How to Find Hope When Recovery Feels Hopeless

Great Expectations

Recovery can’t begin until you’re ready to get well. It’s no secret that you can’t be forced into rehabilitation…the first steps towards facing your addiction head on are recognizing your addiction for what it is, and acknowledging that you can get better.  Hope may seem like an abstract notion, but it’s the actual linchpin to any healing. 

If you feel hopeless about your healing journey, if you’ve told yourself you’ll never be able to cope without your addiction, or if you’ve given up having a future, it will seem like there’s no reason to get better. But there is always a reason to get better…seeing it will start with finding your hope again.

Getting Hope Back

The myth is that you can’t be hopeful while you still feel sadness. The truth is emotions are complicated, and one doesn’t cancel out the other.

We all love an inspirational story…and whether or not you can see it now, you’re living out your own right now. If you’re feeling a lack of hope, draw from your own experiences. Ask a friend to help you remember difficult times in your past when you’ve been able to overcome obstacles, get through a difficulty, or challenge yourself in a way you weren’t sure was possible. Ask friends, family, and church members to share moments in their lives when the future looked bleak, but things turned out for the better. Go to Scripture to see how God moves in His people’s darkest moments. Make a list of people who inspire you and take note of how they give you hope. Start a gratitude journal and make a small note each day of something you’re thankful for, even as you struggle. Make it simple. Where do you see hope? Sunrise in the morning. A night of sleep. Money for food. A job. A meal with someone you love. Find hope where it already exists around you. 

Myths About Hope

Myth: You can’t be hopeful and still feel sad.
Truth: Emotions are tricky, and one does not necessarily negate another. Embrace the tension of feeling two things at once: grief and gratefulness. Hope and hardship. You can be in the very depth of your struggle with addiction and still feel hope. 

Myth: Hope means always looking ahead.
Truth: Hope for the future can often bring us back into appropriately grieving what’s happened in our past. Looking back and taking stock of what we’ve been through can be difficult, but it may be part of building hope for our futures.

Myth: Hopefulness means denial.
Truth: We can be completely aware of the tremendous difficulties around us and still hold out hope. Hope is a deep seed of recognition that still insists on a brighter future. Being fully aware of the severity of your addiction can absolutely go hand in hand with knowing that healing is possible.

As you enter the New Year, find new ways to cling to hope…it will be your closest companion on the road to recovery.

Put It Into Practice

Sometimes we need to create a narrative that speaks truth when we can’t seem to find it anywhere else.

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Give yourself hope by encouraging it in others. Write someone a card that inspires them to keep going. Give to an organization that helps people in need. Attend the meeting, even if you’re not feeling hopeful about your own recovery. Act hopeful until you are hopeful.

Other Interesting Reads about The Road to Recovery

Verified Reliable Sources for the Content in This Article:
Why Is Hope so Powerful in Recovery? via Ashley Recovery Center