The Importance of Personal Values in Recovery

Understanding your values plays an important part in the recovery process. They tend to be silent forces that determine your actions. Once you understand the subconscious reasons for certain behaviors, you can take charge of them. In other words, you learn to take back control of your life.

What are values?

Values are our thoughts and beliefs about what is most important in life. They are guiding principles and standards that help determine how you want to live and why. In short, they define the type of person you strive to be and the kind of life you want to live. It is important to understand there are different kinds of values, though.

There are universal values that serve to determine who you are and what you believe such as self-respect, social acceptance, love, and independence. These values are closely related to practical ones that develop through your daily interactions. There are also more fluid values such as your faith, need for freedom, the way you communicate and how you treat your family and friends.  

Why is it important to understand your values while recovering?

Since there are so many aspects to values, they can change depending on your life experiences. When this happens, you may feel unclear about how they play a part in your relationship with drugs.

Negative or distressing emotions are a good indication that you are not in alignment with your values. Whereas, positive emotions can mean that you are following a path you believe is right. You can use these indicators as an internal compass to steer your direction while recovering.