Love is the Central Ingredient of Recovery

Drug addiction and alcoholism are diseases of selfishness and self-centeredness. Overcome by the mental and physical craving for drugs and alcohol, and addict or alcoholic lives to serve the needs of only themselves. Addiction rarely leaves room for the presence of true, unconditional love. It better serves the cycle of addiction to feel alone, unwanted, unlovable, and angry towards others. Addiction and alcoholism are riddled with shame and guilt. Experiencing the resurgence of love in recovery is part of rebuilding a normal lifestyle which places love above misery.

Love starts in a recovering young adult addict’s home, yet the people who are closest to him in his home may have the most difficult time in sustaining their love for him. Drug addiction interferes with normal loving interactions that are found in healthy homes. Loved ones who are living with recovering drug addicts will need high levels of patience and perseverance. As well, the recovering young person will need to have patience for themselves. Recovery counselors will strongly encourage participation in support groups which can aid in gaining and sustaining these traits. These characteristics are best appreciated by people who can speak from personal experience in dealing with the same issues. Support group participants fill an important gap outside of the recovering addict’s home by giving them a welcoming and accepting community without judgment or condemnation.

Emotional instability and mood swings will at times reflect everything but love. Early recovery is a roller coaster of emotions and experiences as the brain recalibrates. In therapy, young adults and adolescents are coping with their lives in ways they never have before, without the help of drugs and alcohol.

Young adults who have had the most success in their recoveries often report that they made a firm commitment to get sober, and then found a new purpose in their lives that shifted their focus away from themselves. They find that activities such as volunteering in their communities or offering to help other addicts who are struggling in their recoveries give them a sense of purpose that also brings greater love into their lives.

Love can feel like it goes missing when a home is taken over by an adolescent loved one’s  addiction. Sustain Recovery provides comprehensive family programming every weekend as part of our unqiue approach to extended care services. Offering a continuum of treatment for young adults in recovery, Sustain brings love back into life. For more information please call 949-407-9052.