12 Signs of Emotional Immaturity in Recovery
The Dangers of Emotional immaturity in addiction recovery are discussed here. Emotional immaturity can be a real stumbling block to building a successful recovery. The dangers of this inability to cope with feelings include:
* When people are emotionally immature, they will be far more likely to relapse back to their addiction. This is because they will not have the inner resources to prevent a slide back to the abuse. This type of individual can easily be knocked off course by any challenge to their sobriety.
* In order to build a successful life away from addiction, the individual will need to work hard. Things do not magically fall into place once people stop abusing their bodies with alcohol and drugs. The real work with emotional immaturity in addiction recovery begins after people have given up the substance abuse. If the individual is emotionally immature, they may not have the required inner resources to get the work done.
* Emotionally immature people struggle with interpersonal relationships. Friends and family may find them difficult to be around because of their demands and expectations. Such individuals can also struggle to build new friendships. If people are lonely in recovery they are far more likely to relapse.
* Those people who are emotionally immature will be willing to settle for a less than optimum level of sobriety. They may even develop dry drunk syndrome where they view their life in recovery as being similar to serving a prison sentence. Those who manage to escape an addiction deserve to find happiness; they will not be able to do this without emotional sobriety. This hard, but powerful work on emotional immaturity in addiction recovery they will learn in a good drug rehab centre program.
Healing from emotional immaturity in addiction recovery is a wonderful asset. It means that they:
* Find it easy to live in the moment
* Have the ability to be of use to other people who are in need
* Suffer a great deal less from stress and stress related illness
* Sleep soundly at night
* Make friends easily and have developed meaningful interpersonal relationships
* Tend to be optimistic about the future
* Do not suffer from wild fluctuations in mood, but rather feel inner peace most of the time.
* Feel able to cope even when life becomes tough
* Do not feel the need to abuse alcohol or drugs in an attempt to escape their feelings.
* Are able to regulate their own behaviour
3.How to overcome emotional immaturity in addiction recovery. These are some of the things that an individual can do to develop emotional sobriety:
* Emotional sobriety develops from experience. If people are willing to face the challenges and dangerous emotions that come their way during recovery, they will mature every time they do this. Facing these challenges means doing whatever is required to overcome them, and not attempting to hide behind addiction or other maladaptive behaviors.
* It is suggested that those who become dependent on alcohol or drugs have addictive personalities. This means that they have certain characteristics that make them more prone to this type of negative behavior. When people are in recovery it may be easy for them to slip into other addictive behaviors such as workaholism or fitness fanaticism. Such obsession means they can avoid facing the real issues in their life. In order to develop emotional sobriety the individual needs to let go of all addictions and face life on life’s terms.
* Recovery fellowships such as Alcoholics Anonymous provide a program to help members overcome emotional immaturity in addiction recovery. In order to benefit from this, the member will need to do more than just attend the meeting. They will need to make a sincere effort to practice the 12 Steps in their daily life.
* Emotional sobriety means having realistic expectations of what is possible and what is not possible in recovery. The individual accepts that progress takes time and that all their problems are not going to be solved instantly. It means accepting that people tend to get from life what they put into it.
* Meditation techniques such as mindfulness can be highly useful for helping people develop emotional maturity. This type of practice requires that the individual try to live in the moment. It also involves closely examining emotions and accepting their fleeting nature. The practitioner of mindfulness meditation comes to understand that they are not their emotions, and they do not have to be a victim of them either.
* Keeping a journal is another way that people can encourage their emotional development. This provides the individual with the opportunity to reflect on their experiences. They will also be able to track their feelings over time. Another benefit of keeping a journal is that it allows the individual to better understand their inner drives, the motivations behind their behavior. This is a part of any good emotional immaturity in addiction recovery program.
* Humans are highly influenced by the people who they spend their time with. Those who wish to develop emotional maturity can be benefit by spending time with those who have already gained this level of personal growth.
* Helping other people is a wonderful way to develop emotional sobriety. If the individual has the right attitude when doing 12 step service, they will be putting another person’s needs temporarily ahead of their own.
For more help with with Emotional immaturity in addiction recovery contact us on 0824424779 or email info@pathwaysplettrehab.co.za
