The Positive Light
Looking at the positive,
Along with staying active in one’s own recovery, there is one important behavior that should be taken into consideration, looking at the positives. While looking at the positives will help keep you in a mindset that supports your recovery, it has another purpose, helping in relapse prevention. Through observations, while relapses happen in a short span of time (minutes, hours), they are actually happening over days, weeks, or months before the physical relapse. A number of variables come into play when you look into it, but one is just simply not being active in your recovery. That might look like not going to meetings, not taking care of yourself, going into isolation, not dealing with your emotions appropriately, or not asking for help.
The day after,
The common feelings and thoughts experienced after a relapse all point to the negative experience serving as a reminder to not making the same mistakes again. The feelings at that moment are so strong, that it’s hard to understand why the relapse happened in the first place, especially if you have experienced the same ones before. The fact is, these negative emotions and thoughts lose their significance and momentum over time. The more time gets between you and the relapse, the less significant it may feel. So how do you remind yourself of the reasons to not to relapse and stay in recovery? Pictures, a letters to yourself, or recording yourself? While those things serve as a zip-locked reminder of those negative feelings and thoughts from that moment, they are a negative reminder. They could potentially bring about feelings of shame and guilt, or over time lose their significance.
Look at the positives,
Looking at the positives of being in recovery. What you have gained and the progress you have made during your recovery. This doesn’t bring about feelings of shame and guilt, in fact the opposite. Your progress in recovery is constantly growing with time, every minute; as opposed to looking back at the negative feelings of a relapse, which decreases with time. It is easy to get caught up in the negative emotions that we experience every now and then. They tend to stick out more than and even cover up the positives around us at times. These negative emotions can have an impact on our mood and, over time, can accumulate into depression. However, focusing on the positives around us and the positives that we are often unaware of is key in fighting the negative feelings we experience, both in that moment and in the long run.
Get in the habit of acknowledging the things you are grateful for can alleviate stress and low mood. It is not uncommon to overlook aspects of our life that we often take for granted, yet without them our lives can be much more difficult. Thinking of the things in your life that you are grateful for can be an important tool to use every day in lifting your mood and keep you in a positive mindset.
Ali Elrehaimy, MS, LPC
IOP Coordinator/Compliance Officer
