When you read Chapter 5 of the Big Book, you will see the following, “If we were to live, we had to be free of anger. The grouch and the brainstorm were not for us. They may be the dubious luxury of normal men, but for alcoholics these things are poison.”
Anger is a poison. When anger dives deep into an alcoholic, most alcoholics use that as fuel to drink. This is not what you want floating around inside of you as you are trying to recover from an addiction to alcohol. You need to free yourself of the anger building up inside of you. Then, and only then, can you truly be on your way to a successful recovery. When you are in the alcohol rehab center, you can work through your anger and resentments. You can start getting rid of that poison.
Attending Therapy
One of the best ways for recovering alcoholics to free themselves of the anger inside is through therapy. When you are going to rehab, you will be able to attend individual and group therapy. Both of these types of therapy are beneficial for recovering addicts. The individual therapy gives you the chance to work through your issues privately. You work on them one-on-one with the therapist. When you attend group therapy, you can share with other recovering addicts. You can talk about your anger and hear more about how others are overcoming their anger. This can help you to find coping tools and techniques for getting rid of your anger.
Deep Breathing
One of the most highly recommended tools for recovering from an alcohol addiction is deep breathing. If you have never truly tried deep breathing techniques before, now is the chance. When you are attending the alcohol rehabilitation center, you can talk with the addiction recovery specialists about these techniques. They can teach you even more about how beneficial deep breathing is.
For now, you should know it can help you relieve stress, anger, cope with cravings, and so much more. One of the best deep breathing techniques is 4-7-5. You breathe in for 4 seconds, hold it for 7 seconds, and breathe out for 5 seconds. Do this for as many reps as needed to relieve stress and on-the-spot anger.
Work Through Your Resentments
For many recovering alcoholics, resentments cause them anger. They feel angry towards themselves for letting things happen to them and angry towards the people they hold resentment for. When you are working through your recovery, you will also work through your resentments. It is advisable to do a deep breathing technique before you confront those you are resentful toward. This will help you keep the situation calmer and help you stay in control.
Recovering from an alcohol addiction is a process. Getting rid of the anger, the poison, within is one of the steps you must take to live a recovering lifestyle. If you haven’t done so already, make the step into recovery by calling the alcohol treatment center today at 888-992-7955.
