Drug treatment: filling in the blank
One tactic of drug treatment is to take your spare time when you stop using drugs, you start to see the big, ugly gap you’ve been trying to fill. This gap existed long before addiction developed. In fact, it was probably a large part of why I started taking drugs in the first place. There was a void or a void you didn’t know how to face or manage. You feel overwhelmed by your feelings or frustrated by their lack. I’ve tried to cover the gaps so you don’t fall into them. You have tried to numb feelings or provoke the right feelings.
The addiction just made the void bigger and the feelings stronger, but you can’t see that. Addiction won’t let you see that. Now that the journey of recovery has begun, the void is visible. That’s scary. Do not worry! When you have the support of your peers, loved ones, and experienced professionals, there is always someone or a way to help you fill the void.
Addiction and Leisure
Addiction is closely related to your thoughts and emotions. How you think and how you act are interrelated. When your thoughts lead to drug abuse, the action that was supposed to fill or at least hide the void makes it bigger. Translator Psychiatry shares, “The prefrontal cortex has extensive connections with the subcortical structures that regulate emotional processing, including the amygdala. Exposure to alcohol and drugs impairs emotion regulation in this region, where the interconnected mesenchymal and cingulate networks show an enhanced reactivity to excitatory stimuli and a reduced ability to suppress negative affect. The medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) and the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) also assess and regulate negative emotions. These cortical areas are hyperactive in response to stimuli related to substances.”
This is a complicated way of saying that drugs impair your ability to manage your emotions. If you turn to drugs to help you feel better or fill a void, you really don’t know how to deal with or manage your feelings positively. The addiction only makes this worse. Fortunately, emotional regulation is a skill, and the skills can be taught. You can learn to look and fill in the blank.
Start where you are (from drug treatment methods spend free time)
In a confrontation, let alone filling a void, the void may seem overwhelming. When the healing journey begins, step back from the edge. You don’t have to fall into them. Also, you don’t have to fill it out once. You don’t have to jump across it. The recovery is gradual. Your treatment team will push your boundaries and your comfort zone, but they will never ask you to do more than you can manage. They realize that being alert can be as scary as staying addicted. Psych Central 2 considers this to be the most common fear related to recovery. They explain, “Being alert means replacing your primary coping mechanism — drugs and alcohol — with new, unfamiliar ones. The process can be uncomfortable, especially for someone who is afraid of feeling in general.”
There is no denying that recovery is a mental challenge. You are facing a void that you have been ignoring for a long time. You have to change habits, thoughts and ways of acting that, if not safe, at least feel comfortable.
Change is a necessary part of recovery. However, you will never be asked to do more than you can handle. You are not expected to jump into the void of recovery feet first and I hope you are doing well. She turned to drugs and alcohol for distraction and false feelings. You want a solution. You knew drugs and alcohol might not have been the best option, but they seemed to work at first. You did your best with what you have and what you know.
“Learn recovery programs…the basic principles of emotional regulation because addicts don’t intuitively know them.” Do not enter therapy knowing the correct way to fill the void. You are not entering a ready-made treatment to face the holes in your life. If you knew how to do these things in a positive and healthy way, it would have already happened.
Recovery is here to teach you how to face the void. Peers and professionals guide you gently and help you develop the skills and strengths you need to recover. Therapy teaches you not only how to fill in the void but also repair the gap you started with in the first place
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Perspective Pause
When the void seems too big or the recovery is overwhelming, don’t give up. Stop and find perspective. Seek professional support. The void will not be, and cannot, be filled overnight. You don’t have to do it all at once, nor do you have to do it alone. You can undo things that are too difficult to manage or too painful at the moment. This does not mean that you should avoid dealing with experiences, memories, and feelings. This means that you don’t have to face them very well at first. This means that you will never have to face them without support and understanding. Learn how to manage your emotions. Learn how to fix the gaps in your life rather than widening them with the addiction wedge. Take the first correct action and the rest will follow. Call Future Hospital at 00201029275503 for immediate support and information.
