This emotion is quite often fear, even though we may not realise it. If surrender is all about acceptance and letting go of control and expectations, then the opposite of surrender is resistance. Take a look at our state of the art treatment center.
Most recovering addicts, especially those who attend the 12-step program, are pretty familiar with the concept of powerlessness. After all, helplessness isn’t a concept that solely applies to addiction, although it might be the https://en.forexdata.info/mash-certification/ first step to recovery and sobriety. Addiction treatment centers discuss the concept of powerlessness in therapy to help people recover. It may seem like admitting powerlessness is giving up, but the exact opposite is true.
Overt Denial of Powerlessness
It’s an act of facing what is, and allowing it to move through you. We deny how much we’ve lost, and how much of ourselves has become buried under our addiction. It’s not a one-time action, but rather an ongoing practice. It dictates our thoughts, our actions, our days, and our relationships. If someone accosts me in a parking lot and threatens to kill me if I don’t get in his car, I have choices.
We have had at least one good reason, probably more. We’re powerless when our mind is obsessing, so it’s nearly impossible to make the right decision. The concept behind the references to God or a higher power in the 12-step program is to support addicts in the understanding that they need to find a source of strength that’s greater than themselves alone. This could mean God, a general belief system or the recovery community itself. Regardless of what addicts identify as their own personal higher power, it’s an expression that means they’re accountable to someone or something that’s bigger, more powerful and more influential than themselves.
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It presumes your own uniqueness or difference, as referenced earlier. Submit yourself to the process of recovery and allow yourself the gift of patience while you wait for it to take hold. Often when you attend your first 12 Step meeting or read stories about others’ addictions, this thought can cross your mind. But this assumption of uniqueness minimizes the impact of your current addiction on yourself and others. When we choose to see vulnerability as an act of courage rather than weakness, we create possibilities and move more fully toward the person we want to be.
- Pay attention to the statements below that sound familiar to you.
- When you lay it all out, you will see that you did not have control in those moments.
- You can no more overcome your addiction all by sheer force of will than others can treat their cancer or diabetes without the help of medical professionals.
- The accountability and encouragement in meetings and therapy break the power of secrecy where addiction thrives.
As with all things, this journey begins at step one. The program emphasizes building motivation and self-empowerment skills, employing strategies to control urges, managing thoughts at the root of addictive behaviors and living a healthy, balanced life. Go to the “Meetings” tab at to find an in-person or online meeting to attend. SMART Recovery takes a strong position on power vs. powerlessness in addiction recovery. Are we doomed to a life of never-ending affliction, temptation, and struggle because we are powerless over uncurable addiction?
Renewal Center for Ongoing Recovery
After long periods of substance use, the prefrontal cortex part of the brain becomes damaged. This part of the brain controls our decision-making, our impulse inhibition, and our problem-solving abilities. The parts of the brain that become compromised through addiction control the things we need if we want to experience a long-lasting and healthy recovery from addiction.
It is not an excuse to continue in a destructive cycle because there’s nothing you can do about it. Whatever the reason, admitting powerlessness is to say that practicing self-control does 20 Natural Alcohol Detox Supplements and Vitamins not undo the effects of drugs or alcohol on the brain. Accepting this reality is what will equip you to seek treatment rather than deny that there is a problem in the first place.