Opening up will do wonders for your healing journey. Keeping everything bottled up led you to isolation and addiction. Now is the time to fully own your power and your story. It’s time to allow the world to help you. You must work on your story as
understanding the significance of your addiction recovery story will allow you to fully turn a new leaf and start a brand new life free from substance abuse. The following are the main reasons why you should share your addiction recovery journey:
1. It will allow you to face stigma.
Stigma is a mark or sense of disgrace that is associated with particular experiences and circumstances. People who have experienced drug addiction deal with this and the sense of disgrace can be overwhelming and crippling. Feeling disgraced is a perfectly human experience and nothing to be ashamed of. Feeling stigma is a sign that you still have a grounded sense of the world. It is nothing but a societal concept that aims to better individuals. As it evolved though and as people rarely stop to fully understand the essence of things, it became a burden so heavy to carry that it led people away from the truth. Addicts experience stigma because the world is still evolving and not everyone knows that being an addict is not a failure of character but a result of poor circumstances. You are not and will never be a bad person if you were an addict. Becoming an addict does not simply stem from using drugs and wanting to use drugs again and again. There is always a deeper reason; there is always a bigger problem that people want to run away from that’s why they turn to activities that lead to addiction. Running away and escaping then turns into a mental health problem, which is addiction. Addiction is a result of not directly dealing with life’s reality. Addicts are not bad people. If anything, they simply need robust support when it comes to handling stress and the daily challenges of living. They are the ones who need the most help. They are the ones who are mentally, emotionally, and spiritually wounded. There are not the bad ones.
Sharing your story will make this essential truth a full reality in your life. You are not a bad person for becoming an addict. It so happens that you experience things in life that overwhelm you and lead you to drug use. Sharing this again and again will allow you to rewire your brain and move for the better. Sharing this will allow you to take full control of your life and claim your narrative. You are your life’s writer. You get to decide what happens next. And this time, and every single time moving forward, you get to decide that you will do good and win.
2. It will allow you to connect with others.
Connecting with others can only ever happen if you will allow people into your life. This is only ever possible if you will spend time with people and share your life with them. This is imperative as your journey to recovery highly depends on the amount of support that you are now ready to receive.
You ended up with a drug addiction because you failed to support yourself in the best way possible. This is the most natural thing that happens to people who go through deeply psychologically jarring experiences. This does not make you any lesser or better of a person. This only makes you a completely normal human who is going about with everything that life has to offer. Sharing your story will allow people to help you and better know how they can assist you in your recovery journey. Allowing people to connect with you is allowing the world to open up to you in bigger and bigger ways every single time. Sharing with others will allow you to have a community that would support you and be there for you every step of the way. Sharing your story will allow you to create brand new bonds in your new life that are fully free from addiction.
3. You will be an inspiration to others.
So many people have wounds that can only ever be touched by your story. There is no better person to inspire fellow recovering individuals than a person like you who has gone through addiction and is now successfully recovering. Give yourself permission to touch lives in the best way possible by sharing your story and how you’ve come to know the full truth about addiction, yourself, and this beautiful game called life. Others will benefit greatly from the empowerment that they will receive through your words and your stories. It’s time to be with the world and shine your unique inspiring light.
4. You will have a clearer sense of purpose.
Sharing your recovery journey will allow you to have a clearer voice. So much so that you’d be able to listen to yourself and talk boldly to your soul while you connect with others. This will allow you to open up to your life’s true purpose. It will come subtly or as a surprise while you’re sharing your story and inspiring others. Sharing your story with your community will allow you to better know yourself and fully know your true mission in life. Sharing your story will help not just the people that you’d get to inspire but you, yourself. In fact, you’d be the one who would be helped the most whenever you share your story. So go ahead, speak up, and allow the world to know your recovery journey.
References:
Stigma
https://languages.oup.com/google-dictionary-en
How does stigma affect people?
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5143223/
Stigma experienced by people.