Compassion Based Recovery

By Nichole Sloan

Throughout this workbook, we will use compassion as a lens to look at your recovery process.

Why Compassion?

After years of working in the field of addiction and recovery, the most significant contributor to continued drug and alcohol use or relapse that I've seen has been shame, guilt, regret, anger, or harsh

• Language: English
• Publisher: Compassion Based Recovery
• Release date: Dec 21, 2023
• ISBN: 9798218338244

Book preview

Compassionate reflection

I want to first commend you for taking this step towards well-being for yourself. It is such a brave step to start the process of healing and recovery. Addiction can be a severe and dangerous disease. Depending on the substance you use and the level of your use, it may be advisable to consult a healthcare professional at the start of your journey. They can help you create a personalized treatment plan and offer medical assistance if needed.

The fact that you chose to acknowledge that you could benefit from taking better care of yourself or that you planted the seed of wanting to heal is so important and powerful!

So, as we begin, take a moment to give yourself some kindness, some praise, some kudos, and some acknowledgment that the step you’re taking requires bravery and self-love!

I’d like you to repeat these compassionate statements to yourself and see how they feel in your mind and body.

I am worthy. I am worthy of love. I am worthy of love simply because I exist. I am worthy of forgiveness. I am capable of healing. I am brave. It is okay not to be perfect; no one is. I am a work in progress. I am lovable. When I know better, I do better. I am slowly making patient progress. It is brave of me to work on my recovery. It is brave of me to step outside of my comfort zone. It is brave of me to take my healing into my own hands. It is brave of me to start to look at the things I’ve pushed away for so long. I am capable of change. I am capable of learning to love myself.

Those are just a few compassionate statements: how did it feel in your body? You may have felt peace or reassurance, or maybe you felt pushback, and it felt icky. Both are okay. It just shows you where you are in your journey to compassion.

Throughout this workbook, I will use compassion as a lens to look at your recovery process. Why compassion? After years of working in addiction and recovery, the most significant contributor to continued drug and alcohol use or relapse that I’ve seen has been shame, guilt, regret, and anger toward self. Rarely do these painful emotions alone lead to long-term recovery. I believe compassion towards self and others lead to long-term sobriety and a sense of happiness in life.

I will also use poems, stories, and metaphors to help illustrate the recovery process. A story or an image can paint a picture or explain a concept more easily. I’ve tried to make some of the metaphors fun!

Each section of the workbook will have a place for compassionate reflection. These blank spaces are the most important part of the entire workbook. I will offer knowledge and questions for reflection, however;

Your words to yourself will be the most healing and the most powerful.

When you reach the parts of the workbook for compassionate reflection, grab a pen and sit quietly for a few minutes. Reflect on the questions and see what comes up for you in your heart and your mind. You are the architect of your own life.

You are the expert on your own life.

Your ever-present wisdom will start to come through the more you sit and reflect on what is most needed for you at this time in your life.

I encourage you to use this workbook honestly and openly with yourself to allow yourself to take an honest inventory of what is going on with you both inside and outside of your life.

Some topics we explore may be complex or challenging, but remember, as we move through this process, that you are worthy of healing, love, and self-love and capable of being an agent of change in your life.

Compassionate reflection

You bought this book for a reason, and I want to ask, Why?—your WHY is very important. Take a moment to reflect. What are the reasons that you want to recover?

Maybe it is because you want to feel better physically, mentally, and emotionally. Maybe it is because you know you are capable of much more. Maybe that’s because you want to develop deeper and more meaningful relationships with yourself and others.

Remembering your WHY can be an essential tool when you’re having a difficult day in your recovery, when you feel like using substances, saying f-it, or you don’t remember the reasons you started your journey in the first place.

Writing down the reasons you want to change can be a reminder in times of difficulty and be a helpful, motivating tool.

Compassionate reflectionCompassionate reflection

You used substances for a reason. Yes, sometimes it was to feel high or just to have a good time. Maybe it started that way. But for most people reading this workbook, you’ve likely been using substances more and more, with increased tolerance and increased consequences both physically, emotionally, and spiritually.

However, it’s okay to admit that substances worked and helped with some parts of your life for a long time until they didn’t.

Please explore how the substances helped you. For some people, the reason may be that substances helped them to deal with their difficult emotions, to be able to go to sleep, to manage social anxiety, to manage unhealed trauma, to numb out, to manage depression, to feel happiness, to fit in with their friends, etc.

Each person’s reasons will be different. So, take a minute below and list why you used substances and what parts of your life the substances helped you to manage.

Compassionate reflection

Why do we make this list?

Because the reasons you used will become your goals in recovery.