Finding Your Identity Outside of Treatment
If you have recently left a rehabilitation program, you may find yourself lost and confused regarding your next steps. You may be questioning where you should go, what you should do, or you may even be asking who you are. Addiction and substance use disorder (SUD) consume can so much of your life that it can be easy for you to forget who you once were before falling victim to this persistent illness.
Addiction, in turn, is often personified. It manifests through your actions and decisions, making you unrecognizable to those closest to you and even yourself. Rediscovering yourself after treatment can be a beautiful part of your recovery. You get to become acquainted with yourself, your likes, dislikes, and the dreams and goals you may have once had before falling ill.
With the help of addiction treatment centers like the Lakehouse Recovery Center, we can help you on a path to recovery, reconnection with yourself, and rediscovery of the life you would like to live. We can help you with your transition into recovery and help you find an identity outside of treatment too.
Losing Yourself in Your Treatment
To successfully recover from addiction, you have to put everything you have into your treatment. There may be times where it seems like your entire world revolves around your recovery. This notion also is true when suffering from several other chronic illnesses. It is common to become consumed by the things you think are wrong with you, whether it be chronic kidney disease, diabetes, or a chronic mental illness like an addiction.
When you enter into treatment, each day is filled with things like learning relapse prevention techniques, psychoanalyzing why the addiction developed, and learning how to avoid triggers. After 30 days or more spent surrounded by peers and professionals, all with one common goal, it is completely normal to leave questioning who you are without your addiction.
Now, the truth is that you are never truly without your addiction. Unfortunately, it is always a part of you due to its incurable and chronic nature. However, you can live a life unconsumed by ongoing treatment thanks to effective treatment programs.
Whether it is through a relapse prevention program, cognitive behavioral therapy, or any number of curriculums offered by a recovery center like Lakehouse, treatment can provide you with the necessary tools. They will allow you to focus on reconnecting with who you are and what you want to get out of the next chapter of your life in recovery.
The Disconnect Between Mind and Body
A lot of the reconnection process happens during treatment. Just as addiction can lead you to forget who you once were, excessive alcohol or substance use can cause a disconnect so strong that you feel less and less like a person. You may even have difficulty deciphering between what is real and what is not. When first entering into treatment, the process will be slow, but with help, you will begin reconnecting your mind and body and become reacquainted with the person you once were.
A disconnect such as this may be severe enough to be diagnosed as Depersonalization Disorder. This is when you experience a disconnect or detachment from your mind and body. Some might describe this is as feeling like you are watching yourself from the outside. You may feel hazy, or like you are in a dream, but reconnecting is the first step to becoming the new you—a person changing for the better through the process of recovery.
Rediscovering Who You Are
Another difficulty you might experience is the stereotyped perceptions people may have of you. Your actions related to addiction or substance use will cause people in your life to see you in a particular light. That can cause a lot of negative feelings.
Still, you have to remember that achieving successful recovery is an amazing thing, and the person leaving treatment is not the same person who entered it. Reconnecting with these people and showing them the new you can serve as a reminder of the positive attributes you held before your addiction and how you can reconnect with those attributes again.
Another way for you to rediscover yourself is to set goals, whether it is on your own or while working with therapists or case managers. That could include choosing to focus on a healthier lifestyle, practicing meditation, or discovering hobbies that interest you.
While the question of what to do next can be scary, there is also beauty in the blank canvas you are exposed to post-treatment. Take the time for self-examination to rediscover who you are and what you hope to accomplish. Remember that whoever you are, you are not your addiction, and the Lakehouse can help you to rediscover you who are in recovery today.
It’s entirely normal for you to feel lost upon leaving an addiction treatment program. Addiction or excessive substance use can often lead you to feel disconnected from your mind, body, and the person you hope to be. After spending time constantly self-analyzing and constantly learning how to live and healthily cope with addiction, it’s confusing to leave treatment and wonder who you are without it. While you’ll never be without your addiction, treatment at The Lakehouse Recovery Center will teach you the tools needed to focus on reacquainting yourself with the real you in your recovery. We will be able to provide you the time and a safe space to heal, reconnect your mind to your body, set future goals for yourself, and figure out who exactly you want to be in the next chapter of your life. To find freedom from addiction and rediscover the person you want to be, reach out to us at (877) 762-3707.