In our lives and especially in a drug and alcohol rehab center one of the most difficult things we all face is to remember what we can control and what we cannot.  It seems so obvious, but we all slip into the trap of concentrating on things we cannot control.  We set up games that we are sure to lose.  In rehab it is easy to do.  One of the common things that will sidetarack us in rehab is expecting the behavior of others to change.  If you have truly worked at the rehab program, you will have changed. 

The problem lies in expecting your family and friends to change and notice the new you.  Maybe they will, in time that is.  Most likely they will continue to treat you the way they have treated you over the few several years.  Because you have found the ability to change you may think you can use the same methods to convince them to change as well.  All the things you have learned will only work on you. 

This will lead to frustration and less interaction which will actually worsen the situation.  Add to this when you are trying to change others, you usually stop working on yourself.  This always leads to slipping back to old behaviors.  It is so vitally important to realize that drug and alcohol rehab is just about changing you.  It is not about righting past wrongs.  It is not about changing the program or re-writing the 12 steps.  It is not about getting other people sober.  It is totally about changing you.  If you change yourself, the world will have to change.  Try just to change the world without changing yoursefl first, and nothing happens.  Just more frustration, and a return to the way it was.

This entry was posted on Friday, June 15th, 2007 at 7:13 pm and is filed under Drug Rehab. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.