Guilt and shame in addiction recovery are some of the biggest hurdles that addicts will face. Shame can be caused by a wide range of factors — such as trauma or challenging social environments — and often https://ecosoberhouse.com/ causes feelings of deep inadequacy, lack of worth and the need to hide. It can trigger a dependency on alcohol or drugs as a method of escape. Consuming drugs and alcohol are harmful activities.

Guild and shame are common emotions people experience throughout life, especially during addiction recovery, but what’s the difference between the two? Below, you’ll learn about the differences between the two emotions and how they affect a person’s life. Most people with substance use disorder are likely to suffer from mental health conditions. If you also have a dual diagnosis, you must follow a collaborative treatment plan that can simultaneously address both disorders. Seeking help for drug addiction can be even more difficult because you must acknowledge that you made some bad choices. These bad choices can lead to guilt and shame both during and after recovery.

Substance Use Treatment

Shame, on the other hand, is related to humiliation. Embarrassment is the root of shame, which can lead to additional feelings of hurt. Usually, people who feel ashamed isolate themselves, which can be especially dangerous in addiction recovery. Unlike people who feel guilty, those who feel shameful may avoid a situation instead of trying to help it. Shame causes people to run away from issues and avoid things that need to be done or said. The feeling also promotes hopelessness, sadness, heartache, and even self-pity, all of which can have negative results.

Between these two emotions, shame is the most destructive. While shame is a natural offshoot of guilt and remorse, internalizing it in recovery is dangerous. When shame becomes part of your self-identity, it can prevent you guilt and shame in recovery from moving forward in recovery. A deep sense of shame sets up the broader feeling of unworthiness, of being unworthy of love, support, or help. Shame can become toxic to your recovery efforts, even set you up for a relapse.

How to Break the Cycle of Guilt, Shame & Regret

Shame is a feeling of humiliation or embarrassment caused by feeling that you are wrong or bad in some way. This therapy gives clients the tools to cope with life’s problems. It helps clients look at the world differently, changing self-destructive patterns into positive actions. While you may admit your guilt and feel some shame, it is a good idea to work toward forgiving yourself. You still admit to the wrong, but you let yourself move on with your life.

Coming out of addiction, it is easy to be critical of oneself and recognize the challenges and still be hard on oneself. No one deserves to kick themselves over and over out of guilt and shame. Yes, things that were done caused pain to others and oneself but dwelling on them does nothing more than cause self-destruction. Recognizing this is the key to moving forward and finding healing. The struggle to recover from addiction is a lifelong process.