Finding Happiness in Recovery

“Everyone wants to live on top of the mountain, but all the happiness and growth occurs while you’re climbing it.”

This quote from Andy Rooney is especially pertinent for those recovering from substance abuse. Finding happiness is a large part of recovery. By the time many people decide to give up drugs or alcohol, happiness seems like a distant memory. After years of substance abuse many people don’t know what happiness is --- let alone how to be happy without drugs or alcohol.

Happiness means different things to different people. Yet there are two points that are constant across the board. (1) Finding happiness is a large part of recovery. (2) You have the power to take control of your happiness by choosing your thoughts, behaviors, and actions.

When you change the way you look at your life by being, thinking, and acting more positive, good things happen to you. This isn’t a spiritual awakening or some secret I uncovered. It’s what I’ve experienced on my own road to lifelong recovery.

You can be happy ---- and you will be happy --- but it won’t happen overnight. It takes time, and it takes work. Sure, who wouldn’t like to be able to skip to the joyous, rewarding part of recovery without doing the work in early sobriety. But, it’s the “work” that will help you build a strong foundation on which you can grow and change --- and learn how to be happy in the long run.

As you embark on your journey of recovery, I share with you SmartRecovery’s 10 rules for happiness:

1. Don’t blame others for making you unhappy! Take responsibility for making yourself happy.

2. Give yourself permission to make yourself happy - even if in so doing, others make themselves unhappy.

3. Make time for yourself to do things that bring you pleasure and enjoyment in the short-term without sacrificing your long-term goals.

4. Do things for others and your community without expecting anything back in return.

5. Sacrifice short-term pleasures and put up with short-term discomforts when it helps you achieve longer-term gains.

6. Accept the fallibility of others as well as yourself.

7. Don’t take things personally.

8. Take healthy risks even when you might fail at things at work or in your personal relationships.

9. It doesn’t matter so much what people think about you and what you are doing.

10. See uncertainty as a challenge - do not be afraid of it.

Getting started can seem a bit overwhelming. But you don’t have to do it alone. In Kiva Recovery’s counseling sessions, we’ll teach you how to find your own happiness. It’s not going to magically appear. You’ll have to learn it. You’ll have to practice it. And, you’ll have to realize that it starts with YOU.

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The trusted resource in addiction treatment, Kiva Recovery’s groundbreaking model focuses on the individual and the strengths within each of us. Kiva’s treatment approach aims to replace addiction with solution-focused, growth-oriented strategies focusing on Lifelong Recovery through Holistic Health, Positive Character Building through Continuous Character Growth, and Life Satisfaction through Contentment. The Kiva Recovery treatment center is located 35 miles from downtown Chicago in the beautiful northern suburbs of Lake County, IL. To learn more, please visit www.KivaRecovery.com.