Addiction Letter Addressed to Self
Having a journal where you write about your everyday life experiences has been found to have psychological benefits such as decreasing depression, managing anxiety, and reducing stress. A goodbye letter to addiction is similar to journaling because you document your emotions, and you will likely experience the same effects. Writing, in general, is therapeutic because it helps you put your feelings down on paper and allows you to get out your emotions. Writing down things about your life helps you move past them and focus on more important things ahead.
A goodbye letter to addiction can also help you focus on the future. If you feel depressed or weighed down during your recovery and are tempted to go back to your addiction, this letter may serve as a strong reminder as to why you decided to get sober in the first place. As such, you will feel energized to continue your recovery journey until you attain full sobriety.
Benefits of Writing an Addiction Letter
Getting treatment, going to a rehab center, and attending a recovery program are some of the first steps to getting clean, but addiction recovery is a process. One mechanism to help you in your recovery journey is writing a goodbye letter to addiction.
The benefits of writing a goodbye letter to addiction include:
- It helps to decrease resistance and ambivalence to recoveryWriting a goodbye letter to addiction is a strategic, deliberate, and intentional way of declaring your intentions to leave the ways of alcohol and drug abuse. Documenting this type of declaration in writing makes it a SMART goal. Studies reveal that people who write their goals are 40% more likely to achieve them than those who never put down their goals in writing.Therefore, writing a goodbye letter to addiction keeps you committed to the decision of ending a life of addiction even when you feel like giving up.
- It has therapeutic benefitsIt has been proven that writing a goodbye letter to addiction has some therapeutic benefits. These goodbye letters to drugs, alcohol, or any other substance can help people address significant experiences in their lives related to their addiction. It helps you pen down thoughts and decisions you will otherwise struggle to say.
- Open Lines of CommunicationWriting a goodbye letter to addiction helps you connect better with your therapist, especially in the early stages of your recovery process, where you may find it difficult to open up. In addition, this addiction letter helps you document your deepest thoughts. This helps your therapist understand you better if you decide to share the letter with them. Its make easier communication with family.
- It helps your future selfYour goodbye letter to addiction will help you in the future. When you feel weighed down and feel like giving up, you can look back on this letter and remind yourself of why you started the recovery journey in the first place. This may give you the needed motivation to stay on track and fully stay clean.
- It provides you with closureJust like in the case of a breakup in a romantic relationship, sometimes you need a break or closure to make a final decision. Writing a goodbye letter to addiction may give you this closure or break you need to end your relationship with drugs and other substances. With this goodbye letter, you can say a final goodbye to your addiction and all the past experiences it came with. Instead, you begin to focus on your future in recovery.
Take back control of your life and start on the road to recovery now.
Tips on how to write a goodbye letter to addiction
Although writing a goodbye letter to addiction may seem exciting in theory, if you’re not properly guided, you might not know where to start from.
If you asking: How long should a goodbye letter to my addiction be? What should the content be? Instead of getting overwhelmed, these tips will help you get started.
- First, focus on your whyYour “why” is your biggest motivation in the recovery process. What led you to make this life-transforming decision? Why are you saying goodbye to addiction? Are you ready to take full responsibility for your decision? If you can sincerely answer these questions from the depth of your heart, it will help you to stay focused on your recovery journey.
- Talk about the benefitsLook to the future and talk about the benefits of sobriety. What will your life look like when you say goodbye to addiction? You may feel as though you have wasted your life all this while, but look beyond all that. No matter how deep you have gotten into addiction, it is never too late to turn a new leaf. Visualize a brighter future ahead of you when you finally say goodbye to addiction.
- Create an action planThe truth is that you will not just say goodbye to addiction just by mere wishes; you will need to work it out. You need to be deliberate about the whole process. Sit down and write out actionable steps you need to make to arrive at your destination of sobriety.
- Give yourself a positive affirmationIf you believe you can say goodbye to a life of addiction, you’re right, and if you feel you cannot, you’re also right. Therefore, it is your decision to know where you want to channel all your energy towards. You can achieve this by giving yourself a positive affirmation. Look at yourself in the mirror and say, “I can do this” . You are far stronger than your addiction. You need to keep reminding yourself of these words through positive affirmations.
- Ignore grammarYeah, you heard that correctly. Write from your heart. Document every thought that comes to your mind. Do not be limited by grammatical correctness or spelling. Just let it out the way it is. Be honest with yourself. Write exactly how you feel. What can you say on paper that you’ve never said to anyone? All these should be captured in your goodbye letter to addiction.
- Write different versionsRecovery is a journey. It will take time; feel free to pen down new thoughts as your life changes and update the letter too. Be detailed enough; write as many versions as possible.
A Sample of “Letter to My Addiction”
Dear addiction,
I was just a little naive boy when I encountered you. You first walked into my life as a substance and bottle. You enticed me with an elevation of mood, highness, and glamour, enriching my life with blind and ignorant surprises. I saw you sweep those I look up to off their feet; I felt you could transport me to that place of power, happiness, relevance, influence, and acceptance. So I innocently followed you with every fiber of my being.
You left me stuck in the shallow pool of mindless bliss; you left me with no choice but to continue sifting through your multifaceted layers. I desperately kept looking for that which I never truly found.
I tested all your flavors, looking for the right composition for my soul’s essence but never found any. Then, just the point where I thought I had found the right answer in your presence, you pulled the balance off my staggering feet only to bury me in shame and self-guilt.
I thought I found all I needed in life through you, but you left me heartbroken. You opened doors I gladly entered only to find emptiness, self-doubt, and continuous failure in life.
The mirage and bond you trapped me in will never be missed. I bear the indelible mark of the scars you left me. As I bury you today with all the pain you caused me; I will crush you and strive to be a better version of myself- a self you stopped me from expressing. I make a commitment by the help of God to lay you aside today and all the weight you brought into my life. I will not stop until I become all God created me to be.
I say goodbye to all your momentary pleasures and enticing charms. All your deceit over me has come to an end. I make a commitment to deliver as many as I can from your false grip. A new dawn awaits me as I bid you goodbye today. My breeze will blow you as I begin a new era today.
Cheers to the new me
Anonymous
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Wrapping up
Ending your relationship with addiction may seem complicated, but it is not impossible. “Letter to my addiction” method will help to finish them without pain. If you’re struggling to get started, we are here for you. Contact us at ecosoberhouse.com today, and we will be willing to hold you by the hand throughout your recovery journey.
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