After recovery, letting go of your bitterness and frustration is not solely about letting go of previous lifestyle choices. Previously held grudges and situations you may have dealt with must be addressed with forgiveness and acceptance. Life after recovery comes with its ups and downs, and learning to deal with them appropriately is the only way to avoid negative feelings about it. So, how can you move past bitterness and frustration after recovery?
Bitterness and frustration are poisonous to your lifestyle after treatment. There will be situations where you are so upset that frustration overwhelms you, and frustration can build up into bitterness if it's not eliminated, perhaps making you react negatively.
In treatment, you likely learned how to forgive yourself and let go of previous bad lifestyle choices and mindsets that led you in an unhealthy direction. Sometimes, without the guidance you get in treatment, it's easy to let bitterness and frustration build up when it feels like the negative starts outweighing the positive. Bitterness can blind you to the good things in life and keep you from fully experiencing them.
When you start to feel bitter or frustrated after leaving treatment, it is easy to blame others or react poorly because of unforeseen events. After all, you’ve gone through in addiction recovery, maintaining positivity and fairness is essential to keeping up a sober mentality. If you start to feel you deserve more than you get, or you’re not satisfied with your day-to-day achievement, you may start to notice bitterness build up.
Don't let bitterness or frustration become your natural reaction when things don't go as planned. These emotions don't serve you well, so letting them become a habit will work against your recovery. When you start to feel bitter or frustrated, make the most of a bad situation by assessing where those feelings come from and how you can move past them in a positive direction.
Part of addiction recovery is learning to cope with negative emotions. Apply those principles when you feel bitter or frustrated. Accept whatever situation is causing these emotions and forgive. It's near impossible to move forward in recovery when you hold onto bitterness or frustration.
When you use forgiveness and trust, frustration can be eliminated even if the situation isn't completely fixed. For those who made you feel frustrated or angry, forgiving them and removing bitterness from your heart can help you overcome the downsides to the scenario. When you think positively about the situation and move forward, focusing on the good aspects and what you can learn, the bitterness and frustration will soon be eased.
Bitterness and frustration often fill your head with criticism and judgment and make life uncomfortable. If you teach yourself to reject the initial spark of bitterness or irritation and consciously choose to look at the scenario in a different light, you will tend to start looking at the good in people rather than holding onto negative emotions. Furthermore, when you focus on appreciation for yourself and others, you can easily let bitterness and frustration go out of your life.
It does take work to relinquish bitterness and frustration after recovery. There will be times when you may feel stuck, and refocusing on positives may be hard. At times like this, consider how far you’ve come in addiction recovery and acknowledge how important continued sobriety is to you. Don’t let bitterness or frustration sabotage all your efforts. These emotions may not disappear right away, but it can help you keep from getting stuck in them to remember that it does not serve you to feed them. You can choose a better reaction, even in the midst of these feelings.
In addiction recovery, you learn to focus on improving your soul, body, and mind. Those things learned in treatment are still used in your aftercare plans. Sometimes, you just need a helping hand in doing so. When you feel stuck in bitterness or frustration, reach out to someone. This could be a friend or family member, your sponsor, or your therapist. Whoever you choose, help them understand why you are frustrated and allow them to brainstorm ways to deal with and eliminate the frustration.
Recovery is not always an easy path, it doesn't always move in a straight line, and it often requires the help of other people. Before you let bitterness or frustration overcome you, reach out for help and remember that recovery takes a lot of work, with some days being better than others.
Bitterness and frustrations are common feelings to have when you're in addiction recovery. These emotions do not serve you well and can even impede your progress in recovery. You can learn to move past bitterness and frustration by using principles you already learned during your time in treatment. At NorthStar Transitions, we want you to be a successful master of your healthy, sober lifestyle. This includes making the most of bitterness and frustration after leaving recovery by learning from it and moving forward. If things are not turning out the way you want them to be or you feel that you’re harboring bitterness and frustration, we are here to help you and guide you in the right direction. For more information about our addiction recovery services or how we can help you make the most of your life, reach out to NorthStar Transitions at (303) 558-6400. Our compassionate team can help you find a happy, fulfilling lifestyle.
