Addiction is a difficult thing to overcome under the best of circumstances. Unfortunately, the best of circumstance is not what you are dealing with when you are facing addiction. Still, there are ways that you can make it easier to handle. One of those ways is by reaching out to others, and a simple way to do that is through creating a blog.

The reasons are simple: creating a blog occupies at least some of your time, but it also offers a creative outlet for you to share your experiences with others, an often helpful and cathartic experience.

To get started, you will need to find a domain name, set up hosting and develop a theme. There are several platforms and options and going through the setup process is itself a worthwhile task that will not only occupy your time, but shows your commitment to recovery.

Once your blog is ready, you can begin using it in ways that will help you in your journey to overcome addiction. Here are a few ways a blog can help.

Tell Your Story

One thing that you will be asked to do over and over is to tell your story: who are you, where did you come from, and how did you arrive in your current state of addiction? Time after time therapists and counselors will ask about your story in an effort to help you walk through the “why” and resolve the issues that may have driven you to addiction in the first place.

One of the greatest ways to understand your own story is to write it down. The writing process helps you mind sort fact from fiction, memory from misunderstanding, and helps you solidify the timeline in which thing occurred.

The greatest part of sharing your story, though, is the fact that it can also help others who have been through similar things. Through reading your story, they can identify their own and bein their own road to recovery.

Be Accountable

Another key to recovery is accountability, and the more people you are accountable to, the more likely you are to succeed. Accountability partners will make sure you are keeping to your resolutions, and if they are truly your friends will call you out if they see you being tempted or even experiencing setbacks.

This not only includes those who know you in person, but those who know you online through your blog, social media, or other means. The more people you have keeping you on track, the less likely you are to give into those temptations. It is also more likely there will be someone you can reach out too, even if it is the middle of the night.

Being accountable on your blog also means that you must write down and share your goals and challenges. This helps your mind wrap around them and accept the new reality that you are no longer relying on the source of your addiction.

Connect with Your Community

It takes a village to raise a child, and likewise it takes a village to walk you through the process of recovery. The key is to remember that you are not alone. You are hardly the first one to experience your type of addiction and will likely not be the last. There are many who are like you in the world, and no matter how unique you feel your situation is, you can find someone who can truly empathize.

This is much more challenging sticking within your local groups, especially if you live in a smaller area. With a blog, the world is your community, and friendships develop that transcend distance and culture. These friendships can not only turn into ones that last a lifetime, but can also be lifesavers when it comes to accountability and preserving hope.

Take Some Steps

No matter what your program, there will be some steps to recovery, and the more public you are with those steps, the more likely you are to follow through with them and stick to your program.

Like many of the other reasons for a blog above, your journey through the steps can certainly inspire others. Those others can help you stay accountable. Sharing your journey through those steps can also help you expand and identify your community and draw on them for support.

The steps you take are not taken alone and the affect more than just you. Blogging through these steps can also enable you to see progress, so you can take pride in how far you have come.

Share Your Accomplishments

Through a blog you have found accountability and community. You have shared your story and your steps through recovery. When you have victories, and you accomplish the things you have set out to do, sharing them on a blog can help you with feelings of legitimacy and validation.

This validation helps you stay in recovery. Your addiction may never go away, but it will be under control. Surrounding yourself with others who will remind you how far you have come will certainly help but blogging about your accomplishments sets them in your mind. In moments when you feel insecure and unsure, you can look back at your blog for reassurance.

Once you are an addict, you are always an addict, and moments of temptation will come. You will have moments of weakness, sometimes even years into recovery. However, through using your blog to encourage others, look back on your success, and to understand how far you have come, you can walk through those moments if not with ease, at least with success.