Honesty does not come easily for many people in early recovery. In active addiction, untruthfulness can become one’s default setting. However, if you hope to achieve lasting sobriety, then you will have to learn how to be honest in all your affairs.
The disease of addiction is accompanied by doing whatever it takes to keep the cycle going, which can mean lying to those you care about the most. It takes tremendous effort to acquire the resources necessary to feed one’s alcohol or substance use disorder. A person will do or say whatever it takes to keep their addiction alive.
In treatment and the rooms of recovery like meetings of Alcoholics Anonymous, one learns that long-term healing will depend on complete honesty. You must be honest with yourself and others if you hope to heal from the disease and keep it at bay.
Since there is a lot of shame and guilt that plagues people with use disorders, one may be inclined to be dishonest even in recovery. However, dishonesty will not help your cause and can be the impetus for a relapse.
It’s not easy to talk about one’s past, let alone process it with relative strangers like a new sponsor or support network. It takes practice to be truthful in all of your endeavors; but you will find that it feels good no longer having to keep your stories straight. Honesty, you will discover, is a pillar of addiction recovery. The more honest you are, the easier it will be to achieve your goals.
An Honest Program of Recovery
Learning how to trust the people in your support network is challenging for many people in early recovery. There are those who have fears that what they say will lead to judgment. The good news is that the longer you are in the program, the easier it will be to feel comfortable sharing with others.
If one is committed to making progress in the program, then they have to go all in and follow the directions of others. Honesty is the only way that working the Steps will be beneficial. Early recovery is a turning point in your life, and half-measures will avail you nothing.
For the Steps to have the desired life-changing effect, you must be completely truthful with yourself and your sponsor. The 12 Steps will produce remarkable progress in your life provided you can find the courage to work them honestly. Omitting something when working the Steps can lead to relapse down the road and return to active addiction.
If you think that you have not been completely honest with your peers of late, please do not dismay. You have the power to come clean and prevent issues from arising in the future. When we tell lies or omit information, it leads to shame and guilt; both feelings can derail your program. While it’s difficult to admit when you are dishonest, a tremendous burden will be lifted from your shoulders immediately. Your sponsor or trusted peers will understand; recovery is about progress, not perfection.
It is not uncommon for people to continue attending meetings and working the Steps (for a time) following a relapse. If you have slipped up recently – had a drink or drug – please talk to your sponsor and get to a meeting to identify as a newcomer. It will be a humbling experience and one that could lead to you having an even stronger program.
Orange County Addiction Treatment
At Hope By The Sea, we offer many unique, evidence-based programs to help men and women break the cycle of addiction and go on to live in long-term recovery. We invite you to contact us today to learn more about our services and begin a new life. Hope Starts Here!