Living with addiction can feel like white-knuckling it through every day. You might feel like you should be able to control your substance abuse, yet you find yourself unable to. Keeping up with the demands of everyday life on top of dealing with the detrimental physical, mental, and social effects of substance use can become too much very quickly. Yet, it might never feel like the ideal time to get treatment. 

Unfortunately, addiction is not a healthy situation. Making a change can feel risky, but the greater risk is coexisting with a dangerous addiction. Committing to focused attention on your recovery better equips you to thrive instead of just surviving. 

Treatment Is One Thing That Can’t Wait

Life gets busy. Between work or school, family obligations, and all the little things that pop up, it can feel like there is never the right time to focus on treatment. You might be working toward a degree you have invested significant time, effort, and money into. Your career might be finally taking off, or you might be near an exciting opportunity or promotion. It might be a time when you are considering starting a family or taking the next step in a relationship.

These matters can often feel like they are on a strict timeline. So often, we focus on what needs to come next without giving ourselves time to slow down. The fear of failing or letting others down can cause us to burn the candle at both ends in an attempt to get everything done. In reality, however, many of these deadlines are arbitrary and self-imposed. 

If we really stop to think about it, there will always be another semester to get that grade point average (GPA) up or another project at work to demonstrate competency. The people who matter the most will still be there. Even if we feel otherwise, a few things in life genuinely can’t wait. 

Interrupting the Cycle

Something that should not wait is seeking help for substance abuse. In fact, addiction will not wait for you. As time goes on, its hold becomes stronger and more difficult to break free from. Putting everything else first allows it to invade further and further into your life until it threatens the very things you have prioritized. Addiction can shatter relationships, disrupt academics, and tear down a career. It can ruin your mental and physical health and change your life in unimaginable ways. 

Addiction and stress go hand-in-hand. The more pressure you put on yourself to hold everything together, the more you might be tempted to use substances to cope. A vicious cycle then ensues that can make it increasingly hard to break free. However, this can only happen if you give it a chance. 

Choose Yourself by Choosing Treatment

Taking the time to stay focused on treatment will keep what you care about safe from the damage caused by addiction. If you have been putting it off, remember that the best time to seek treatment is right now. You should not wait until you hit “rock bottom” to justify your need for help. Early intervention can make all the difference in your recovery process.

Making the decision to become focused on your well-being today means that yesterday was the last day your addiction controlled your life. Prioritizing treatment does not mean you are neglecting other areas of your life. Furthermore, it does not mean you are being selfish. It instead means you are preserving yourself so that you can come back stronger and more capable. 

Your Relationship With Yourself Must Come First

It is certainly true that people need you. You are important to your friends, family, and significant other. Even with this being true, it is essential to remember the relationship you have with yourself. Becoming focused on your treatment is an investment in yourself, and consequently, it is an investment in your relationships with the important people in your life. 

You may have heard the saying, “You cannot pour from an empty cup.” When you are struggling with addiction, it can take everything you have to get through the day. As you try to maintain your relationships and support the people in your life, it slowly drains resources that are already limited. It is not sustainable to keep this up for long, even with all the willpower in the world. 

As hard as you try, if you have nothing left to give yourself, you cannot be expected to give to others. Trying to force this can do more harm than good and even strain the relationships you care so deeply about.

Stepping away and getting the help you need is the best thing you can do to demonstrate respect for yourself. It will also allow you to come back to your most meaningful relationships with renewed vigor and the capability to enrich the lives of the people you love.

Treatment requires a significant amount of effort. It often involves stepping away from everyday life and putting certain obligations on hold. This can be a daunting prospect, especially in a world where the pace of daily life is constantly increasing. While it might seem like you can postpone treatment until a better time, delaying your recovery is the one way to ensure your addiction will gain more control. Family-Centered Services can help you put yourself first and focus on the steps needed to recover. We offer individual and family therapy, case management, sober monitoring, treatment placement consultation, and more. Call us at (509) 991-5822 to learn how to get started today. 

Originally posted 2023-02-08 06:00:00.