When I got out of prison after serving time for a DUI Serious Bodily Injury conviction, day-to- day life was overwhelming, to say the least. For four years, I’d never had to make a decision for myself, and I found I’d forgotten how to cope with life’s unpredictability due to being away from society for so long. But, even though I was already struggling to adjust, things managed to get worse: my long-time boyfriend broke up with me, the kitten I’d just adopted from a local shelter died from a rare virus and I couldn’t get hired anywhere due to my “felon” label. Life as a free woman was nothing like I expected it to be, and all I wanted to do was give up and check myself back into the gated community.
But a big part of me knew I’d come too far to simply run away when times got tough. After all, that’s what the old me would have done, and I’d been through too much to revert back to the person I once was. Instead, I started practicing the way of thinking I’d adopted in prison: acceptance of the things I could not change. True, life wasn’t fair, but by putting my trust in a power greater than myself and realizing that my life was unfolding the way it was supposed to, I began feeling more at peace and a lot less hopeless.
Living life on life’s terms can be easier said than done, especially when it feels like nothing is going right. But, it’s crucial for the success of your sobriety. Struggling to accept reality and your present circumstances can keep you stuck in an addiction, as you can quickly become reliant on drugs, alcohol or other unhealthy behaviors when things don’t turn out the way you want them to.
Therefore, it’s important to learn to accept whatever life throws at you, whether it be good or bad.
Acceptance gives us much-needed perspective and reminds us that many things are out of our control. After all, life is never going to be perfect – not even in sobriety. Even when situations don’t play out the way we want them to, true peace of mind can be found in believing that we are exactly where we’re supposed to be and the universe is unfolding exactly the way it should.
To better learn how to live life on life’s terms, Arise Recovery Center can help. We provide intensive outpatient treatment for those ready to take on their drug and alcohol addictions. Now, with our Fort Worth drug treatment facility open to the public, we’re able to cater to an underserved market and help even more clients develop new life skills that result in long-term recovery. For more information on our Dallas, Fort Worth, McKinney and Southlake outpatient facilities, contact us at 1-888- DFW-ARISE (1-888- 339-2747) or by email at info@AriseRecoveryCenters.com.
