How Our Lies Impact Our Recovery
Honesty is the antithesis of addiction. As we use substances, it may be difficult for us to identify the truth.
Addiction rarely exists without lies, and lies help keep us in our addiction, creating a destructive cycle of dishonesty and substance abuse. As we begin recovery, then, the opposite action must be taken. How does honesty impact my recovery?
The Relationship Between Lies and Addiction
The lies we tell in our addiction protect our behaviors, our habits, and our use. Denial is a lie we tell ourselves and others so that we do not have to face the fact that our lives are out of control.
We lie to try to keep up appearances of normalcy, and we lie to cover up apparent lapses of normalcy.
We are dishonest in our relationships to try to keep people in our lives and to avoid rejection. We lie to try to keep our jobs, avoid arrest, or any number of other situations that arise within our substance use.
We protect our secrets and our addiction fuels the need for dishonesty, creating a devastating cycle.
Lies in Our Relationships and Addiction
The trouble with dishonesty is that it is usually the most significant source of pain in our relationships. The lies we tell erode the respect, love, and trust of the people in our lives.
The closer we are to someone, the more damage we do to our relationship with them.
Addiction is painful to watch from the sidelines. Relationships of all kinds – familial, romantic, work, and friendship – are built on trust. Betraying that trust damages those relationships.
Repeated betrayal can even damage them beyond repair. The longer we remain in the cycle of substance abuse and dishonesty the more relationships we lose along the way.
Yet it is impossible to “come clean” with all of the people in our lives without getting clean in terms of our substance use.
Taking Action
Getting sober is a turning point in which we choose to leave substances behind. However, the choice to become sober is only that, without wholly committing to our complete recovery.
Full healing and recovery are only possible where total honesty is also present.
The therapists, doctors, and other staff in treatment can support us only to the level that we are honest. So, for example, if we tell them 80 percent truths and 20 percent lies, then the maximum that they can help us is also 80 percent.
Ironically, if we only show up 80 percent in treatment, we are probably more than 80 percent likely to relapse, too. We wouldn’t ask a doctor to remove only 80 percent of a cancerous tumor. Similarly, committing 100 percent to our recovery can save our lives completely, but 100 percent honesty is required.
Finding Our Truth
Dishonesty hurts the people around us, but ultimately it hurts us the most. Being honest is a pillar of our recovery and being honest with ourselves is crucial in our journey to a fulfilling a purpose-driven life.
Accepting what we have done and where we have been is the core of our recovery. With that truth and acceptance, we can finally institute the changes within us to become who we want to be.
When we peel away all of the judgment, shame, guilt and, stigma we can see ourselves for the person that we truly are. We can tell our truths – including pain, abuse, trauma, and other things that led us on the path of substance use. We can heal those pains and become who we always wanted to be: a person of integrity.
How does honesty impact our recovery?
Honesty is our recovery. Without honesty, we will only be without substances at best.
When we step onto the recovery path, we leave the addiction behind, but also the lies and the secrets. We will only heal as much as we are honest, and it is our honesty that demonstrates our desire for not only sobriety but full recovery.
As we tell our truths, we make that total switch to not only accountability but also integrity.
If you are ready to look into the mirror and proudly see a person with integrity, then begin on your recovery journey today. Become your truth.
Discover honesty in your recovery at AToN Center. Call (888) 535-1516 today. Become the person you have always wanted to be. Tell your truth.
