Learning how to rebuild confidence after addiction recovery will help to develop a healthy sense of self-worth or self-esteem. Low self-esteem and the inability to manage emotions, feelings, and stress are the foundation of addiction. Individual therapy delves into low self-esteem and negative self-worth to understand their origins and a better understanding of self. After addiction recovery, confidence levels will increase with the usage of new sober living life skills and instill a new sense of pride and accomplishment.
The Role of Confidence After Recovery
Confidence after addiction recovery can improve self-esteem through practicing the new life skills learned in addiction treatment. Confidence building reinforces the desire to continue to grow. Setting new goals will encourage additional levels of confidence to manifest. As a result, new levels of growth promote continued sober living and prevent relapse. Positive changes will prove efforts are worthwhile.
How to Rebuild Confidence After Recovery
Increasing feelings of self-value will contribute to new levels of confidence. However, understanding the importance of confidence after addiction recovery can lead to new challenges. The following self-care practices will be challenging. In addition, practicing self-care will produce compassion, empathy, and understanding for addressing needs.
- Forgive Yourself for Becoming Addicted: Decide to forgive yourself for impulsive behaviors and poor judgments, and do not overanalyze the past. Instead, keep to the new positive and healthy lifestyle skills learned and be optimistic for the future. Forgiving yourself will lead to increased confidence after addiction recovery. In addition, feeling strong enough to take responsibility for past behaviors allows for discovering remorse. Without feeling remorse, you will not appreciate the need to do better and practice self-forgiveness.
- Write Affirmations about Yourself: Affirmations are simply positive statements used to repeat to yourself. It can take time to feel comfortable with this process. Expect this to be challenging. Nevertheless, accomplishing affirmation practice will truly build confidence after addiction recovery. Start with simple statements (“I like my hair”), then progress to something like, “I like the progress I have made since treatment.” Over time, these positive affirmations will change self-doubt into self-acceptance.
- Do Good Deeds: Helping others rebuilds confidence after addiction recovery. Start with small gestures of kindness, and hold the door open for someone. This action increases self-worth and encourages happiness and pride in self. If you see a person in need, think about what you can do to help. Remember that we all have boundaries and need to keep from being overwhelmed. Performing good deeds increases your sense of gratitude and appreciation of what others do for you.
Other Ways to Boost Confidence
- Exercise: Exercise of any kind can induce the production of feel-good endorphins. Building physical strength, flexibility, and endurance cause positive changes in appearance and thinking. In addition, exercise can increase feelings of confidence after addiction recovery by promoting self-worth. Find a walking buddy, take a yoga class, or do water aerobics. There are so many possibilities with exercise, just find what you enjoy and go for it!
- Learn how to Accept Compliments: It is difficult to accept a compliment when your esteem is low, and you do not feel worthy. As you improve your confidence after addiction recovery and your self-esteem build, you will feel less embarrassed and get value from compliments. First, resist your thoughts that want to dismiss the compliment. Then, believe the person who complimented you is being honest and sincere. Say thank you and enjoy the praise. Finally, reflect on the strengths based on the compliment.
- Set Goals and Work Toward Them: Becoming self-determined to improve self-esteem is another way to rebuild confidence after addiction recovery. Setting goals that align with the committed decision to get sober can boost self-esteem—making your own decisions, achieving positive steps, and achieving the goals are crucial to building self-confidence after addiction recovery.
- Don’t Compare Yourself to Others: When we are unsure of ourselves and our self-esteem needs help, we compare ourselves to others, which does not feel good. This practice can lower your self-esteem and confidence. Feeling bad about ourselves is a habit from the past we need to stop. Instead of comparing yourself to others, think about who you are and how far you have come. Use your newfound confidence after addiction recovery to build yourself up. Do your best every day and let yourself feel and appreciate your accomplishments.
Find an Effective Aftercare Program
Aftercare programs are practical tools for building confidence after addiction recovery. In addition, support groups with like-minded individuals building the foundation for a lifetime of sobriety can support each other’s efforts. Finally, there are many free 12-Step programs throughout most communities. Inspiration abounds within the self-help community as well. Use your newly developed confidence to reach out to those who can recover and stay sober with you.
Rebuilding Confidence after Addiction Recovery in Los Angeles
September is National Recovery Month. Rebuilding confidence after addiction recovery in Los Angeles can begin with help from Launch Centers. Launch Centers operates through professional channels to create sober lifestyles for individuals who have struggled with addiction, mental health disorder, or both. We have the tools you need and would like to share them with you now! Contact us by calling our number and speaking with one of our professional staff members.
