Living with addiction and mental health issues, we’re no strangers to self-judgment and beating ourselves up. It’s almost as if self-disparagement and self-rejection come with the territory. To heal ourselves and work towards sobriety, we want to shed the misunderstanding and unkindness we’ve been punishing ourselves with. We want to free ourselves from the limitations of our insecurities. We want to unburden ourselves of all the fear and sadness we’ve become so accustomed to feeling. Many of us feel inadequate and ashamed of ourselves. We lack confidence and self-assuredness. We struggle to make it through the day and usually wind up feeling down on ourselves, defeated and hopeless. How can we stop feeling so down on ourselves? How can we start to lift ourselves up rather than constantly knocking ourselves down?

Feeling insecure and inadequate is a thought pattern we’ve been practicing, often for years at a time. Thought patterns are not set in stone, and our minds can actually be rewired to think differently. We just need to practice new thought patterns of self-love to replace all the self-hatred and self-rejection we’ve been perpetuating. When we’re working to heal our minds, sometimes our natural instinct is to resist change. We’re so used to feeling bad about ourselves that our minds will resist anything new or different. We might have thoughts that reinforce our insecurities, that try to convince us to give up hope, that tell us we’ll never be able to change how we think. These thoughts are normal and are part of the healing process. Proceed with your healing work anyway, and don’t let them discourage you. Don’t let the natural resistance that arises during healing derail your progress or make you lose sight of your goals.

We can change our thought patterns by reprogramming our subconscious minds and developing totally new thought patterns. In this case, we want to build up our sense of security, our confidence, our self-assuredness and our faith in ourselves. We want to practice new thought patterns that reflect these values. “I love myself. I am more than good enough. I am a work in progress. I deserve love. I deserve happiness. I am capable of healing myself. I am growing, changing and healing. I believe in myself. I have faith in myself. I am confident. I am secure. I am at peace within myself. I can heal myself. I can transform my mind. I can be good to myself.”

Bayview Recovery is here to help you achieve lasting recovery, not only from your substance abuse but also from your own self-rejection. We’re here to help you build a life you can be happy with. Call 888-570-7154 today.