NEWSLETTER
June
Willingness In Recovery - June 2023
Are you willing to do whatever it takes to stay clean? Willingness is a fundamental step in addiction recovery. It is a crucial component to recovery for those who are wanting to get clean and stay clean. It’s a choice that those in recovery must make for themselves that will contribute to their long-term success. When it comes to addiction, you must be open to doing anything to sustain your sobriety. In short, willingness will help you free yourself from yourself.
What is Willingness?
Willingness describes someone consenting or being ready to do something. In recovery, it means we are willing to do whatever it takes to recover and stay clean. That includes sometimes doing things we’d rather not do for the sake of our health. The road to recovery may be long and hard, but with willingness, you can do what it takes to get sober.
Why is Willingness Important?
Willingness is crucial in addiction-recovery because it is what we are willing to do to obtain sobriety. We may want to get sober or need to get sober, but ultimately, we must decide for ourselves if we’re willing to do whatever it takes to become sober and stay sober.
Once a person decides that they are ready and willing to get clean, they can make a plan and hold themselves accountable. Without willingness, getting clean and staying clean is a brutal battle. This eagerness isn’t birthed overnight, but without it, the road to recovery is futile.
Why Some People Might Lack Willingness When in Recovery
Willingness is an important step for those seeking help from substance abuse and addiction recovery. However, some people may lack willingness while seeking treatment.
Typically, those who lack willingness in recovery are those who did not choose to go to rehab or to recover. Instead, they may have been required by the law or heavily encouraged or pressured by family or friends rather than them choosing for themselves that they are ready and willing to recover.
Another reason some people might not have willingness when in recovery is that they may be experiencing and dealing with untreated mental health problems. When mental health issues like depression or anxiety are left untreated, it can make it a lot harder for a person to seek out help and recovery from professionals.
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Tips To Become More Willing in Recovery
1. Take Action
To become more willing in recovery it’s essential to create a plan and take action. Taking actionable steps in recovery helps us continue to make progress and have a plan to follow in getting sober. Even if it means doing some things you aren’t comfortable or wanting to do, like opening up about our past in meetings.
2. Talk To Others
Whether it’s sharing in a 12-step meeting or confiding in a close friend or our therapist, it’s important to talk to others about how we are feeling and the challenges we may be facing while going through recovery. Recovery is a lonely journey, but communicating with loved ones can give you the strength to keep going.
3. Remind Yourself Why You Chose Recovery
If we are seeking treatment for addiction recovery and are finding willingness to be more difficult, we can remind ourselves why we’re seeking help. Everyone has a reason for why they go to rehab and why they are choosing recovery from addiction, so be sure to remind yourself why you’re doing it.
4. Shift Your Mentality
Willingness in recovery isn’t being desperate and hitting rock bottom and deciding to recover. It’s not being forced to recover or pressured into recovering. It’s us taking charge of our lives and choosing to recover and being willing to do whatever it takes to recover. Shifting our mentality and deciding we will do whatever it takes to recover and get clean is a fundamental step in recovery. Knowing that we need to make that mindset shift will help with our willingness.
5. Know It’s Not Easy
Recovery is not easy. Willingness isn’t easy. We should know having willingness through our recovery process probably won’t be simple for us, but that doesn’t mean it’s impossible.
Hurdles You Might Face With Willingness
Lacking a Support System
If we don’t have a support system of family or friends who will be there for us during and after our recovery to support us and hold us accountable, it can be hard to rely on only ourselves
Having High Expectations
It’s common for those who seek out treatment for themselves to have high expectations of what their recovery journey will look like. However, recovery isn’t an easy process for most people. If your treatment doesn’t go as smoothly or the way you are expecting it to, it might be hard to continue to have willingness in recovery. Make sure you enter recovery knowing that it will be a journey. Everyone’s journey in recovery is different, and yours may be harder or look different than you are expecting.
Untreated Mental Health Disorders
When we’re in recovery and having issues with willingness, know that it may be caused by anxiety or depression. Statistically, people with untreated anxiety and depression are less likely to seek help or have success staying sober if their anxiety and depression are left untreated by a professional.
Wrapping Up
Sobriety is possible, and willingness is a fundamental step in achieving it. Willingness is a mindset shift that is essential if we are to be successful in getting clean from substance abuse. We have to be willing to do whatever it takes to recover and take the steps to get there. So are you ready to take the next step in your road to recovery?
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