Addiction greatly disrupts your life. Your mental and emotional health will most likely take a hit. It can cause stress in relationships and create financial problems. Your career or school performance can decline tremendously. If you notice these effects in your own life, you might want to make a change but don’t know how. This can lead you to consider asking for help. At the same time, fears and doubts can cause hesitation.

Asking For Help Is Not Admitting Defeat

If you are considering asking for help with your addiction, you might feel like you have failed. Not being able to quit on your own can bring about feelings of shame or frustration. You might feel that you should be able to overcome this on your own and that needing support with it is a sign of weakness. 

Furthermore, admitting the need for help equates to admitting to the existence of a problem. You might not have viewed your addiction as a problem before because you have been able to keep it under wraps and manage it quietly. If it is getting to the point where it is out of control, and you can no longer deny its existence, this can also be an uncomfortable realization.

With all of these doubts and fears swirling around, it is crucial to remind yourself of the reality that asking for help is not admitting defeat. It is the first step toward ownership of the issue at hand and freeing yourself of something that has been limiting your life. Asking for help demands introspection, courage, and hope for the future. These are not characteristics of a weak or failed person but rather of a strong individual with a drive to live a better life.

Weighing the Short and Long Term

If you are considering treatment but are hesitant, you might be worrying about the logistics. It might not be clear how treatment will fit into your life. There are certainly sacrifices required by this process. You may have to relocate temporarily to a treatment center a significant distance from your home. Your time with family and friends will be greatly diminished during this time. Keeping with your current obligations at work and home will most likely not be possible.

In addition to these sacrifices, you might also be concerned about the actual process of treatment. Abstaining from substances can feel intimidating, as can sharing your struggles with other people. Treatment is not intended to be easy. It is designed to help you live a fulfilling life free from drugs and alcohol. There will certainly be sacrifices and struggles in the short term. These inconveniences will set you up for success in the rest of your recovery. 

Asking For Help

If you have accepted that you need help with your substance abuse and need to enlist the support of a mental health professional, you might not know where to start. There are many options out there, and it can be overwhelming to try to decide. Confiding in your loved ones can be a good first step. Having some trusted individuals on your side can help you see that you do not have to go through this challenging time alone and can be one of your first affirmations that you are making the right decision. More than likely, your loved ones will be more than happy to support you in this.

There are many factors to consider when starting treatment. Each treatment center brings a different perspective to addiction treatment, and finding a program that will meet your specific needs and help you grow as an individual is key. Working with a provider that offers treatment placement consultation can clarify some of the questions you have about this process and whittle down the options to only the ones most relevant to you. This can remove the guesswork from the process and allow you to focus on other factors before starting your treatment journey.

Trust the Process

Starting treatment requires a certain level of trust and vulnerability. You have most likely been coping with your addiction on your own for quite a long time. This can make it hard to relinquish control and accept the idea of letting others in. There are many unknowns about treatment that can feel overwhelming. You might wonder about what will be required of you or if you will be able to commit to it. Living a life free from drugs and alcohol might feel impossible right now.

Evidence shows that treatment does work and that you can live well in recovery. Ensuring your success in treatment and recovery requires trusting in yourself and your treatment team. Part of this process is finding a licensed clinician that will bring expertise in the field while meeting your specific needs. Working with a team that you feel understands you and that makes you feel comfortable in an otherwise uncomfortable situation can provide you with the support you need to make recovery a possibility. 

Overall it is important to remember that change does not always feel natural or even like a positive thing at first. If you have become used to substance abuse, establishing a life without it will feel challenging and uncomfortable. This does not mean you are moving in the wrong direction. Making the decision to ask for help and start your recovery journey will be one of the best decisions you will make, and you can make that change today.

Making the decision to ask for help is a crucial part of the recovery process. Recognizing the detrimental role that substances play in your life and deciding to free yourself from them is as daunting as it is empowering. It can be easy to focus on the many challenges and fears with this process rather than emphasizing the benefits treatment will bring to your life. Surrounding yourself with the support of your loved ones and a competent treatment team can make this process much smoother. Family-Centered Services can meet you where you are and help you start your journey toward wellness and recovery with our comprehensive continuum of services. Call us at (509) 991-5822 to learn more.

Originally posted 2023-03-15 14:00:00.