5 valuable lessons I learned when recovering from cocaine addiction

Going through addiction recovery has been up to this day the most challenging experience I’ve lived. It was also the most rewarding one. They say good things in life take time, and in my case, I can tell you that is definitely true. I spent quite a few of my good years abusing substances thinking it was the only way for me to enjoy life.

I lost friends and loved ones who at the end, couldn’t bear to see me like that. Time went by and I decided to get my life back on track. It was extremely challenging and it took a lot of love not only from those that decided to stand by me but also by myself. I fell behind a few times but now that I’ve come so far on this journey I’d like to share 5 valuable lessons I learned while going to rehab.

I learned the real value of forgiveness

Realising the extent of hurt you’ve inflicted upon yourself and your loved ones is not something that is easy to accept. Learning how to live with it isn’t either. Nevertheless, in rehab, hand-in-hand with everyone who showed me support and unconditional love I got to see past my depression and self-loathing and got to discover how amazing it is to be able to forgive and truly ask for forgiveness.

The hardest part was to forgive me. It took a long time for me to understand and get over what I had done. Once I got there, I realised that life was worth living in other terms and that as long as I had inner peace, everything else would fall into place.

I learned how to take better care of my body

Growing up no one really guided me through the path of adulthood, and one of the things I value the most from the recovery process is the fact that I learned to be a much better adult than what I thought I’d ever be. I learned how to be responsible with my body.

I felt that I was in debt with myself and wanted to pay back in every possible way. I started eating better, which lead to me feeling better, healthier and even happier. My whole appearance changed for good and everybody was noticing, and for the first time in my life, they were noticing me for something good.

I learned how to take better care of my mind

Ever since I was a teenager I was into deep sci-fi stories, movies, books and so on; what always got my attention is how they emphasised all the time how important the mind is. The body cannot live well if the mind is unhealthy. While going through rehab this concept took a completely new meaning for me.

I learned that by working on my mind I’m fighting half the battle. Most of the issues I had that led me to substance abuse were in my mind. If we can get sense of control over our mental issues, we control our problems. I have never been too spiritual, but practicing meditation and yoga definitely widened the boundaries to what I thought I was capable of and welcomed my being into a new realm of peace where I was given a second chance.

I learned to redefine fun and it wasn’t a bad thing at all

I used to be one of those guys who always thought that you couldn’t have fun without alcohol, and well, later on, without drugs; it was even worse considering all my party people were the same as me, and we really didn’t enjoy anything besides sitting down to drink and do drugs until we passed out.

It was very hard for me to believe I could have fun being sober; however, once I turned my life around I decided to surround myself with different people. They were more productive and focused on what they wanted. I learned from that. I discovered that there are endless amounts of things that I could do for fun that did not involve abusing any substances.

The one I like the most is definitely traveling. There will never be a price that I can put on the number of amazing people, places and things I’ve got to see by just going from A to B. It’s something you always learn new things from… literally no downside to it.

I learned to be patient

When I first started going to recovery I used to get very anxious wishing it all to be over. I couldn’t really see myself going through years of treatment and dedication. I just wanted it all to be fixed in a few months so I could move on with my life. As we all know, good things in life take time. They also take dedication, motivation and most of all: Patience.

I was never a patient person, but I learned how to be. I got to see small changes, appreciating how my hard work started to pay off. Everything I changed in my life, started to gain value and make more sense when I started to see results. Of course, it took a while for me to start noticing changes, but when it happened, I knew I couldn’t just stop.

The changes in my body due to a healthier diet and a workout routine, the changes in my personality due to meditating, yoga and new perspectives, the people that came back to me with open arms and all the love I thought I never deserved. It was all worth it.

I can’t say my addiction was a blessing in disguise, but all the things I learned from recovering most certainly were the best things I could have ever experienced. Gaining back my self-esteem, love, and respect I once lost due to all the wrong reasons is in my perspective something worth feeling grateful and blessed for.

I got a second chance at everything and I never thought I’d deserve one. I can say that the saying keep calm and carry on takes a whole new meaning when you’re brought back to life and get to actually enjoy it with everyone you love.

Support services in Ireland

• drugs.ie | Emergency Hotline HSE National Drugs Helpline 1800 459 459 | Email: info@drugs.ie
• Drugs and Alcohol helpline – Freephone: 1800 459 459 | Email: helpline@hse.ie
• Yourmentalhealth.ie – Alcohol and drugs
• Samaritans 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org
• Pieta House 01 601 0000 or email mary@pieta.ie – (suicide, self-harm)