Rebuilding Trust After Addiction
After you’ve started the recovery process from addiction, you might find that it’s hard to rebuild trust with family and friends. This is a process that will take faith on your part as well as faith from those you have relationships with. They will need to see the change in you before they can fully trust you again. If you follow a few steps, then you can begin to live a life that is full of love and trust once again.
Part of the Recovery Process
No matter how long you were addicted to drugs, you probably lost material possessions, money, and relationships. You will usually see physical changes, such as weight loss. You might lose your job and even lose your freedom if you are arrested and spend time in jail. Recovery is a process of addiction. It’s something that you need to want for yourself instead of something that you want to do simply because you’re trying to make other people happy or because you’re ordered to enter a recovery program. Losing the trust of others is often one of the hardest things that you’ll go through with addiction. Family members might hide their valuables, or may not want to spend time with you. When these situations come up, remind yourself that rebuilding trust after addiction is earned instead of given.
How to Regain Trust after Addiction
The first thing that you need to do when you’re trying to gain the trust of others is to focus on yourself. This may seem counter-intuitive in reaching out to others, but it’s imperative in the recovery process. When rebuilding trust after addiction, you need to work on the reasons why you were addicted in the first place. If you haven’t already begun attending church, find a church to attend so that you have the encouragement that you need in your life. Look inside yourself to dispel the lies and rumors that the drugs have told you over the course of months or years in order to live a positive life. You may also want to begin volunteering to help others. If you surround yourself with positive activities and people, then you’ll begin to see that there is quality in your life in many ways.
Creating a Routine
When you’re recovering from addiction, it’s important to create a routine in your life. St. Gregory Recovery Center aims to equip each person with the tools necessary to live in recovery long-term. When people see that you have a routine and that they can trust your habits once again, then they will begin to trust you as a person. You don’t have to be a robot, but try to find a method to what you do every day. Go to church on Sundays. Attend a few classes during the week. Finding a job will be a big step in gaining the trust of others. You’ll be able to replenish the money that you have lost and begin to pay off the debts that you have accrued, which can go a long way with gaining back the trust that you have lost with family and friends.
Have Patience
Rebuilding trust with others will take some time, and it may take more than one positive action for them to realize that you have changed and are ready to reconcile. Just as you learned to be patient in addiction treatment, you must continue to be patient and trust that God will repair relationships in His time.
