Being in treatment for addiction does not define you, nor does your history of using alcohol or other substances. Leaving treatment and moving beyond your addictions allows you to reclaim who you are intended to be. You are not an addict and never were. You are someone who has struggled with addiction, but now, you are moving into the life you want. You dared to enter treatment and begin the life you were always meant to have.
Will struggles and triggers arise when you return to life outside of treatment? Yes. However, with the tools and support you found in treatment, you can face them and rebuild your response in such a way that you stay true to who you really want to be.
Your past experiences of alcohol or other substance use do not define you, and the time has come for you to define yourself by the standards by which you want to live and show others that you embrace all of who you are meant to be.
5 Ways to Begin Redefining Who You Are
#1. Identify Your Values
When you entered treatment, you made a visible commitment to evaluate your priorities. You showed family and friends that you wanted to change your life. You went through all of the steps and began the process of building a new life for yourself. The decision to go to treatment was a questioning of what you really valued. Addiction was no longer your driving force but was replaced by a desire to improve your life and the lives of others whom you encounter. Your values changed, and now, identifying what is most important to you will help you identify who you want to be and the legacy you want to leave.
#2. The Time Has Come to Forgive Yourself
Forgiving yourself for your past imperfections is key to changing how you view yourself. In the Bible, it is said that God, in His forgiveness, casts your sins as far as the East is from the West. The East and West never meet. You can never go East if you are going West, unless you turn around. With forgiveness, you must let God take your burden and not turn around to pick it up again. You have been forgiven by your Higher Power, now it is time to forgive yourself. Forgiving yourself is the first step to loving yourself.
#3. Love Yourself as You Love Others
Showing yourself love and appreciation indicates to others that you are valuable. Also, God commands that we love ourselves. He asks that you love others as you love yourself. You cannot effectively show love to others if you do not love yourself first. When you love all of who you are, you present a confident self to the world and push others to see your value, not only to your own well-being but to the benefit of others.
#4. Stop Doubting Your Value
You have purpose and value to everyone you meet. Do not discount your impact on those around you. If you live an honest and vulnerable life, you are showing others how to believe in you. First, to live a life of purpose, you have to believe in yourself. So, stop holding yourself back with that little niggle of doubt. Self-doubt will not help you. Recovery requires you to continue to think accurate thoughts, not self-defeating nor self-aggrandizing.
#5. Stand Up for Yourself and Be Bold
You have overcome many things; addiction is merely one aspect of all you have overcome. You have endured pain and suffering and made less-than-perfect decisions. Now, you have accomplished treatment and are re-entering the world. The time has come for you to be bold and fearless as you learn to tackle the things you want. Your history of substance use disorder and other problems are not your defining moments. You are not defined by mistakes but rather by what you have overcome. Be bold in tackling life beyond treatment because you are strong enough to do anything. Your Higher Power is with you, and He will not leave you.
Redefining who you are in the world seems overwhelming when you leave treatment. You have a hole in your resume. You might be asked what you have been doing with your life when you meet old friends. Do not fear these questions. You are a strong person who has embraced recovery, which is one of the most difficult things to do. Now, an even bigger step in your life is embracing all of who you are meant to be and pushing yourself to live your best life.
Recovery is a process of overcoming addiction and beginning the life you have always deserved. Identifying who you are is a major element of treatment and is part of the process of staying sober after treatment. Being bold in recovery while facing the world takes hard work and an enormous amount of faith in your Higher Power and in yourself. Renaissance Ranch takes every part of your recovery process seriously. Because of this, we offer an alumni support group, outpatient services both in-person and online, and a sober living home to ensure your absolute success as you focus on your life outside of treatment. At Renaissance Ranch, we offer a clinically-driven, gospel-centered treatment approach for all levels of recovery. If you or someone you know needs support at any stage of recovery or needs to start recovery, reach out to us at (801) 308-8898 to find the help you need to start living the life you deserve.