Recovery is a holistic transformation that extends into every aspect of your life: physical, emotional, psychological, mental, spiritual—you name it. And while sobriety may look like a series of straightforward physical and mental achievements at first—your sense of identity can also change for the better. Throughout St. Gregory Recovery Center’s residential addiction treatment programs for alcohol and drug addiction in Iowa, we can guide you or your loved one as you adopt a new sense of self.
At St. Gregory locations in Des Moines and Bayard, our staff understands the science behind reframing an ‘addict’ identity as a ‘recovery’ identity. Recreating what makes you—well—you is crucial to beating addiction, and that re-creation needs community and educational resources to play out:
- Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT): CBT’s goal is to toss negative and defeating thoughts and beliefs out of your head and pair up new healthy thoughts with healthy actions. This typically includes learning to recognize sabotaging thoughts and place proactive, encouraging thoughts in their place. This process also helps you think about yourself differently, helping you to conceptualize a new, sober identity.
- Behavioral modification therapy: Behavioral modification therapy has a similar end goal as CBT and works best for people who struggle with addiction along with other types of mental or behavioral disorders like hyperactivity, anxiety disorders, or obsessive-compulsive disorder.
- Equine therapy: Equine therapy pairs you with a horse to care for while you’re in treatment. Caring for a sensitive animal helps you develop trust, build self-confidence, learn better coping skills for difficult emotions, and reinforce your ability to emotionally regulate. The skills you develop can directly influence your new identity formation in positive ways.
CBT, behavioral modification therapy, and equine therapy are just three treatments that may help you create a new vision of yourself. Our alumni program is another ongoing resource for maintaining your new identity once you’ve graduated from inpatient care. Contact us today with any questions about how to build a strong sense of self and keep reading to learn tips on how to recognize who you are and who you’ll work to be.
Challenging the Diseased Addict Concept
For some, believing that addiction is an incurable disease that will always flare up can be a powerful concept that deters substance abuse. But, what about people that find that idea suffocating or disempowering as they begin to transform from a lifestyle marked by addiction to an entirely new type of existence?
Some research shows that challenging the diseased-addict approach to recovery can be beneficial for patients as they navigate recovery, create a new self-image, and learn to cope without relying on substances.
Here are potential ways that reframing addiction as an event or phase rather than a chronic disease can enrich a new identity:
- You may no longer feel you have a perpetual, medical weakness.
- You might feel less alienated or different from others.
- You could find it easier to ask yourself “who am I?” when addiction isn’t labeled as your lifelong chronic illness.
Claim Space in a Community
Social support, belonging, and interaction drive a large part of recovery and the formation of a new sober identity. Ask yourself where you feel you might fit in socially, how you can give back to a community, and how you can fuse your interests with others to have fun and stay engaged. Who you spend time with says a lot about you, yes—your community can also inform you of who you are.
As you finish your programs or enter a group or individual therapy session, ask yourself:
- What was my life like before I found my new community?
- What was my experience like in recovery?
- What have I learned in recovery that can help me in other areas of my life?
- Who was I before that helped me become who I am today?
Once you’ve found a place in a community of people who respect, appreciate, and support your sobriety, you may start to feel like a new person.
Think About Who You Are Outside of Recovery
It’s perfectly fine, and often uplifting, to identify as a recovery community member. It’s also true that you’re more than a former addict or a recovered person. You’re a family member, a partner, a friend, a professional—a complex person with goals, dreams, talents, quirks, and interests. To gain a clearer understanding of who you are now, ask yourself who you are and what you do in your social spaces, studies, job or career, and home life.
Build a New Recovery Identity with St. Gregory Recovery Center
Whether we see you in Des Moines for outpatient care or at our Bayard facility, we’re here to help you get to know yourself. Remember that creating a new identity takes time, but many tips may make the new image you see in the mirror a little clearer.
