Tips for Making Living Amends
Making amends is one of the vital steps to addiction recovery. It is not enough to feel sorry for your past actions. When people get addicted, they start to care less about anything else. They could steal, lose interest in work, choose solitude, or lash out at people who offer help.
So, they hurt themselves as well as the people around them. However, as a person continues the journey of sobriety, repairing those broken bridges becomes necessary. To fix these messes, you have to offer more than apologies. You should make living amends.
What are Living Amends?
Living amends means taking on a new lifestyle with honest, responsible actions and staying sober. Making living amends goes further than giving an apology or returning things you took. Although those acts may earn you some forgiveness, they will only be lasting if you live differently. The key is to actively change your lifestyle and actions for the better.
For example, if you used to go late to work, commit to heading out early. You can start by going early the next time you go to work. And the day after that. Gradually, you will build a pattern of being punctual and more responsible at your job. That’s a living amends.
So, here we listed the main tips for making living amends.
Take back control of your life and start on the road to recovery now.
Understand that it’s a life-long process
Recovery is a full-on commitment. So, completing the 12 steps of recovery cannot make you fully recover. It involves every decision and action you take when staying sober. So, if you haven’t yet seen the results you want, give it time.
When you actively do things right, you shape your character to be the better version of yourself. And you don’t stop growing. So, you should keep working on being better and having better relationships.
Commit to your growth
When you make amends, you help yourself and those you relate to. However, you shouldn’t take this step to impress or convince others. Instead, you must commit to being a better person for yourself.
People who stay faithful can live without struggling to stay happy or consistent. So, be honest with yourself and focus on living right.
Move at your pace
There’s no need to rush into activities if you do not feel up to them. You can take up hobbies or activities you used to do one at a time. This is, however, not a license to avoid responsibility or be lazy. Pacing yourself is a strategy you could use to avoid being overwhelmed by your emotions or physical stress.
For instance, split them if you have errands that can be run on different days of the week. There is no reason to overwork yourself when you can work smartly. In fact, you will be a lot more efficient when you only take on tasks that you can handle properly. As a plus, you’ll stay healthy, and your body will thank you!
Refrain from unhelpful relationships
Relationships play a significant role in alcohol recovery. If you surround yourself with people who support your sobriety, recovery will be much easier. On the other hand, if you go back to going out with your drinking buddies, your recovery could be at risk.
So, as you commit yourself to good actions, you should also commit to good relationships. One easy way to do this is to stay in touch with friends you made during recovery. Or people who share your goal of staying sober. They can support and encourage you as you make amends, providing support and encouragement for your amends.
Acknowledge your little wins
Appreciating yourself for achieving your goals is an excellent way to build self-confidence. So, each time you set a goal and achieve it, acknowledge it. You could make little notes on them or keep a journal. Journaling can help you keep track and focus on the behaviors you have to work on.
At the same time, don’t beat yourself up if you fail. It’s also part of the process. As long as you stay positive and learn from your mistakes, you’ll see growth. Recovery is a life-long process, and every little change you make counts.
This can be a difficult journey, but you don’t have to go it alone. Let us be your guide and provide you the environment needed to regain control of your life and begin the path to recovery.
Conclusion
At ecosoberhouse.com, we understand the value of having guidance in addiction recovery. So, please don’t hesitate to call out to us and join our community.
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