The Dangers of Guilt and Shame in Recovery

The Dangers of Guilt and Shame in Recovery from Addiction

Feelings of guilt and shame are often present with a person suffering from drug addiction or alcoholism because of the social stigma associated with these diseases. When people imagine a drug addict or an alcoholic, they think of the homeless person in the alley or sleeping in the park. The truth of it is that the vast majority of alcoholics and drug addicts are functioning people who mask their suffering and isolation because of the guilt and shame they fear. Indeed there are many inherent dangers of guilt and shame in the recovery process.

Bradford Health has been treating alcoholism and drug addiction for more than 30 years. Our addiction treatment services are specifically designed to meet and exceed the unique needs of patients and their concerned families in terms of both effectiveness and affordability. Bradford Health thinks chemical dependency is a chronic, progressive disease, which grows when the use of mood-altering substances causes increasingly severe and dangerous problems in several areas of a patient’s life – including physical, psychological, emotional, social, vocational, and spiritual aspects. Several other harmful but treatable consequences may arise, including eating disorders, psychiatric illness, and dysfunction within the family unit.

Bradford’s treatment facilities are created to meet the multiple needs of patients, their families, and those who refer them to us. Patients and their family members learn to work through feelings of guilt, shame, anger, or resentment. Our comprehensive programs are able to effect change on a sustainable scale because abstinence from alcohol and all mood-altering drugs is our immediate and primary goal for patients. From there, anything is possible.

The end result for treatment is to help guide patients and their families into becoming better-functioning and more productive people without the need for alcohol or drugs. Once recovery begins, the instruction and learning of newly created activities, habits, and behaviors support their new lifestyle of sobriety. The mission of Bradford is to offer the best possible support for a patient’s new life while continuing to provide guidance on their journey of recovery.