Self-Esteem, Addiction and Recovery

Do you struggle with confidence and self-esteem? In early recovery, as well as throughout life, many people have this problem. Most people with substance use disorders found that alcohol or drugs made us feel more confident and social. When the substances are stripped away, you may feel confused about who you are, and what your place is in the world. It’s easy to feel insecure and fragile when you’ve always had low self-esteem.

Lowered Self-Esteem is Normal

A lot of people with a substance use disorder have low self-esteem, especially in early recovery where emotions can come bursting to the surface seemingly out of nowhere.

You may feel guily about a lot of things that you did in active addiction. Or you may feel like you lost a lot of opportunities with your career, family, or other things you care about. These feelings are normal and they will lessen in time as you seize new opportunities and build stronger bonds with your loved ones.

In active addiction, you probably used alcohol or drugs to temporarily bolster you and hide insecurities. Eventually the substances wore off, however, and you were probably left feeling just as bad as ever.

Building Self-Esteem in Recovery

Once you understand the source of your insecurities, it’s time to start building your self-esteem. You’ll quickly learn that things you thought you needed drugs to accomplish are actually more rewarding when you do them sober.

Self-esteem in recovery is built over time, as you spend more time sober and feeling comfortable in your own skin. You’ll find that your accomplishments make you feel more confident about yourself. As you become more confident, you’ll start to try new things.

You may not always succeed in everything you try, but trying them sober will help you learn that even failure has a lesson. You don’t have to get high or drunk to cope with the little failures in life.

Getting Help

Sometimes a lack of self-esteem can prevent an addicted person from getting help in the first place. You may not think you deserve to get help or stay clean. Don’t let this voice prevent you from trying a new path in life. Call us at 619-363-4767 to learn more about your options.