The world is experiencing a full range of negative emotions right now. Whether it’s anger, dysfunction, fear, or any other toxic emotion, between the political rancor, social injustice, the global pandemic, and plenty of natural disasters, even just watching the news every day can create negativity in our minds and create similar emotions within us. This toxic environment is difficult to manage if we are mentally healthy, but even more difficult when we are also trying to heal from addiction. Yet it is still possible to recover from substance abuse even in a toxic world.
How the World Around Us Affects Substance Use
The messages we see and hear can have a lot of impact on our mentality, particularly if we see and hear them over and over. When we are surrounded by uplifting and positive messages, it helps us to view our own world in a more positive light. When the world around us is filled with negativity, or even worse toxic emotions, it is difficult to remain neutral, let alone positive.
Being in a toxic environment, particularly for an extended period of time, can lead to substance use. The constant barrage of negativity impacts our mentality and the stressors can lead us to look for a way to self-medicate or escape all of the negative information around us. Watching the news or being impacted by so many toxic messages can lead to depression, as well, which can also lead to us using or abusing substances. It can be difficult to remain positive, or at least to be able to function normally, in a world where our minds are constantly bombarded with negativity, but there are ways for us to rise above the toxic environment.
Differentiate Between Yourself and External Stressors
The first way is to try to differentiate between ourselves and all of the external stressors. For example, yes, there is a global pandemic, which is affecting everyone right now. So take stock of the ways that it is directly affecting you:
- Are you safe?
- Do you have the housing, food, and other basic necessities?
- Do you have income or employment that meets your basic needs?
- Are you getting the sleep, nutrition, and exercise you need daily?
- Are you mentally and physically well?
- Do you have people to reach out to for emotional support?
Whether it be the pandemic, social injustice, political animosity, or any other external issues, if any of these answers are no, then you can start solving those immediate problems. Determine what you can do to access the things you need for your basic survival.
Take Control of What You Can Control
By inventorying your own personal life, you can take control of your life again. Take whatever measures you need to take to meet your basic physical and emotional needs. When you have done all that you can, then take control of how the toxic messages are impacting you.
- How much news are you accessing every day?
- Is the information you are receiving neutral or is there negative emotion added to the messages?
- How much time per day do you spend thinking or worrying about what is happening in the world?
- How much time per day do you spend focusing on your life, your goals, and your mentality?
- Do you have friends, family members, or co-workers who are adding to the negative messages? Or do they help to lift you up?
- On a scale of 1-10, how much do you believe your mind is affected by external information each day?
By analyzing where you are accessing the messages and information from the outside world, you can take control over how much it affects your mindset, emotions, and even perhaps your own need to use substances. You have the power to turn off notifications and the television and to spend less time with people who fill your mind with negative messages and more time with positive influences. You also have control over how much you allow yourself to dwell on the external messages, and even the ability to find balance by seeking positive messages from books, television, music, the internet, and even friends and family.
Treatment Can Be a Reprieve from Toxicity
If you think that you may have a substance abuse problem, treatment is the perfect place to be when the world around you seems bleak and toxic. Residential treatment for substance abuse allows you to remove yourself from the world and all of the negative messages, and focus on what is most important: your life. As you lose the substances and gain more personal wellness, you can rebuild your version of the world and learn to access a more balanced view not only of the world and how it impacts you but of your life, as well.
Living in a world with so many negative messages constantly bombarding us can result in a toxic mindset, too. However, there is also good in the world, you sometimes just have to look past the noise and the obvious pain and toxicity that is being broadcast into your mind. Coping with toxic messages does not need to include substance abuse. At Rancho Milagro Recovery, we firmly believe that you have it within you to cope in a toxic world without relying on substances as an escape. Call us at (951) 526-4582 so that we can talk about your treatment for addiction, as well as any co-occurring mental health issues, like depression or anxiety, related to the toxic environment of the outside world. Join us at our serene ranch in Temecula, California, to get a reprieve from all of the negativity and healing from addiction for your own mental well-being.