Learning to Forgive Yourself

Forgiving yourself for things you did during your addiction may seem hard or even impossible. You may carry incredible guilt that you’re going to have to learn to let go of. Nobody, in or out of recovery is perfect. We are all human, and we have all made mistakes. Learning to forgive yourself is a process as you live life in recovery from your addiction.

In recovery, you’ll learn to take life as it comes. You’ll start doing things that make you feel more whole.

In Recovery, You Can Forgive Yourself

Accepting the fact that you are addicted is one of the first steps to getting help. Throughout your recovery, you will learn to be more honest, open, and trustworthy in general.

Yes, there is wreckage from addiction. But recovery allows you to change your path and rebuild. You may have harmed relationships with your family or friends, but you can begin to build trust. You may have manipulated, committed crimes, or done things that made you feel ashamed. Those things will be what you make amends for down the road. For now, it’s essential to live for one day at a time.

You can’t fix everything overnight. So it’s important to take your recovery a day at a time. By establishing new, healthy habits and working to stay sober, you’ll start to make changes that positively impact the world. You can be a better person today, no matter what you’ve been through or done. You'll be able to work on this throughout your recovery.

Don’t Beat Yourself Up

You may be very hard on yourself about the mistakes you’ve made in the past. However, the past is the past and you can't change it. Today, you focus on becoming a better person than you were yesterday. This will help you begin to heal and forgive yourself.

It’s easy to “beat yourself up” when you mess up. Your mind may play tricks on you, allowing yourself to be overcome by negativity. You may believe that the mistakes you’ve made are proof you can’t change. That’s an untruth! You CAN change, and many people DO find recovery daily. Part of getting sober and changing your life will be forgiving yourself.

As you learn to stay sober longer, you’ll have many opportunities to forgive yourself and know when you make a mistake. In the meantime, when you hurt somebody’s feelings or realize you’ve done something wrong, apologize for it. Ask your sponsor or a therapist about the best ways to approach conflict where you need to apologize. You might have some anxiety to walk through, first.

Forgive Yourself a Day at a Time

Recovery truly is a day at a time, and as you start to reclaim your life, you will have many opportunities to heal. Start by doing the right thing every day and being a better person whenever you have the chance. You can do the right thing even when nobody’s watching.

And if you make a mistake, it’s okay to own it and learn from it. Being responsible for your mistakes is an important part of learning and growing. Don’t let your self-esteem suffer if you think you messed up. Try to do the right thing whenever you can. And you can always try again tomorrow.

Also, remember - you’re no longer alone! When you want to make a difficult decision, you can always ask your support network for help.

Getting Help for Addiction

If you or somebody you love has a problem with addiction, help is available. While COVID-19 has made many things uncertain, we’re still ready and able to help during the pandemic. Recovery is possible. Give us a call at 619-363-4767 to learn more about your options.