Self-Efficiency in recovery
 

"Life is not easy for any of us. But what of that?
We must have perseverance and above all confidence in ourselves.
We must believe that we are gifted for something and that this thing must be attained." ~ Marie Curie ~

Having an attitude of self-efficiency helps me believe in my ability to take control, with in reason, of my recovery from addiction. Even when some of my expectations are not met I continue to be positive, confident, and accepting of myself. For me, being self-efficient means that I am willing to risk the disapproval of others because I believe in my own abilities. I don’t feel I have to conform to the expectations and standards of others in order to be accepted as unique individual with distinctive addiction recovery needs. I am free to choose which influences I allow to have an affect on my life. I rely on my own opinions of myself. I consider feedback from others, but I don’t rely on their opinions excessively. I depend on my own values in making decisions and decide for myself what is right for me to do. Being a highly self-determining person I invest more effort and persist longer than those who are low in self-determination . When setbacks occur, I recover more quickly and maintain the commitment to my goals. It is by my determination and accomplishments, with support, sober living skills and perseverance that I am sober today.

Feel free to add how your self-efficiency empowers your addiction recovery, the secular way.

zencat, well put.

I guess I feel that I got into this under my own power and that is truly the only way I will get out. Now that doesn't mean that I don't need help, if I didn't I wouldn't be here. But I don't have the ability, or perhaps willingness, to turn my life and will over to a higher power that I just don't believe in. In some ways I feel envious of those who can do this, as it is probably a relief. Just doesn't work for me, and I have tried.

I accept the support and encourgement of those who offer it. Try to learn from those who have done this before me, because clearly I don't have all of the answers. If I did, I would have stopped using a long time ago, as I have known it was a problem for at least the last 10 years.

We all have our own journey to travel and and our own path to take. Some will make it some will not. The journey is harder for some than others. I think it is a mistake to assume that all who suffer from addiction can be helped in the same way. That is one reason I don't subscribe to the disease concept. To me, at least, disease inplies that there is a cure that works for everyone or at least most. I dont' find that to be the case with addiction. The reasons for starting and continuing are as numerous as there are addicted people. Of course there are many similarities, but few are identical.

I take responsibility for my problems and the actions that have caused them. Nobody forced me to use drugs or alcohol to excess, but I chose to do so. There came a point where my life was definately unmanagable, but it was only through my choosing to take action, by stopping the drugs, by stopping the drinking, and by reaching out for help when needed that has helped me stay clean.

I'm only clean for about a month (not by 12-step standards, I only stopped drinking a week ago, but quitting the pot was my biggest strugle) so I have a long way to go. I have had periods of clean time that were longer in the past, but there was always a reason for them other than my choosing. Couldn't get any, was in rehab, wife was on my case, etc. This time I'm doing it for myself. Nobody "caught" me using, in fact, nobody was even aware of it. I "busted" myself, both with the pot and alcohol and I think that has made all of the difference.

Thanks for the topic Zencat, you always have interesting and openminded opinions. Take care.

Thanks Zencat and Tyler!

I'm not very good at putting my feelings into words. The two of you have expressed exactly how I feel very well.