No matter what which drug or activity you prefer, you probably already know what’s going to happen next. If you’re struggling with addiction, you’re going to go right back to those bottles. The next morning, they’ll be empty again. That’s the story of addiction.
However, what you might not know is that there’s a whole different kind of emptiness driving this downward spiral. It’s a lack of empathy. Empathy is a piece in the addiction puzzle. Does that surprise you? Stop and ask yourself these questions:
- How often does conflict pop up in your life?
- How effective are you at communicating with other people?
If you’re an addicted person, your answers to those questions are probably “very often” and “very ineffective,” respectively. That’s because emotional sobriety is key for sobering up from substance, sexual, and other kinds of addictions. And empathy plays a lead role in maintaining emotional health and stability.
To illustrate, here are a few ways a lack of empathy can hinder your addiction recovery.
Without empathy, there will be conflict
People who struggle with the addiction demon often have trouble truly understanding and listening to others. This lack of empathy can create conflict when friends, family members, and acquaintances in the addicted person’s life feel misunderstood and unappreciated, and get frustrated or angry as a result. And that can lead to all kinds of physical and emotional clashes, making the entire situation that much worse.
Furthermore, conflict also prevents trust – which is crucial for addiction recovery – from taking a foothold in your life.
No empathy means no communication, and that means no help
Addicted people tend to lack good communication skills as a result of their obsession with themselves. Self-absorption becomes the norm as the addicted person continues feeding their addiction day after day after day. There’s not much room for engaging in meaningful, empathetic conversations with other people.
In order to recover, the addicted person will have to go through the process of learning empathy in order to restore broken relationships and begin healthy communication again. It takes some practice and adjustment, but until some kind of real communication is realized, a wall of apathy will continue to stand directly in the path to healing and recovery.
A lack of empathy makes breaking the cycle nearly impossible
It follows from the above that if a person is self-absorbed and unable to communicate well with others, that person will likely never be able to break out of the insanely strong addiction cycle. Misunderstandings and conflict will just drive the addicted person right back to his or her drug of choice as a way to escape the pain and confusion that results.
Without empathy, you see, the cycle keeps going, and going, and going, like a scarier, more evil version of the Energizer Bunny.
Believe that you can beat your addiction – get help now
Being addicted might feel like being trapped in a deep hole with no way to climb out. But there is a way back to the top! If you are struggling with addiction, there are options for recovering and sobering up for good.
The right addiction therapist can help you learn how to empathize with others, regain emotional sobriety, and come to terms with your addiction.
And once that happens, you can take back control and find real peace and happiness in life.
