The year 2020 has not been a great year for physical and mental health. With all of the uncertainty and unrest, signs indicate that many have turned to substances or have increased their substance use in order to cope with all of the stress. If you are currently struggling with substance use, you may be wondering, is a global pandemic a good time to get treatment?
There’s Never a Bad Time to Do Something Good
Is there ever a wrong time to get treatment? When it comes to substance abuse, any opportunity to get treatment and change our lives is one we should take. Every day that we stay in active addiction is a day that we risk increased mental and physical health problems, overdose, accidents, and death.
Choosing to continue using substances means that we are choosing to further damage relationships with friends, family, loved ones, and coworkers. Furthermore, prolonging active addiction increases damage to self-esteem and emotional well-being. Through the simple act of seeking treatment for our substance abuse, we have nothing to lose and everything to gain. When circumstances are a matter of life and death, anytime is a good time to get help.
Mental Health During a Global Pandemic
A global pandemic like the one we are currently facing is absolutely unprecedented. Safety measures have forced everyone into isolation, eliminating social connection for months on end. Conditions like these are a recipe for a global mental health disaster. Even the most resilient people have struggled with being confined and isolated, missing the productivity of work and interactions with other human beings.
Now consider those of us who were already using substances. The loneliness, loss of productivity, stress, and uncertainty associated with the coronavirus are only compounding our risk factors for severe mental deterioration. However, we can take these risks of serious mental health issues and turn them upside down by seeking treatment for our substance use. Choosing to use our downtime in quarantine towards overcoming a substance use disorder just might be the best decision we’ve ever made.
Turn Down Time into Recovery Time
The global pandemic of 2020 has slowed everything down. Businesses are closed down and countless people are out of work. While we all have more time on our hands, why not take advantage of the opportunity to jump-start our recovery process? Taking time off of work or family obligations is often a barrier to seeking treatment, but current circumstances have eliminated this barrier for many. Quarantine may be the opportunity we’ve been waiting for to change our lives for the better.
Making excuses for why we can’t get help for a substance use disorder is easy. However, at the end of the day, we usually know that no excuse is valid in the face of the life or death situation that we find ourselves in. While there are always reasons not to seek treatment, perhaps we can look to this global pandemic as a reason to seek treatment. After all, we most likely won’t have to take time off of work or worry about too many external commitments. Since many of us would simply be at home anyway, why not stay at a facility and begin our recovery now?
Social Distancing for Healing
We have already given up contact with our friends and family for months now. At the very least, we have maintained appropriate social distances. Local and state guidelines continue to limit our interactions, activities, and travel. There has never been a better time to take a break and seek the refuge we so desperately need in order to navigate a life of recovery. Since we are already apart from our friends and family, why not socially distance ourselves for a higher purpose?
Protecting Ourselves
During this pandemic, we have faced countless challenges. We have struggled to find cleaning products, toilet paper, paper towels and over the counter medications. Many of us have been laid off. Others have had to learn how to balance working from home with family life. Facemasks have become essential and Zoom calls have turned into part of the daily routine. Resilience has been tested repeatedly and we continue to push through the chaos. However, the majority of these compromises were made to protect those around us. Not to mention the fact that many of these changes have exacerbated our addiction and/or mental health disorders. Who is looking out for us?
Showing up for ourselves and our wellbeing is a personal decision. Unfortunately, it is not something that can be done for us. It is in seeking treatment for our substance abuse that we have the opportunity to be selfish and make decisions based on our needs. Taking advantage of the current conditions nationwide as a chance to commit to recovery is the best way we can care for ourselves. We now have the time to delve deep into therapy and to learn new ways of thinking. Treatment will give us the tools and coping skills necessary to maintain long-term recovery, long after this pandemic is over. While protecting others is important, let’s make protecting ourselves a priority too. We deserve it.
Start the Healing
As the world slowly begins to heal from the collective trauma of the coronavirus pandemic, we can set a trend of healing in our own lives. The uncertainty and unrest of 2020 has been emotional and exhausting for many. Unfortunately, most of the circumstances have been out of our control. However, we can control ourselves and our lives. We can begin healing today.
Is a global pandemic a good time to get treatment? At Rancho Milagro Recovery, we believe there has never been a better time to seek the help you deserve. Call us today, at (951) 526-4582, and learn how we can keep you safe and help you heal now.