Most people experience challenges in their lifetime, but few compare to those faced by someone with a substance use disorder.

Addiction is a powerful disease. Recovery is rewarding, but it is not without its pitfalls. When you face adversity in addiction recovery, one of the best tools that you can access is the power of resiliency.

What Is Resiliency?

The term “resilience” is derived from the Latin word “resilio,” which means to jump or bounce back. Resilient people possess a certain degree of strength that allows them to accomplish several things. First, they can accept reality as it is. Second, they have a deep belief that life has meaning. Third, they can improvise.

How Resilience Can Play a Role in Addiction Recovery

Resiliency allows people to step back briefly, regroup and move forward. No matter how long you stay away from harmful substances, there may be some unexpected surprises. While these surprises can lead to stress, they do not have to result in a return to using if you have developed some useful emotional wellness tools.

Some of the ways to build resilience in recovery include:

  • Learn from the past: Experience is an amazing teacher. Use your insight to look back at how you handled past situations either successfully or poorly. Let this guide your future behavior. Also, do not forget all of the triumphs in addiction recovery that you have experienced.
  • Accept that change will happen: Change can be difficult, but it is inevitable in life. Resiliency involves being able to more quickly adapt to changing conditions.
  • Have a support system: People are usually stronger in numbers. You can develop a support system and use it to help you get through difficult times. You might find that you can handle anything when this group has your back.
  • Emphasize self-care: Skimping on self-care in the midst of a crisis would be a mistake. In recovery, you can learn to take care of your own needs first by eating and sleeping right and building resilience through such things as meditation and exercise.
  • Be grateful: Instead of focusing on something stressful, remember everything that is wonderful about your life now. Make it a daily practice to create a gratitude list.

Use the Power of Resilience to Get Help Now

Even if you have yet to seek help for a substance use disorder, you are stronger than you may realize. The fact that you are still here and want something better for yourself speaks volumes.

At The Recovery Village, there are qualified and compassionate addiction specialists standing by to speak to you about the ways our customized treatment programs can help. Contact The Recovery Village now to get started.

Medical Disclaimer

The Recovery Village aims to improve the quality of life for people struggling with substance use or mental health disorder with fact-based content about the nature of behavioral health conditions, treatment options and their related outcomes. We publish material that is researched, cited, edited and reviewed by licensed medical professionals. The information we provide is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. It should not be used in place of the advice of your physician or other qualified healthcare providers.