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What Does Acceptance Mean in Recovery?

Person looking out a window and practicing acceptance in recovery

Denial can have a strong pull, especially when struggling with addiction. You may make up excuses for your behavior or try to convince yourself and others that you don’t have a problem. Admitting and accepting your situation is a critical first step in addiction treatment. But what does acceptance in recovery mean, and how does it help you overcome your addiction? To find out, contact BRC Healthcare today at to speak with someone from our knowledgeable and experienced team at our 12-step rehab center in Texas.

The First Step of Recovery

The first step is usually the hardest. Acceptance in addiction recovery is one of the most challenging hurdles to cross. Understanding that your addiction is a disease and that it changes how your brain works can help you reach the acceptance you need to start on the path to recovery. Your addiction does not mean you are weak or a failure. Your acceptance of your addiction is also not an admission of failure. This milestone will become one of many you’ll reach as you work through treatment. Denial will continue to creep in, and you must continue to cross over the hurdle of acceptance at every step.

Breaking the Cycles of Addiction and Denial

When you struggle with addiction, you may experience the same feelings and emotions as a person in denial. Not necessarily in any particular pattern, the steps in the addiction and denial cycles are the following:

  • Denial
  • Anger
  • Bargaining
  • Depression
  • Acceptance

It is remarkably similar to the five stages of grief. The cycle stops when you finally accept that you have an addiction and stop denying it. From here, you can move forward in your recovery journey with more confidence and motivation. Acceptance is one of the most difficult of these to reach. Denial is relatively easy because we use this as a survival skill to block out the negative. Anger is an innate response to fear and frustration. Depression is a natural partner to drug addiction, and the two feed off each other. Bargaining is a last resort tool that any human will turn to when they see no other option.

Acceptance means taking responsibility. It means admitting that you need help and are willing to take the steps to ask for it. It means signing up for hard work and understanding that this hard work is for life when facing drug or alcohol addiction. It requires humility. In other words, acceptance isn’t easy, but it’s an integral part of recovery.

Acceptance in Addiction Recovery

What does acceptance in recovery mean for you when you struggle with addiction to drugs or alcohol? Accepting yourself and your reality in addiction is an essential building block of your recovery. You are probably prone to using denial as a coping mechanism to avoid facing your problems. Acceptance is vital to the recovery process. Before you can make meaningful changes in your life, you must first accept:

  • That you have a problem
  • That you do not have complete control over every aspect of your life
  • That you have limitations and flaws
  • The reality of your circumstances

Recovery requires you to accept life on its terms, to accept your powerlessness and your limitations, as well as to accept those of others. That’s a constant challenge for addicts and codependents because of your internal anxiety and illusion that you have control over more than you do. Facing the facts of your life opens you up to new possibilities, even though it will not be easy to acknowledge the painful truths of your addiction.

Take the First Step of Recovery at BRC Healthcare in Texas

At BRC Healthcare, we recognize that addiction is a chronic, progressive disease. We strive to make a difference in the lives of those we help by providing personalized addiction treatment programs that focus on each individual’s physical, emotional, and spiritual needs. If you are struggling with addiction, contact us today at to begin your journey toward sobriety.