Words are an incredibly powerful thing, and some people rely on daily affirmations and quotes to help them through all sorts of difficulties. Being in recovery is no different; in fact, meaningful words can be even more powerful when you are dealing with addiction, as they show you that you’re not alone.
When you’re struggling, finding the right words at the right time can even be life-changing. They can even help you through the difficult moments one by one. Words can interrupt cycles and feelings of shame, help regulate emotions, and offer perspective and reflection on your own personal journey.
At Castle Craig, we believe it’s essential to include this in our therapy programmes.
Read our 40 quotes on addiction recovery. They may be useful for people during all stages of their journey, whether you’re thinking about getting help for yourself, beginning your journey in treatment, or needing support after rehab. They allow you to interrupt the cycles of shame you may be feeling, soften intense or overwhelming emotions, and help you find a change of perspective.
Scientifically, repeating a meaningful phrase, known as an affirmation, helps to rewire your thought patterns. When you read these daily affirmations, you are actually training your brain to think in new, healthier ways, which is why quotes matter so much in recovery.
The science behind daily affirmations
Daily affirmations work by harnessing the brain’s natural ability to adapt and rewire itself. This is a process known as “neuroplasticity”. When repeated, affirmations help positive neural pathways become stronger and negative ones weaker. This is a bit like the process used in Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT).
Affirmations activate the brain’s reward system, making us more open to uplifting messages. Over time, this can help boost your emotional resilience, support self-control, and make healthy changes feel much easier to achieve.
Quotes on drug or alcohol addiction and recovery
When things get hard, you can reach out to a support group or a trusted friend, but you can also use your own resources as you build your strength and resilience. As part of your drug or alcohol addiction recovery toolkit, you can turn to your favourite quotes on addiction whenever you need them.
This collection includes reflections on addiction, inspirational quotes on addiction and recovery, and uplifting messages about your own recovery journey. Read on to see which ones speak to you; you can write them down, memorise them, or turn to them when you need to read them again.
Understanding the pain and nature of addiction
These quotes on addiction and recovery speak honestly about the control addiction can have over people and the pain that often causes it in the first place. They are considered to have been useful to those struggling with addiction.
- “First you take a drink, then the drink takes a drink, then the drink takes you.” – F. Scott Fitzgerald
- “When you can stop, you don’t want to. And when you want to stop, you can’t. That’s addiction.”- Anonymous
- “I have absolutely no pleasure in the stimulants in which I sometimes so madly indulge. It has not been in the pursuit of pleasure that I have periled life and reputation and reason. It has been the desperate attempt to escape from torturing memories, from a sense of insupportable loneliness and a dread of some strange impending doom.”- Edgar Allen Poe
- “Addiction is a hole in the soul. You fill it with whatever you can.” – A.A. Gill
- “Addiction is just a way of trying to get at something else. Something bigger. Call it transcendence if you want, but it’s like a rat in a maze. We all want the same thing. We all have this hole. The thing you want offers relief, but it’s a trap.”- Tess Callahan
- “Addictions… started out like magical pets, pocket monsters. They did extraordinary tricks, showed you things you hadn’t seen, and were fun. But came, through some gradual dire alchemy, to make decisions for you. Eventually, they were making your most crucial life decisions. And they were… less intelligent than goldfish.”- William Gibson
- “Addiction is a monster; it lives inside, and feeds off of you, takes from you, controls you, and destroys you. It is a beast that tears you apart, rips out your soul, and laughs at your weakness. It is a stone wall that stands to keep you in and the rest out. It is a shadow that always lurks behind you, waiting to strike. Addiction lives in everyone’s mind, sitting, staring, waiting…”- Anonymous
Quotes from Alcoholics Anonymous
In addition to all the above, you can read and meditate on quotes and slogans used in 12 Step fellowships such as Alcoholics Anonymous. Perhaps the best known of these is “One day at a time”, but there are many others, such as:
- “How important is it?”
- “Easy does it,”
- “Keep it simple”
- “Let go and let God.”
- “Nothing changes if nothing changes.”
- “First things first.”
We know that words are essential in the recovery community, so books like the Big Book, Daily Reflections AA book and the NA’s Just for Today are used to help people feel supported and united.
These are known as ‘daily readers’ and give you a piece of wisdom or an inspiring thought for every day of the year. You can also find thoughts and passages from these resources online to read each morning.
