Potentia Podcast, Series 2, Episode 1
Following the success of series 1 of the podcast, lasting one minute per episode, we have increased to two minutes for series 2.
In this episode, we discuss the value of relapse and recovery.
Why is relapsing valuable for recovery?
We always worry that we are not enough, not good enough, not strong enough, not kind enough. We worry that when we slip up it is proof of how terrible we are.
Slipping up is a good thing – recovery isn’t a continual incline, but has natural peaks and troughs, forming tension. Tension creates intrigue, it makes it interesting – it helps us show what we are made of. The proof of being good enough? Repeatedly pulling yourself back together again.
You don’t have to be perfect. You don’t even have to be stronger than you are. People in recovery don’t have better willpower than you. Things will get bad, they will get better, and they will get bad again, and all you ever need do is get back up. No matter how low you feel, how badly you slip back, bringing yourself back up again, makes blaming yourself or others unnecessary.
If you blame yourself, you will prove your own theory of being
useless, by doing the one thing that messes up your own life most.
Self-blame becomes an EXCUSE to self-harm and continue the suffering
cycle.
Not that you can stop the suffering cycle – just that it is a good thing. Suffering creates tension and leads to growth.
People in recovery
do not have
more willpower
than you.
The person you are interested in romantically hasn’t texted – you can go all “there’s something wrong with me”, or you can choose not to make assumptions. Being proactive, you might accept that sometimes people want to do things that don’t involve having their phones at their hips. You can say ok, this will happen at times, and plan for the next time you don’t get an instant response.
Our lives do not always go as we would like, but sticking to routine and playing the long-game do usually bring better results than old patterns of brattish behavior.
When it seems like you have hit rock bottom, accept that this too shall pass. It’s ok. Breathe. Believe. You will gain the best support from yourself. Use every opportunity to come back stronger and more determined. Use any tension that life throws at you to push back and recover more quickly.
You can be secure in the knowledge that you don’t need to avoid the knock-backs or even resist them, all you need to do is get back up. After suffering comes recovery, after recovery comes growth. When you accept this, no matter how down you are, you’ll never feel that you’ve let yourself down.
You are exactly what YOU need: Someone who knows how to find the tiniest spark of light and point yourself in that direction.
REWARDING YOU FOR YOUR LOYAL SUPPORT
The two minute podcast is the free version – we have added a five minute version on our Patreon page for our level 1 supporters.
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