Any kind of recovery road involves learning to lean on others and trust them. You get to a stand point of being unable to go forward or make any sense out of your pain and lostness.
Reaching out is what can save us. It is also the scariest move most of us will ever make. We all like to think we are strong, independent, don’t need help, can solve things ourselves. When it comes to illnesses/addictions, particularly those in realm of mental health, we need help.
There are issues, the past, pain, dependency, fears, insecurities that need to be understood. Not only understanding them but learning how to live with them, learn from them, and move forward despite them. Often our weaknesses can be turned to strengths or used in another way to benefit us. It is the external help we get that gives us that knowledge. Often we can’t see the solution because we are so overwhelmed with the problem.
Reaching out also builds friendships and a social network. This is sadly missing to anyone with addictions, mental health illnesses etc. We live in isolation because that’s how the illnesses work. Shame, ignorance and fear keep us there. Learning to accept others into our lives breaks the power the illnesses have over us.
I love the pic that I have put with this post. Recovery is just that – a leap of faith. We start with the seed of hope and wanting to change. Anything has to be better than where we live at the moment. But it takes courage to reach out the hand and grasp what is being offered. It is like leaping off the cliff, having no idea who or what is below us, just the knowledge we desire a better life. I have found every time that leaping off the cliff is not leaping to nothing nor instant death. There is always someone below, someone to catch you, someone to walk the distance. The most bravest thing you can do is leap. Sitting still and staying where you are is not the safest nor bravest decision. It only prolongs the pain and decision to recover. Oh and no bungie jumping, you don’t want a cord tied around your leg to bounce you back into the depths of where you just leapt out from!
