Unfortunately, in many drug rehab and addiction recovery programs, a certain level of a competitive culture can develop, leading to a certain competitiveness in drug rehab like addicts are trying to One-Up themselves by having the highest glory.
This can show itself as an attitude that glorifies the one who has the worst:
- Addiction horror stories or,
- Who spent the most time in jail or,
- Who had the worst injury etc…
This can lead to many feeling that their very real struggles with drug or substance abuse are not as valid, important or as severe as those of someone else. Nothing could be further from the truth.
Addressing Competitiveness in Drug Rehab Centers
The events and circumstances that lead to any individual seeking help for substance addiction or dependency are very personal and of course, they differ from person to person, but they are 100 percent valid reasons and experiences for each individual. Never let someone else devalue what you know to be true about yourself and what you have been through, no matter what their own experience in life might be.
So how should you deal with competitiveness in drug rehab? In such a game, the only way to win is not to play. The purpose of drug rehab is not to find out who has had the worst experience with addiction or abuse, but to help YOU and as many other people as possible get their lives back from the darkness of addiction.
Drug addiction is bad enough and is hard for everyone who goes through it. If it were easy it would not be an addiction. Addiction by its definition is difficult, unpleasant, uncomfortable and dangerous for EVERYONE who goes through it. No need to make it worse for yourself or others by competing or devaluing what someone else has been through.
If you have not had as many negative moments in your addiction as someone else that doesn’t make your “rock bottom” any less valid or important than theirs. Be glad instead that you didn’t have to go through what they did to come to realize that you needed to make a change in your life.
On the other side of the coin, if you have had a very bad time of addiction or life in general and gone through more extreme negative experiences you also have nothing to feel bad or competitive about. You are now at the same point and you have the same opportunity to create the positive changes in your life to get yourself back to where you want to be.
Article Source: bestdrugrehabilitation.com
