There isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach to addiction recovery, which is probably why so many people turn to alternative treatments to supplement their own path toward recovery. For the creative individual, there are several kinds of therapies specifically designed to tap into the creative mind and help the addict move past their addiction. If you have a special connection with the music and arts, for instance, then here are four ways that creative-based therapies can propel your recovery and get your life back on the right track.
Deciding to step away from your addiction is a difficult personal decision accompanied by plenty of adversity. As you are well aware, addiction creates a physiological dependency, which is hard to ignore even when you decide to give it up. An addict going through withdrawal will experience higher levels of stress and anxiety. To overcome these challenges, you can turn to music and art to assuage your withdrawal symptoms. Even something as simple as putting on a pair of headphones and listening to music can reduce your stress and anxiety.
When addiction was dictating many aspects of your daily life, you likely spent a lot of your personal time directly — or indirectly — feeding your addiction. Now that you have given up your dependency, you might notice you have some extra time on your hands. For many, having some free time to do nothing seems like a great incentive, but for recovering addicts, these quiet periods can be wrought with negative thoughts and temptations to turn back to destructive habits. A great way to fill your downtime is to simply be create and stay positive throughout this time. By fueling your creative passions, you prevent the likelihood of falling back into old habits.
Use this time to really pursue your creativity and invest in creating a space for your talents to flourish. Consider carving out a space in your home where you can retreat and focus on your creative work or hobby. By spending your time channeling your energy into a hobby or creative interest instead of addiction, you’ll always be moving forward in your recovery.
George Bernard Shaw once said, “Life isn’t about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.” These words couldn’t be truer for someone recovering from addiction. Looking back at the things you’ve said and done when you were an addict can be a difficult task. It’s even harder to gauge your perception of “self” now, with the person you were during the darkest periods of your life. One way you can rectify this disconnect is through your creativity. Music and art are not only a practice of individual skill but also a way to express yourself. Through art, you can pull out all the ugliness and beauty within yourself and splatter it on the canvas, making sense of who you were and coming to terms with who you really are.
As you devote your time to creating music or visual art, you will have the chance to share your final product with friends, family and the community at large. Being able to share your passion with the world can be an empowering moment for you as an individual. As a recovering addict, sharing your work can help you reconnect with others and validate yourself as an artist and something more than just an addict.
Everyone is different, so it’s easy to see why people would need to recover from addiction in their own way. If creativity is part of who you are, then it is essential that you include music and art in your arsenal to overcoming addiction. By supplementing your recovery with music and art therapies, you can find better footing as you move forward with your addiction recovery.
