Relationships in Recovery

Relationships in Recovery

Relationships intersect with every aspect of a person’s life. Without relationships, life would feel unfulfilling, empty and pointless. Relationships give people’s lives more meaning. They help to define us and bring us joy. There are relationships you might have with family members, friends, co-workers, neighbors and others. They offer you encouragement, support and companionship. You do the same for them.

It isn’t just other people who you have a relationship with either, you have one with yourself, too. You wake up to yourself each day, spend each day with yourself and go to bed with yourself all the time, too. You are in your own thoughts and heart all day, every day, too. In fact, you are the one and only person who you can guarantee can be there for you 110%. This is why it is truly crucial to have the healthiest relationship with yourself, especially when you are in recovery from an addiction or a mental health disorder.

If you are in recovery, you probably have a relationship or connection with your Higher Power, as well. If you want to get into recovery, so you can work on building better relationships with yourself and others, contact us today, here at Through the Archway.

Why You Need to Establish Healthy Relationships in Recovery

The key to having a happier, better life is not just having relationships, but having healthy ones. When you are in recovery from an addiction or mental health disorder, you must work on creating wellness and health in every area of your life. This will include how you are interacting with the people around you, how you approach the people you love and how you are communicating with your Higher Power.

By having healthy relationships with those that you care about, you can improve your life in so many ways. It can help with your personal growth, foster harmony, gain you the support you need and enrich your life in so many other ways, too.

It is very important that you take care of the relationships you have with others. However, you also need to take care of the one you have with yourself, as well. If you become your own best friend, you can be a more adjusted, content and happy person. This will show in the relationships you have with others, too.

Building Healthier Relationships with People In Your Life

Unfortunately, a lot of people who are in early recovery do have a tough time holding together their relationships. There are numerous reasons for this. Part of it is often due to the addictive lifestyle they were living. It is also due to the toxicity of a lot of their relationships.

With this being said, it is important to remember how healthy relationships can benefit you and your life in recovery. By knowing the features of a healthier relationships, you can pursue and develop them throughout your recovery. Some of the things that you should look for in a healthy relationship include:

• • Mutual respect

• Supporting your recovery, lifestyle and other aspects of your life

• Built upon health and wellness of each person

• Good for your soul

• Health communication 

• Wanting the best for one another

• Respecting boundaries of one another

• Reliable

• Trustworthiness

• Kind

• Helpful

• Caring

• Helps you to feel better about yourself

• Helps you feel safe and supported

• Encourages you in the things you want to do

• Sense of contentment and peace

As you can see, a healthy relationship will bring more value and joy to your life. It motivates you to be 100% yourself. These types of relationships generally take time. They may be tough at times, but when you work through those issues, it often brings the relationship closer together.

Toxic Relationships Can Poison Your Recovery

You may have already heard, you are the top 5 people who spend time with. The thing is that the energy and personalities of those around you will affect how you behave and act. For the security of your recovery, it is important to know that toxic relationships can negatively impact your new lifestyle. So, it is crucial that you are carefully choosing who you will spend time with. This way, you can protect your sobriety and recovery. 

Not sure if you are in a toxic relationship? Some of the signs of this type of relationship include:

• Drains your motivation and energy

• Encourages you to use drugs and alcohol

• Physically, emotionally, and/or verbally abusive

• Doesn’t respect you and/or your boundaries

• Makes you feel bad about your choices and yourself

• Not based on support

• Usually makes you feel crazy

• Unstable and/or unreliable

• Takes up more of your time than your wanting to give

• Manipulative and/or controlling

• Doesn’t support you in your other relationships

• Dramatic

• Codependent

• Brings you down

• Worsens your mental health symptoms 

• Makes you feel worthless

• Lowers your expectations and standards

• Brings about a lot of negativity in your life

These are only some traits of a toxic relationship. If you are or think you are in this type of relationship and it is causing you to abuse alcohol and/or drugs or it is triggering a relapse, reach out to our Through the Archway team for help today. 

Creating a Healthier Relationship with Yourself

If you can build a healthier relationship with yourself, that is going to make all the difference in your recovery. 

Think about it this way – when you talk down to yourself, act out in self-destructive ways or disrespect yourself, how do you feel? You probably don’t feel very good. You may even be tempted to use alcohol and drugs to get rid of the feelings you are having. Don’t let this toxic relationship with yourself tear apart your recovery now or in the future.

There are numerous ways that you can create a healthier relationship with yourself. Some of the things you can do include:

• Don’t use alcohol or drugs

• Stop talking down to yourself

• Do activities that help you to feel better about yourself such as going for walks

• Set realistic goals that you can achieve (these should help you feel better about yourself, too)

• Spend time around positive people who encourage, motivate, and support you

• Let go of what you can’t control

• Forgive yourself often (everyone makes mistakes)

• Create a solid support network

• Get help when you need it

Creating strong, healthy relationships takes time. This goes for the relationships you have with other people and the one you have with yourself, too. 

Building a Strong Relationship with Your HP (Higher Power)

Creating a strong relationship with your Higher Power is going to help your recovering lifestyle in numerous ways. However, the way that someone develops this relationship is unique to their own beliefs, values and lifestyle. With this being said, you can choose the way you have a relationship with your Higher Power. Some examples of things that many people in recovery do include:

• Praying

• Meditating

• Exercising 

• 12-step work

• Building on their spirituality

• Spending time in nature

If you can build a relationship with your Higher Power, that is going to truly benefit your recovery. 

Get Help with Relationships in Recovery Today

Are you ready to step into a life of recovery? Do you need help building your relationships now that you are sober? If so, don’t hesitate to reach out for the help that you need today. 

Contact us here at Through the Archway to get the help you need with relationships and so much more in recovery.