Many who have found themselves caught in the web of drug or alcohol addiction feel that it’s up to them—and them alone—to face their addictions head-on and overcome them. They place themselves under so much pressure that the thought of even beginning an addiction recovery program seems overwhelming. But the good news is this: you don’t have to conquer addiction alone. In fact, the most successful paths to recovery involve group-oriented forms of treatment, including group therapy, family programs, and sober living. Here are four reasons that successful recovery from addiction means involving others in your recovery journey.
Your addiction was not an individual problem.
While an addiction might technically involve only one addicted individual, it can involve any number of affected friends and family members. Through impaired relationships, codependency, enabling behavior, physical and verbal abuse, and more, addiction has the potential to hurt anyone and everyone surrounding the addict. So when you consider the “ripple effect” that addiction has, it only makes sense that treating addiction should involve not only the addict but also affected individuals. This is why many addiction recovery centers, Renaissance Ranch included, encourage family involvement in addiction recovery through family counseling, group therapy, and family workshops.
There is power in groups.
As mentioned in our post about group therapy, there truly is power in groups. When you participate in addiction recovery treatment alongside other fellow recovering addicts, you build a sense of universality that bonds you together and keeps you focused on your common goal to find healing. In addition, group therapy has the power to instill hope. As you communicate with fellow recovering addicts about your respective journeys to recovery, you can find strength and motivation to keep going as you see how recovery has affected others in positive ways. Even when you can’t see the fruits of your efforts in your own life (something that is common to all of us), chances are you’ll be able to see improvements in other people’s lives—and this, in turn, can point you to what’s going right in your own recovery. Group therapy cannot substitute for individual therapy, but it truly is a powerful supplement to individual counseling sessions.
Involving others relieves some of the pressure.
Finally, when you choose to let others help you in your recovery journey, you are choosing to draw on the strength that others have to offer you. This means that while the prospect of overcoming addiction alone might seem overwhelming, you need not worry because you were never meant to do it alone anyway. Yes, you’ll still have to maintain the diligence necessary on a daily basis to remain focused on your recovery, but you’ll have others to help hold you accountable, give you words of encouragement as needed, and offer advice whenever necessary.
