Climate Change
No, I do not mean changing of the weather, or the warming or cooling of the planet. What I mean is changing of people, places, & things. How many times have we heard it shared that to get & stay in recovery, we must change people, places, & things?
According to American Addiction Centers, these concepts are vital to early recovery because they could be triggers to people. Individuals’ brains remember the feeling of using & drinking, the people, the environment, the activities, the rewarding & pleasurable activities that come with addiction, & every single detail of the experience or experiences in addiction.
Additionally, if one is experiencing suicidal ideations, drugs & alcohol can exacerbate these thoughts, increasing one’s risk of self-harm or risk of suicide via cognitive inhibitions. It is essential to seek help immediately if needed. Using alcohol & drugs can impact your mental health, & having suicidal thoughts can impact your mental health too.
Somedays, we might be struggling with our mental health. Where we are, the people we are around, the things we are doing could either be negatively or positively impacting our mental health. If we are being negatively impacted, change can help toward improving us. The environment leads & guides us, & it is up to us to either allow it or not. It is through learning new things, new behaviors, new thoughts, new skills, & building a new network that we get to reset, & sometimes even restart.
Remember, Heraclitus said “the only constant in life is change.”
Do we take the road less traveled, or do we take the road that is most traveled? I need to ask myself what people, places, & things do I want in my life today?
Peace & love to all
~ KO
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