Ego In Addiction Recovery

Why a Big Ego Will Ruin Your Addiction Recovery

It’s not very difficult to become an addict. The only essential precursor to addiction is the continuous use or abuse of mind-altering substances. Many people assume that only substance abusers become addicted, but it’s exceedingly common for people taking prescription drugs for legitimate reasons to become physically dependent on their medications.

After becoming addicted, the mental and emotional effects of the disease make it unlikely for those who are addicted to realize their situation and seek treatment. Instead, they often remain in denial of the presence or severity of their addictions. This is why ego in addiction recovery can be such an obstacle.

This denial is often rooted in excessive pride and ego. Unfortunately, an inflated ego puts a significant amount of weight on a person’s ability to successfully recover from their alcohol or drug addiction.

Addiction recovery is not as simple as just quitting. Keep reading to learn more about how an inflated sense of self-importance and unchecked ego can keep you from making a successful and lasting recovery from addiction.

Recovering from Addiction is Difficult

Recovering from addiction is quite a difficult, complicated process. In some cases, it takes those struggling with alcohol and drug abuse years or even decades before they become ready for recovery on their own rather than being encouraged by family members and friends.

And even when they are encouraged to receive treatment, there’s no guarantee that an individual will be able to remain sober indefinitely. A successful, long-term recovery is dependent on a number of different, yet interdependent, parts.

People and especially drug addicts tend to keep looking for the “secret ingredient” to lasting sobriety, but there’s no piece to the puzzle that’s singularly elusive. However, there are endless suggestions as to what you shouldn’t do, one of which is having an inflated ego in recovery.

Therefore, it is time to discuss pride. In particular, we’re going to explain why being too full of pride — or having a big ego — can put your sobriety at risk.

Before we start talking about how an inflated ego makes your path to sobriety at risk, let’s first make sure we have a basic understanding of the concept of pride and some of the inherent issues of being too prideful.

The Pitfalls of an Inflated Ego and Pride

Discussions of pride often take place during or around discussions of the Judeo-Christian Bible. Considered one of the “Seven Deadly Sins,” pride is essentially defined as the deep feelings of pleasure and satisfaction that one gets from one’s own achievements, personal qualities or characteristics, or possessions. It is also often a part of the inventory of character defects we all possess.

In many contexts, pride is associated with feelings of superiority since it tends to be attached to traits that distinguish a person from others in some way, especially when it makes that individual privileged in some way.

That’s not to say that a person isn’t supposed to feel some measure of pride; on the contrary, it’s natural and expected to feel proud about one’s achievements, but too much pride can be problematic for a number of reasons.

It is also important to keep in mind that, for many people with excessive amounts of pride, these feelings are actually rooted in having low self-esteem. Ego comprises a strong sense of superiority, with many of those affected by this believing that the world revolves around them.

While a person’s sense of self-love is certainly important, having excessive amounts of pride can push people to engage in personally-directed behaviors, such as fulfilling potentially dangerous wants and temptations.

Addiction Recovery and Complacency

When people are filled with too much pride, one of the things that can happen is that they can become complacent. By definition, complacency refers to a feeling of smugness and uncritical satisfaction.

A person who has become complacent has begun to feel like he or she has no more room for improvement, which leaves him or her vulnerable to unexpected threats that could negate those achievements.

This is especially true for someone who is still on their addiction recovery journey. As their ego plays into their accomplishments in overcoming their substance abuse, they develop a sense of recovery pride, which can cause them to act carelessly.

One’s ego can become their worst enemy, causing one to lose awareness of the reality of their situation and the importance of resisting the temptation to fulfill their own selfish desires and temptations.

Addiction Recovery and Carelessness

Another major problem that occurs when a person’s ego becomes too big is carelessness. Similar to the smugness a person feels after becoming complacent, having too much pride can result in a person feeling like he or she no longer needs to put effort into a certain activity or endeavor.

Their intellectual processing abilities become clouded, increasing their risk of falling prey to the additional dangers often faced in the recovery process. Intellectual cognitive functions become diminished, and reality testing may come into play.

