Hawaii Island Recovery 
Recovery is a life-long process of change through which you learn to live a self-directed life, improve your health and wellness, and strive to reach your full potential. Hope is foundational to transforming your self-narrative and manifesting the life you desire.
This course is a rocky one, full of twists, turns, and bumps along the road. It can be easy to lose sight of your vision and reason for it all. Relapse is a common setback and is a possibility for all patients in recovery. Re-focusing your attention on cultivating hope and restoring faith in yourself can lead to long-term success in recovery.
Hope Is the Foundation for Recovery
The nature of the addiction and of your character influences which path to recovery you will take. Your encounter with addiction will likely be a little different than a colleague in a 12-Step program or group. Despite the diversity of stories, emotions, and experiences, there is one constant. Hope is at the foundation of recovering from a substance use disorder. Without hope, there is no motivator to keep pushing you on a straight path towards your goal of staying clean.
However, recovery is more than just abstinence or remission of symptoms. It’s a process of continual growth and maneuvering through the hills and valleys of addiction. SAMHSA explains that recovery has the following four supportive dimensions:
- Managing your condition and making informed, healthy choices that support your physical and emotional well-being.
- Living in a stable and safe home.
- Participating in meaningful daily activities and having the independence and resources to engage in society.
- Maintaining relationships and social networks that offer you support, friendship, love, and hope.
What Happens When You Lose Hope
No one said this process was going to be easy. It is widely known that you will experience many setbacks and disappointments throughout your recovery. Growth can be painful and frustrating, but this is the nature of transformation. Hope provides you with reasons to face the hard times with courage and take the necessary steps to properly manage your addiction. What could happen when you lose sight of it?
Relapse is a possibility for any patient in a residential treatment program. Many patients are in programs because of unsuccessful attempts to quit drugs or alcohol. Clinical help and support groups are often required to maintain sobriety. Relapse could be triggered by different factors, including:
- Withdrawal from substance use
- Emotional states like depression, frustration, stress, and anxiety
- Social settings like parties or events where alcohol or drugs are used
- Unresolved dysfunctional family dynamics, childhood abuse, or trauma
- Participating in friendships/social situations with persons who use substances
- Living in the same environment or in an unstable environment where use began or occurred
Bouncing Back From Relapse
Everyone loses faith in themselves from time to time. Seeing the light at the end of the tunnel can be hard after you’ve had a hiccup or two. Cultivating hope and restoring faith in yourself is going to be essential to move forward. How can you get the ball rolling?
If you’re bouncing back from a relapse, one of the most important things you can do is develop a relapse prevention plan with your therapist. This is an essential component of outpatient and aftercare programs. There are many obstacles that you will have to learn to navigate to maintain sobriety. A well-thought-out plan can help you set your boundaries and gain confidence that you can and will be successful.
Cultivating Hope & Restore Faith in Yourself
You can also cultivate hope by listening to success stories. Not only will you learn about what others have been through, but you will learn about the strategies they used to overcome their struggle. All around the country, there are 12-Step meetings where you can connect with people in recovery. You might gain some perspective of your own story and make some supportive friends along the way.
The fourth step of the Twelve Steps is taking a fearless and moral inventory of yourself. What is causing you to feel hopeless? The fourth step requires you to find the courage to identify your negative behaviors or assumptions that may be causing problems. By taking responsibility and focusing on adopting healthy thought and behavioral patterns, you will realize that the power for change is in your hands.
The 12-Step program is based on the idea that there is Higher Power or God that you surrender to the care of. Participants see themselves as powerless to their addiction but find hope in the security and purpose that God or a Higher Power bestows.
Recovery can be a long cycle of highs and lows. Hope is the driving force that keeps pushing you forward despite these challenges. At Hawaii Island Recovery, we know hope is integral to getting you back to health. There will be times when you lose sight of your goal and succumb to the disappointment of setbacks like a relapse. Nevertheless, we believe that recovery from addiction is possible for every addict and alcoholic. No matter how many times you have attempted treatment or relapsed, recovery is possible with the proper support system. Our residential programs are run by licensed practitioners who use evidence-based therapies to treat addiction, co-occurring disorders, and chronic pain. We only take a maximum of eight patients, meaning that you will receive high-quality, individualized care based on your needs. In our aftercare program, you will have the opportunity to find hope in plans for the future.
