Addiction doesn’t stop at damaging your health. It can tear your finances apart, too. Whether you’ve lost your job due to alcohol use or blown through the family savings trying to reach your next high, once you exit recovery, you still have to eat. Keep reading for information on how to reclaim your financial health as you continue to focus on your physical and mental healing.
Addiction Ruins Finances
Before you start looking for an income opportunity, it’s important to understand how addiction affects your finances. It is not uncommon for addicts to take out multiple loans, offload personal assets, or even steal from their children to fund their habit. CreditCards.com relates this story of a former addict who racked up more than $40,000 in debt and left his children relying on extended family for necessities, such as groceries.
Identifying Opportunities
As much as you like to think that finding a job won’t be that hard, the reality is that gaps in your employment history, which are typical for addicts, can bring up many hard questions from potential employers. However, traditional employment is not your only option. Despite your bad choices, there’s a good chance you possess a skill that’s marketable as a short-term solution for your wallet worries. You might, for example, teach guitar or piano. Other fulfilling ways to fill your bank account include pet sitting, lawn maintenance and selling hand-crafted goods at local fairs or online. These freelance jobs come with the added benefit of having long-term potential and are an excellent way to gain experience in an industry you would like to pursue.
Money As a Relapse Trigger
As you begin to earn an income, you must remain cognizant of your spending and personal habits. Unfortunately, money, although necessary, is described by many in the healthcare profession as a relapse trigger. Having access to cash is even more dangerous if you’re under stress and ignoring your self-care. Be careful not to succumb to the thought process that just because you are working means you deserve to indulge in your vices.
Coping Methods
Trying to reclaim your finances after the devastation of addiction is stressful enough. Starting a new job or trying to launch a solo career will only add to the anxiety of your day-to-day life. Rock Recovery Center underscores the importance of recognizing workplace stress as a relapse trigger and leaning on the coping skills you learned in recovery as a support when you’re feeling weak. These may include getting plenty of exercises and spending time with the people you love the most.
Networking
During your recovery, you will also have plenty of chances to meet people who can help you find lucrative earning opportunities. If you join an NA or AA group, let it be known to your new acquaintances that you’re ready, willing and able to work. These individuals know better than anyone how much pressure you are under to reclaim your financial independence and may have ideas on how to help get you started. Monster also lists hobby groups, neighbors, friends and family, and volunteer associations as valuable resources when you’re trying to build a career search network.
Life Skills Learned
Financial management is a skill. Start by making a list of your monthly obligations, including outstanding debt that must be repaid. U.S. News & World Report offers more advice on how to create a personal budget.
Getting back to work may not be easy. However, it’s even more challenging to live with the burden of active addiction. While having a job will not alleviate guilt or change the past, regaining your independence is an excellent first step toward the rest of your sober life.
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