You might not think that Demi Lovato is much of an authority on the issue of addiction recovery. However, she candidly admits that she has “been there, done that,” and she has said and done many things to encourage others to keep their eyes on the goal of the journey, not the bumps and turns along the way.
Recovery Is a Journey
When you are in the grips of addiction, you may hope and pray for the ability to instantly break free from its stranglehold. Rarely, if ever, does that work. It is understandable that you feel trapped and that you hope to find a key that unlocks the door to complete recovery and effect your escape immediately. You, and your well-meaning friends and loved ones, need to understand that neither addiction recovery nor life works that way. It is always a journey.
Dictionary.com defines a journey as “traveling from one place to another, usually taking a rather long time.” Interestingly, an alternate definition is “progress from one stage to another.”
“Recovery is something that you have to work on every single day, and it’s something that doesn’t get a day off.” – Demi Lovato
Keep the Goal of the Journey in Mind
Lovato spent over a year in a “sober living facility” in Los Angeles to make her journey from addictions to recovery. Her successful experience was documented by MTV in 2012. In that documentary, she reflects “on the rough road that led her to self-harm and addiction.” It is interesting to note that she recognized that the need to start on the road to recovery was not the result of a single event. Rather, it resulted from an understanding that it was necessary to get off of the road that she had been traveling for a long time and make a concerted effort to turn around and head in a better direction.
Perhaps that is why she was able to realize that the road to recovery is often a long road, not just an exit ramp on the highway of life. In her own words, she offers this encouragement that you can take to heart to help you with your journey:
“No matter what you’re going through, there’s a light at the end of the tunnel, and it may seem hard to get to it, but you can do it. Just keep working towards it, and you’ll find the positive side of things.”
Just Keep Working Toward It
For whatever reasons, Lovato understood that the way to get to the goal of recovery is to just keep working toward it. When you step back for a moment and look at the big picture, that makes perfect sense.
After all, people do not recover from broken bones, infectious diseases, or other illnesses just by swallowing a pill. Recovery always takes time. Even recovering from a common cold takes a week or so. Recovering from the grip of major diseases can take months or even years.
Looking at things from the even broader perspective of life itself, consider this: How long does it take someone to become successful in a career? Generally, it takes years. Even entertainers like Demi Lovato who are often labeled as “overnight successes” never really do achieve success that rapidly. Success in any meaningful endeavor always takes a sustained effort over a period of time.
Take Heart for the Journey
This does not mean that you should be discouraged. To the contrary, though the road is a long one, there is every reason for you to be confident that you can travel it successfully. If you are reading this, you are already taking steps down that road, and your journey is that much shorter than it was before.
Consider another quote from Lovato:
“I think scars are like battle wounds – beautiful in a way. They show what you’ve been through and how strong you are for coming out of it.”
You may have some scars at the end of your journey to recovery. But remember that scars are signs of healing. They are signs that you have survived something intent on destroying you. They are signs that you have made it to your goal on the road to recovery.
We’re Here to Help
If you or your loved one needs to begin the journey to recovery, contact us. We will show you how to get started and how to stay on the road until you reach your destination.