Conscious awareness resides where the ego does not. This is why ego is one major factor that plays into a person’s inability to beat substance cravings and temptations on their recovery journey. Their superior thoughts tend to push them to believe they are above helpful strategies and recovery methods that can help them achieve lifelong sobriety.

This often means that the person begins being very careless with his or her decisions, causing more risks and mistakes that effectively negate any sense of achievement or pride that he or she had felt earlier in their recovery journey.

Addiction Recovery and Obliviousness

By definition, someone who is oblivious has little to no awareness of what is happening around them. Obliviousness is another very common pitfall of having too big an ego. Essentially, this happens when a person’s pride makes him or her feel as though they’re on some type of pedestal while everyone else is beneath them to some degree.

Excess pride can also lead to resentment, a potentially toxic condition for those seeking recovery, as we hold onto old grudges and perceived slights that can lead back to alcohol or substance use.

Therefore, they pay little attention to anyone or anything that they consider unworthy of their time and efforts. This often means they’re unable to prepare for things that may be coming and frequently means huge mistakes later.

Alienation

Understandably, a huge ego in recovery is extremely off-putting. Even if having such immense amounts of pride wasn’t off-putting, people who have such huge egos often distance themselves from the “unworthy” people they feel are beneath them, which is basically everyone who doesn’t share in their achievements or possessions.

As a result, this alienates these individuals from recovery support groups and trustworthy people around them, meaning they have very little support and encouragement during times of need.

Why a Big Ego is Dangerous to Recovery

Now that we’ve discussed some of the major problems that come with having too much pride, we can identify some of the more specific reasons why a big ego is a threat to one’s recovery. Many of the threats that a big ego poses to addiction recovery stem from the extent to which such immense pride alters one’s perceptions.

A person who has managed to stay sober for a period of time — perhaps a year, for the sake of example — might begin to feel overly proud of him or herself, which might lead him or her to begin believing that there’s nothing that could derail their recovery.

This leaves the individual vulnerable because he or she is no longer focusing on the things they must continuously do to safeguard their recovery; instead, the individual believes that he or she has already done everything that needs to be done and no longer needs to worry about it.

The following risks of complacency, carelessness, and obliviousness are some of the worst poisons for recovery coinciding in the worst way. This closed mind will be the biggest threat in their recovery process, as many people who become overcome by ego are left vulnerable to temptation and misdirection.

A person with a huge ego is at risk of putting little to no effort into ensuring the longevity of his or her recovery. Recovery is not a task that’s checked off a to-do list; rather, it’s a lifestyle and one that can be successfully managed with the right mindset.

Raising Your Conscious Awareness in Overcoming Addiction

It requires continuous focus and effort to remain sober, and the major threat posed to recovery by excess pride is that a person begins to think that relapse is impossible.

This can lead the individual to begin taking greater and greater risks. Additionally, an ego alienates a person’s friends and family, resulting in the individual having no social support system in place to help him or her overcome temptation.

In short, several effects of a big ego — complacency, obliviousness, carelessness, and alienation — cause a person to become less protective about his or her sobriety, which is incredibly dangerous and a recipe for disaster.

If you feel that you may be struggling with ego in addiction recovery, it is not too late to begin to perceive things differently. The Rehabs Of Armerica team can help you overcome your self-destructive tendencies and get started on the path to recovery today!

Find Help to Overcome Ego and Start Recovery Now

Replacing ego with a conscious awareness of one’s shortcomings can be difficult, but it is absolutely possible. The addiction recovery process does not have to feel impossible. Help is available whenever you are ready to achieve the life you deserve.

If you or someone you love would like to discuss the treatment options that are available, call the Rehabs Of Armerica team. We’re available anytime, day or night, to help you or your loved one begin the journey to long-lasting health and sobriety.

All calls are completely confidential, so please reach out now to get assistance!

Charles F.( Content Coordinator )

Charles F. has been an active part of the Florida recovery community for over 5 years. He began as a behavioral health technician at an addiction treatment facility in Ocala, Florida and has since begun training as a Licensed Addiction and Chemical Dependency counselor in Boca Raton. Charles’ passion involves the promotion of recovery and helping spread the hope of recovery to as many readers as possible!