Life Purpose and Well-Being
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Can a feeling of purpose play an important role in the treatment of an addiction to drugs? Maybe, according to existing research. Secular, spiritual, and religious frameworks for addiction recovery have a few things in common, including self-forgiveness, mental wellbeing, and finding a purpose in life without drugs.
Studies analyzing the effects of spirituality and concepts such as life purpose in the framework of addiction treatment and addiction recovery are inconclusive due to the breadth of spirituality-based treatment practices and religious or secular addiction recovery programs, but studies on concepts such as mindfulness, meditation, and goal setting during recovery have found these practices to be conducive to long-term sobriety, and better outcomes in recovery.
In other words – finding reasons to enjoy and be grateful for a life without drugs can emphasize the benefits of sobriety, deepen a person’s commitment to a life after addiction, and help establish intrinsic motivating factors to continue the recovery journey after addiction treatment.
Finding Your Life Purpose
The objective of addiction treatment is to help people address and reduce their cravings, avoid relapses, and establish systems of accountability and motivation to preserve a commitment to sobriety. A life purpose is another way to describe a powerful motivation.
For many people, part of the treatment process when overcoming an addiction involves utilizing moments of introspection and talk therapy as means to figure out what your life purpose should be. Discovering your life purpose can take some time.
It could be discovering a passion for a field or interest that you might not have had before, or that you might have lost over the years. It could be a deep commitment to being a role model to a loved one, a younger sibling, a dear friend, or a child. It could be a higher calling.
Motivation is important when tackling addiction. Drug use affects portions of the brain that are dedicated to controlling how we motivate and reward ourselves, which is why prolonged drug use can cause a loss of interest in old hobbies. Using drugs changes the way the brain interprets pleasure and satisfaction.
But given time, the brain can recover from these changes. You can relearn to be passionate about a creative endeavor, rediscover the joy of sports or competition, or find your personal, spiritual truth. Anchoring your sobriety to the fact that drug use is self-destructive is one thing; anchoring it to the fact that you can lead a more fulfilling and liberating life without drugs is potentially much more powerful. It’s important to remember that sobriety is not punishment, but an opportunity.
Motivation and Discipline
Motivation has its limits. There are times when we feel less motivated. There are times when immediate stressors or circumstances cause our priorities to shift. There are times when our own self-confidence might waver, or when the cravings become too powerful.
Maintaining sobriety also means accounting for these times. It can mean having systems in place to call for help. It can also mean investing in your wellbeing and mental resilience through healthy routines, self-care rituals, and better habits.
Coupling your life purpose with routines and scheduled activities that improve your wellbeing can support your sobriety long past the initial treatment program. Many addiction treatment plans, including our programs here at Coastwise, aim to help clients formulate routines that help them support their sobriety and continue down the long road of recovery in a sustainable fashion.
Reshaping Your Goals and Pursuing Wellbeing After Addiction
Drug use can change your priorities. We’ve mentioned that they way addictive drugs affect the brain can drown out other interests and even needs. One of the deleterious health consequences of drug use is physical neglect. Addiction can affect the way you prioritize hygiene, nutrition, and health, and cause you to dedicate time and money better spent on your immediate and long-term wellbeing into addictive substances instead.
Learning to reprioritize life, reshape your goals, and pursue healthier commitments after addiction are all crucial elements of a successful recovery process.
Commitments are what bind us to sobriety and hold us accountable. Forging new relationships and hashing out old ones allow us to increase the importance of staying sober. Setting goals gives us an incremental way to look forward to new things that aren’t drug related, whether it’s a personal milestone in a sport, gaining recognition in your new job, or the date of your first published work.
Setting goals – multiple goals – in addition to an important life purpose helps connect sobriety and recovery to many important things, rather than a single source of motivation. Pursuing multiple different purposes in life can help us stave off the stressors that often complicate recovery.
Learning to Set Meaningful Goals
Goal setting can be a major part of regaining control over your life after addiction. However, goal setting is a learned skill. Setting goals that are too lofty can be discouraging. Failing or taking too long to achieve a certain goal can push people into a negative spiral. On the other hand, goals that don’t challenge you to expand your horizons or move a little bit out of your own comfort zone do not encourage growth. They can become monotonous, and fail to inspire self-confidence, or build your self-esteem.
The purpose of a meaningful goal is to have something to reach for that will result in a better estimation of your own abilities, and renewed confidence in your personal qualities – to prove that, no matter what, you can continue to grow and develop. Here at Coastwise, we help you set goals that are achievable and meaningful in your recovery journey.
Approaching Addiction Recovery at Coastwise
Our intensive outpatient and partial hospitalization programs act as the initial stepping stone for a lifelong journey of self-improvement and healthier, holistic living. As part of our treatment process here at Coastwise, we utilize modalities such as:
- Acceptance and Commitment Therapy
- Dialectical Behavioral Therapy
- 12-Step Facilitation
- Psychoeducation
- Emotional Transformation Therapy
- And more.
Get Started with Us at Coastwise
We at Coastwise find that the addiction recovery journey begins with treatment but doesn’t end there. We prepare our clients for the challenges to come and ensure that their experience with our outpatient programs helps them tackle the upcoming years with confidence and an understanding of what to expect. Give us a call today at 310 514 2300 to find out more.