If you’re feeling extra down and can’t figure out why, see if you’re acting in one of these four behaviors, always guaranteed to bring you down instead of lift you up.
Being Resentful Instead Of Grateful
A resentment is a “bitter indignation at having been treated unfairly” according to dictionary definition. Being bitter is never pleasant nor is being indignant. Resentment means you’re holding onto a grudge that you think is bringing someone else down, because they brought you down. Really, holding onto a resentment is you bringing yourself down. Thankfully, there’s an answer. Gratitude is the opposite of resentment. Even when people in life hurt us, we can be grateful for the experience to learn more about ourselves and learn more about them. Most importantly, we ca be grateful that we can get through experiences like these in life without picking up a drink or a drug.
Not Living In The Present
It is said that when you feel anxious you’re living in the future and when you feel depressed you’re living in the past. If you happen to feel at peace, it means you’re living in the present. There is no time like the present, it is also said. That’s true in many ways. Now is the only moment you have. You can’t go back and change the past. You can’t jump forward and control the future.
Trying To Control
“Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can and the wisdom to know the difference”. This is a “prayer” commonly heard in recover. Accepting what you can change and having the courage to change what you can is a practice in recognizing what is and isn’t in your control. Other people, external places and things, aren’t in your control. Sometimes, you can have some control. Ultimately, there’s no law that says when you try to take control, you get control. When you have the expectation that your efforts at control are going to work- and then they don’t- you get frustrated and it brings you down.
Thinking Drugs And Alcohol Are The Answer
Nothing will be as discouraging as thinking that you have to go back to drinking and using drugs, or that there doesn’t seem to be anything better. Your recovery is almost priceless. The price you pay for being sober is not relying on drugs and alcohol anymore as an answer in life. It’s a dark and slippery path down the rabbit hole when you start thinking relapse is the answer. Relapse is never the answer. There is a solution. You know the tools. If you are struggling, call for help.
When you change your story, you change your life. Oceanfront Recovery wants to help you end your story with addiction in recovery. Our men’s treatment programs offer a full continuum of residential care to empower self-efficacy and empowerment. For information, call us today: (877) 279-1777
