these potential challenges.

  • choosing a rehab
  • telling your loved ones that you need help
  • getting through the withdrawal process
  • learning how to manage a coexisting diagnosis
  • figuring out how to mend relationships

Many people find the beginning of recovery to be hard because they have to face some upsetting truths about their lifestyle. You might have been confronted by your loved ones during an intervention, and it hurts to hear how your lifestyle affects them. Or, you may have had to come clean about the big secret that you’ve been hiding about having an addiction. While this is hard, you’ll also find that it comes with the sweetness of finding out that you have people around you who love and support your desire to get sober. These challenges that you face are also the reasons why that a quality treatment program is essential for your success. You’ll find that the initial phases of recovery are easier when you have professionals guiding you along the way.

Why Do People Feel So Good Mid-Recovery?

Once you get over that initial hump, you might find that life suddenly gets brighter. People often refer to this period that occurs about mid-way through the first part of your recovery as being on a pink cloud. With your withdrawal symptoms behind you, you’ll be feeling like you are on top of the world. You might have high hopes for the future, and you could even experience a sense of euphoria. At this point, you are fully feeling the effects of having a healthier body and clear mind. All of these feelings are normal, and you can attribute them to gaining a new opportunity to start a better life. During this stage, however, you want to avoid falling into the trap of thinking that you are fully recovered. If you start to experience thoughts of quitting treatment or skipping meetings, you’ll need to remember that you’re only feeling this good because of the work that you’re putting into your recovery.

How Do You Maintain Your Motivation to Stay Sober at the End?

Floating along on pink clouds might feel amazing, but you will eventually come back down to a more grounded way of thinking. While you might think that you could just coast through the end of your recovery, this is where many people suddenly discover that things get hard again. The later stages of your recovery involve having to put everything that you’ve learned together. This is when you might be trying to find a job and dealing with other stressful situations that can generate new cravings to drink or use drugs. You’ll also be transitioning to more independence, which can sometimes feel scary when you’ve embraced being within the safety net of your treatment center. Fortunately, you can make the final stages of your recovery smoother by working on a solid after care plan. Knowing who you’ll call when you experience a stressful event and which meetings you’ll attend throughout the week makes it possible to keep your head up if you feel overwhelmed by everything that goes into building a new life.

Do you need help starting the beginning of your recovery, or are you struggling with staying sober now that you’ve gone back home? We’ve got solutions for every stage of the recovery process. Call us now at 302-842-2390.

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Essentials mission is to renew lives impacted by addiction through personalized and complete behavioral healthcare. Our main purpose is to provide services and education to the client and family that will support long lasting recovery of mind, body, and spirit.