How Can I Rebuild Trust in Recovery?
The road to recovery is a life-long process, and encountering challenges along the way is part of this journey. Another big part of the recovery journey is rebuilding the trust in the relationships you have within yourself and with others. The work needed to restore trust can introduce many different feelings, including anger, stress, anxiety, depression, and even resentment. Therefore, you need to seek a healthy means of self-expression by adopting positive and constructive coping strategies to learn how to mend trust in relationships. Let’s take a look at some of how you can begin to repair trust and start building a solid network that helps support and sustain your recovery for a lifetime.
Find Trust Within
Self-trust in recovery is one of the biggest challenges that require honesty and patience. Substance use disorders leave lasting impressions that could cause you to lose self-esteem, motivation, and a sense of purpose. Such feelings of doubt can exacerbate difficulties during recovery. However, forgiving yourself for your past mistakes and committing to healthier habits is the first step toward building trust and healing. If you internalize a victim mentality, then you harm your self-esteem by creating self-doubt. Thoughts experienced by a victim’s mentality include focusing on:
- Others that have wronged you
- The areas where you might fall short
- Past mistakes
- Self-blame
Such thoughts distract you from building trust within; however, you must forgive yourself and work on becoming the person you want to be to start building trust with others. Start by replacing old habits with new ones. Start by keeping a journal to write down things you are grateful for or things you have accomplished. Writing these things down helps you realize how much you have and how much you can do. Over time, this practice enables you to build a positive outlook with yourself and others. Further, you can take morning walks in nature or sit outside and practice meditation or mindfulness to help you self-reflect and establish self-trust.
Rebuild Trust With Friends
Rebuilding trust with friends requires the same amount of honesty and patience. Understand that having friends that support you is part of the core make-up of lasting recovery. However, friendships need nurturing, and some of your past relationships might have suffered from lies, deceit, and hurt, and they may take more time to repair. Understand, you can only take it as far as the apology; whether they choose to forgive you and move forward is not up to you. You must accept rejection and understand that you can still move forward when your apology is sincere.
Further, while you might be ready, your friend might not be, but that does not mean that they will never be ready to forgive. What is important is that you understand that you are no longer the person you were when under the weight of addiction, and when you focus on your recovery, over time, your friend will realize this, too.
Rebuilding Trust With Family
Rebuilding trust with family could take months or even years, and even then, you might not mend the relationship. Remaining patient and motivated to repair and nurture new relationships with family and loved ones can differ in how the relationships become mended. Further, you cannot overstate the importance of family support in recovery. First, take each opportunity to acknowledge and support your family members who have and continue to support you during the process. Show gratitude and let them know how they have made a positive impact on your recovery.
Next, communicate with your loved ones. Like all relationships in your life, honesty is the bridge to trust. Be open to expressing to loved ones how you plan on repairing the relationship. Continue to work on the person you want to be, and this will help show your family how dedicated you are. Following through on the promises you make with them and yourself further establishes that you are not the person you were when using substances. Remember to be patient with your family.
Keep Attending Meetings and Counseling
The peers you meet in recovery not only share experiences with you but are a cornerstone to helping you understand the importance of relationships, including building trust within them. Your peers also lend you the opportunity to meet others facing similar challenges and, therefore, create bonds that can lead to lifelong friendships. They also help build a safe and comfortable support system around you. Meetings, counseling, and therapy help keep you motivated and accountable on maintaining your sobriety – even if you are going through a difficult time trying to reconnect with yourself, a friend, or a family member.
While you might not be able to repair every relationship in recovery, it should not discourage you. However, if you are in a place where you feel stuck in your attempts to rebuild trust with yourself and others, it is time to get help. Choice House utilizes both conventional and alternative approaches to treatment to ensure men from all backgrounds the best opportunity to find the treatments that work best for them. Choice House consists of friendly staff and peers that will help you share your experiences and create healthy relationships. You will come to understand that you are never alone in recovery. We also know that repairing the connections you have with those you love and care for takes time and effort, but such efforts will also help you stay committed on your path of recovery. We also provide breathtaking views of mountainous Colorado to ensure that you never have to worry about finding inspiration along the way. To get started on your journey, reach out to Choice House today and call us at (720) 577-4422.