Use Pain as an Opportunity

In recovery, how you react to the emotional pain and stress of life can be the difference between growth in recovery and relapse into your addictive behavior. Try to look at pain as an opportunity for growth, an opportunity to use new tools to handle pain (such as prayer and sharing), rather than resorting to old destructive means such as drug or alcohol use. Every time you refuse to use an addictive behavior to deal with emotional pain, you will grow in strength.