The Danger of Judging Ourselves

When struggling with addiction, one of the most common emotional pitfalls we can find ourselves falling into is internalizing and absorbing society’s judgment of addiction and addicts and turning that judgment onto ourselves. We start to believe the things we hear – that addiction is not a real thing, that addicts are bad people and criminals, that we use our addiction as an excuse for bad behavior. We start to judge ourselves and think about ourselves disparagingly. Why is this self-judgment so dangerous?

When we are working towards recovery, we need all the support we can get. We need all the inner resources and strength we can muster. Self-judgment depletes our inner strength, our confidence and our sense of self. We start to believe that we can’t recover and that we’re doomed to a life of active addiction. We knock ourselves down rather than building ourselves up. Our self-talk becomes cruel. The voice we’re listening to all day every day is full of self-hatred. We’re up against not only the force of our addiction but our own self-disparagement as well. We deny ourselves of hope, optimism and positivity. Our energy becomes full of negativity and cynicism.

When we judge ourselves harshly, we’re more likely to relapse because we’re not giving ourselves our own support and encouragement. We’re putting ourselves down. Our negative energy taints everything we do, from the habits we perpetuate to the relationships we choose. We’re manifesting with an energy of pessimism which brings about the circumstances we don’t want rather than the ones we do. We give up on ourselves. We lose faith in ourselves. We stop believing in our ability to heal ourselves. Self-judgement can be the catalyst for our self-destructiveness. Feeling bad about ourselves can be the reason we self-harm.

When we find ourselves judging ourselves, we can make the conscious choice to turn that judgment around and choose compassion instead. Ask yourself, would you be so judgmental of someone else, someone who was struggling with depression and emotional pain, or a physical illness? Addiction is just as debilitating and destructive, and those struggling with it deserve to be understood and embraced rather than judged and rejected. You are no different. You are battling a tremendously painful illness, and just because it can operate invisibly and be less easily recognizable than other illnesses, doesn’t mean it is any less difficult. Choose to be kind to yourself. Surround yourself with people who understand addiction. Be in community with other people in recovery. Self-judgment is dangerous. Let’s work to eradicate this judgment in ourselves so that we can empower ourselves to heal.

The staff at Enlightened Solutions has a combined 45+ years invested in our personal recoveries, and we have assisted in the restoration of countless lives. We can help you too. Call us at (833) 801-LIVE today.