Mistakes Are Not Failures

Relapse is not inevitable, but it does occur. When addiction relapse occurs it is important not to punish ourselves and allow the old negative messages to take over. After a relapse, addict’s make statements like, “I don’t deserve better, I’m worthless, I deserve to be punished,” simply because they made a poor choice. The negative thinking is fueled by the belief system that mistakes are failures and the cycle of addiction has a grip once again. Making mistakes is part of the learning process. We can learn in drug rehab and from relapses about underlying triggers to avoid falling into the same pit holes again. When someone relapses, they do not loose knowledge about recovery and have to start from scratch again. It simply is part of the learning process. It is not really about the addiction relapse; it is about the amount of time it takes to get back into recovery. Although the goal is not to relapse, addicts do make mistakes. Mistakes do not equal failure; not learning from your mistakes can be equated to failure.