Recovery is a deeply personal, introspective journey. Therapists, counselors, medical professionals, and support staff are there to guide you along the way. However, how you feel and come out on the other side of the process is entirely in your hands.
For women, going through recovery can be quite a different experience. Hormonal shifts, health impacts, perceived behaviors, and more can make recovery a particularly trying time. While every day may feel like a marathon, it’s important to recognize that the tedious path is what is needed to live a fulfilling, confident life.
Here are a few tips specific to how women can rebuild their sense of identity and purpose after recovery.
Recover Your Self-Worth
The recovery journey can bring up a lot of emotions correlated with self-worth. Many people, regardless of gender, may think that there is no purpose to their life because they themselves are invaluable. They may be in a comparison trap, constantly looking at how others are accomplishing great things while they feel stuck.
A low sense of self-worth may have been one of the catalysts for their drug or alcohol addiction to begin with, so reclaiming this sense of identity can be challenging but vital to the process.
Self-worth is the inherent belief that you have unconditional value. You are unique, and what you bring to the proverbial table is unlike what anyone else can bring. Self-worth is not tied to accomplishment, meaning it doesn’t matter how successful you are in your job or how many trophies you earned as a child. It’s knowing that regardless of what is in your bank account or how many followers you have on LinkedIn, you are valuable and deserving of respect and love.
Reclaiming self-worth oftentimes begins with reframing negative self-talk. When you look in the mirror, instead of nitpicking over your appearance, think about all that you have to offer. With compassion, list out all of your accomplishments. This journaling exercise can be hard at first, but once you really delve into it, you’ll begin to retrain your brain to think about the good first as opposed to the not-so-good.
Find Your Life Purpose
Correlated with self-worth is purpose. This is the idea that your life has a distinct direction and meaning. It’s more than just what is listed on your resume or your family’s connections. It’s about the central motivation or core values that allow you to show up as a unique individual. Purpose is based on individual passions, strengths, and experiences.
During recovery, your perception of purpose may change. Someone who is addicted to alcohol may be transformed through an experience of self-discovery on their path to sobriety. Newfound clarity and mental stability, along with therapy sessions or substance abuse services, may have shifted what your purpose was before you entered into recovery.
Know that your life purpose can change over time. Just like your preferences change as a human being, so too can what you set your mind to. If you feel stuck in identifying your purpose, tune in to yourself daily. Listening to your intuition can be a good place to start.
A daily journaling practice can help, as can continued counseling and finding new coping mechanisms or hobbies to replace the void that you filled as an addict. Talking with others openly can also be advantageous.
Build a Solid Support System
Recovery can be an isolating journey. It’s common to feel like you’re the only one in the world going through such a difficult process. However, over 29 million adults in the United States have resolved a substance use problem. While this isn’t to say that anyone else’s journey will be identical to yours, it should help you realize that recovery is nothing to be ashamed of.
As you begin to build your confidence after recovery, it’s essential to build a strong support network. Cultivating supportive relationships will make the path beyond treatment centers and individualized therapy sessions less daunting. Connecting with others and sharing your experiences during support groups can be a good primer for identifying which types of people you need (and want) in your life.
When building your support system, think of a few individuals that you can truly rely on and trust. These are the people who would come to your home if you called them at 2:00 a.m. This doesn’t need to be a lengthy list of individuals; having even one or two people that you can fully rely on can make a difference.
Next, think about other people in your life who are supportive in your recovery journey. Perhaps family members, friends, colleagues, or even neighbors were there when you were really in the trenches. These individuals want you to succeed and can each be there as a sounding board when you need to vent and get some things off your chest.
As you navigate your new normal, know that it’s perfectly natural for some of your friendships from before to ebb and flow. You may need to say goodbye to some people in your life to move ahead and focus on your healthful goals.
In Conclusion
Women post-recovery will likely need to work on rebuilding their confidence. Their inner light may be diminished coming out of treatment. By recovering their self-work, finding a new life purpose, and building a strong support network, women can begin to chip away at their inner demons and become more vibrant, confident versions of themselves.
