When experiencing periods of substance abuse or mental illness, it is normal to feel disconnected from yourself. Perhaps you are not sure what it feels like to be the true you, or maybe you are unsure if you will ever feel at peace with yourself.
Healing creates space for you to rekindle a relationship with your authentic self. Addiction and mental illness can make you feel and act like someone you are not. Below are things you can do to get back in tune with who you are and who you want to be.
Permission to Change
Oftentimes, you can become stuck in doing, being, thinking, and saying the same old things even when they are not congruent with your authentic self. You might even desire to change and feel clear on how to do so, and yet feel ambivalent toward change as it challenges what is familiar.
Change can feel disorienting, and learning to cope with and normalize that feeling is important for giving yourself permission to change despite the discomfort.
Working With a Therapist
To reconnect with yourself, you must allow yourself to be supported by someone who can guide you in that process. For this reason, it can be beneficial to work with a therapist who can create space for you to process and reconnect with lost parts of yourself. This way, you gain the tools to begin reconnecting with your authentic self.
Getting Curious
Begin to think about who you are outside of who you have been conditioned to be in order to stay safe and protect yourself. To do so, you might ask yourself questions such as:
- What would I do if I trusted myself?
- What does being myself mean to me?
- What does it feel like to be connected to my authentic self? Is there a time I remember feeling this way? What was I doing?
- What would I do if I were rooted in love, not fear?
- What thoughts, beliefs, stories, and habits have I internalized that I have learned from someone else? How could I release these things? How do I replace them with ones that are more authentically me?
Creating space to reconnect with your most genuine self, and feeling safe to be that way, takes time. The challenge of coming home to yourself brings freedom and liberation. Through permitting yourself to change, working with a therapist, and getting curious, you can experience the healing you desire.
Healing creates space for you to come back to your authentic self. The process of getting connected with yourself after feeling disconnected may be disorienting at first, as circumstances like mental illness, people-pleasing, and addictive behaviors may be more familiar. Allowing yourself to learn what it would be like to feel safe to be yourself is what we at Avalon Malibu hope to help you achieve. We are here to support you as you make the journey home to yourself. If you are ready to begin or continue healing, call Avalon Malibu at (844) 857-5992.
