The Importance of Honesty in Addiction Recovery

I used to lie all the time. In my addiction, I lied constantly to cover up my drinking (not that it worked). Even before I started drinking, I lied about my mental health issues because I thought if people knew what was going on inside my head, they would think I was weird (they still did). It wasn't until I got sober that I realized how dishonest I had been on a daily basis and the importance of honesty in addiction recovery.

Honesty is Crucial to My Addiction Recovery

Now that I'm clean and sober, maintaining rigorous honesty is extremely important to me
and my addiction recovery. Honesty is a trait that we value in our society, but it has practical benefits too. I can't explain exactly how it works, but I know in order to stay fit in recovery, I need to discipline myself about honesty, even when it would be much easier to lie. I think the key is practice. When humans practice deception (which all addicts do) we become so accustomed to it that we justify our substance abuse and our destructive behavior. In other words, we lie to ourselves.

The outpatient program in which I got sober placed an extremely high value on honesty. Being truthful with oneself is also an integral part of both 12-step programs and cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) approaches. If we make truth-telling our habit in all our affairs, no matter how small, we stand a better chance of staying honest about our recovery. What are your experiences with honesty and addiction recovery? Please share them below.

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