Addiction, Recovery, and the New or Reclaimed Self
Briefly

Dingle and colleagues investigated addiction’s impact on identity through interviews with 21 individuals in a treatment community. Their findings revealed that trauma often triggers addiction, altering one’s identity from positive to negative. They identified two pathways in recovery: reclaiming a past positive identity or developing an aspiring new one. Key insights highlighted the importance of social relationships and identity in both addiction and recovery. These factors can significantly influence an individual’s journey, suggesting a need for a more nuanced understanding of personal social environments in treatment strategies.
Understanding the unique social factors that both trigger and treat addiction for each person may be an undervalued and crucial part of recovery.
An effective treatment community can help individuals reclaim a past positive identity or create a new, 'aspirational,' one.
Read at Psychology Today
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