Coping With Failure in Addiction Recovery

Everyone experiences failure from time to time, and the feeling it leaves with you can be challenging to overcome. However, for individuals in addiction recovery, failure presents a new set of challenges to face. Those in recovery must learn how to face failure if they wish to be successful in recovery. Allowing yourself to wallow in disappointment can slow or even halt your recovery process. Learning how to cope with failure in recovery is what will give you the most success. 

Why Is Failure a Danger to Recovery?

Because everyone faces failure in their lives, you may wonder why the feeling can be detrimental to recovery. However, individuals in recovery are in a vulnerable state already -- failure can exacerbate the situation. There are various reasons that failure can be a threat to recovery depending on the person, their recovery needs, and where they are in their journey.

Failure can often cause people to have low self-esteem. Addiction feeds off low self-esteem, so individuals who experience failure and tear themselves down because of it are at risk of relapse. Another reason is that many individuals set unrealistic expectations for themselves in recovery and feel like a failure when they don’t meet them. They believe that they will never recover, so they may give up and return to drugs and alcohol. 

Recognizing the different kinds of failure is crucial to being successful in recovery. Overcoming the dangers of the feeling by coping with it in healthy ways is what will help you the most.

The Different Kinds of Failure in Recovery

When you are in recovery, you are actively working towards building a better life by remaining sober and healing the underlying causes of your addiction. However, there are situations that you may perceive as failure along the way that may threaten your sobriety. Recognizing these various situations will help you prepare for them and other challenges in your recovery journey. Common perceived failure scenarios in recovery include:

• Struggling in therapy
• Not achieving the standards you set for yourself
• Not living up to expectations
• Not completing a time-specific goal
• Losing relationships with loved ones
• Struggling to find employment
• Being rejected for a promotion
• Relapse

If you notice these scenarios happening in your recovery journey, taking a step back to cope with them and ensure your mental health is protected is crucial.

A Positive Outlook on Failure

Teaching yourself to view failure in a positive manner can help you better cope with it. Many people believe that failure is the opposite of success, but this is untrue. Failure is a part of success. Failure does not impede your success but rather makes it more special when you finally achieve your goals. You can use failure as a motivation for personal growth, which can help you better cope with it as it comes. Failure is not the end of the world, and you should not view it as such if you wish to be successful in recovery.

Coping Techniques for Failure

Even if you teach yourself to view failure in a positive light, it will most likely still hurt when you experience it. For this reason, having coping techniques in mind to push through failure can aid the healing process. Coping strategies are fundamental in recovery because they allow you to keep your eye on sobriety rather than wallowing in the negative feelings that often accompany failure. Next time you experience failure, consider the following tips to help you push through it to your subsequent success:

• Try relaxation techniques such as meditation or breathwork. Such practices are excellent for stressful times in recovery, including when you face failures. You can find numerous methods for each online, with video tutorials available for all skill levels. These can help you push through tough times by keeping a clear headspace.

• Journaling about your feelings can help you release any harbored negativity you may be unconsciously holding in. You can analyze your feelings to see the process of failure and how it plays into the overarching goal of success. You can also reflect on past failures to remind yourself of all the times you overcame obstacles in your recovery.

• Reaching out to loved ones is another way to overcome failure in recovery. Gaining outside perspectives can help you see things differently to get you out of your head. Loved ones can also give you advice for your darkest moments.

Failure will inevitably happen at many points in your life, but it is most dangerous in addiction recovery. Learning how to cope with it is crucial to maintaining sobriety because failure is a common relapse trigger. As you navigate dealing with failure in recovery, it is vital to change your perspective and try new coping techniques. However, it is understandable to struggle with this at first, as failure is a complicated emotion. NorthStar Transitions is well aware of the difficulties people face in recovery, including the impact of failure on the process. Our programs offer patients various ways to address failure and cope with the numerous complicated emotions accompanying it. Whether traditional techniques or holistic strategies work best for you, NorthStar has you covered. The NorthStar difference is clinical excellence, evidence-based therapeutic modalities, personalized treatment plans, and our location in the serene and majestic setting of Boulder, Colorado. Call us to learn more about our programs at (303) 558-6400 and experience the NorthStar difference today.