They share honest reflections from people who are going through the same thing that you are, and their words may give you the sense of warmth and understanding you might be looking for in times of need.
Starting the day with one of these readings also gives you a clear focus. It helps you feel connected and reminds you of your commitment to living just “one day at a time.”
- From the Big Book: “We are going to know a new freedom and a new happiness.”
- From the AA Daily Reflections: “Being a little kinder, a little slower to anger, a little more loving makes my life better – day by day.”
- From the NA Just for Today: “Just for today, my thoughts will be on my recovery, living and enjoying life without the use of drugs.”
When you need patience and perseverance
When the process of recovering feels slow or too difficult, these words can remind you that consistent, patient action is what truly helps you make long-term changes.
- “Recovery is not a race. You don’t have to feel guilty if it takes you longer than you thought it would.”- Anonymous
- “You don’t go into rehab to get off alcohol; you go into rehab to learn how to live without it.” – A.A. Gill
- “It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop.” – Confucius
- “Recovery is an acceptance that your life is in shambles and you have to change.”- Jamie Lee Curtis
- “Remember that just because you hit bottom doesn’t mean you have to stay there.”- Robert Downey Jr.
- “Hope begins in the dark—if you keep showing up, the dawn will come.” – Anne Lamott
When you’re stepping out into life
These quotes focus on the hope and the hard work you need to rebuild your life, praising the value and identity you gain along the way.
- “When was the last time you woke up and wished you’d had just one more drink the night before? I have never regretted not drinking. Say this to yourself, and you’ll get through anything.”- Meredith Bell
- “I’m not telling you it is going to be easy. I’m telling you it’s going to be worth it!”- Anonymous
- “You don’t get over an addiction by stopping using. You recover by creating a new life where it is easier to not use. If you don’t create a new life, then all the factors that brought you to your addiction will catch up with you again.”- Anonymous
- “When everything seems like an uphill struggle, just think of the view from the top.”- Anonymous
- “You were never created to live depressed, defeated, guilty, condemned, ashamed or unworthy. You were created to be victorious.”- Anonymous
If you’ve relapsed
Setbacks happen to everyone in recovery, and these voices are here to reassure you that a moment of relapse does not define the rest of your journey.
- “I am not defined by my relapses, but by my decision to remain in recovery despite them.”- Anonymous
- “Recovery is about progression, not perfection.”- Anonymous
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Be inspired by people who have been there
This next section features the powerful voices of people who have actually walked this recovery journey themselves. They are the phrases and affirmations they leaned on to find strength and get through the most difficult days.
Changing behaviours and beliefs
Some quotes say that recovery is about changing how you think about your addiction and the small choices you make every day.
- “Every day is a new day. No need to dwell on the past. Look straight ahead.”- Saint Charlotte
- “The opposite of addiction isn’t sobriety. It’s connection.” – Johann Hari
- “Change your behaviours and your feelings will follow.”- Susan McManhon
- “You can’t go back and change the beginning, but you can start where you are and change the ending.” – C.S. Lewis
- “Our greatest glory is not in never failing, but in rising up every time we fail.”- Ralph Waldo Emerson
- “Addiction makes you blind to your reality.”- Anonymous
- “Recovery isn’t always easy, but it certainly beats the alternative.”- Anonymous
- “Fall seven times, stand up eight.”- Japanese proverb
- “Every time you feel lost, remind yourself: you are on the path.” – Russell Brand
- “Alcoholism is above all a disease of denial.”- David Stafford
Identity and self-worth in recovery
These sayings show how important it is to rediscover your self-worth and find joy in your identity again.
- “You are not weak for struggling. You are strong for continuing to fight.”- Anonymous
- “If we can share our story with someone who responds with empathy and understanding, shame can’t survive.” – Brené Brown
- “Be addicted to improving yourself.”- Anonymous
- “I used drugs to feel better. I quit drugs to be better.”- Anonymous
- “Owning our story can be hard but not nearly as difficult as spending our lives running from it.” – Brené Brown
- “We may think there is willpower involved, but more likely, change is due to wanting power. Wanting the new addiction more than the old one. Wanting the new me in preference to the person I am now.”- George Sheehan
- “We build resilience by developing the courage to stand up, to say no, and to keep trying.” – Brené Brown
- “My addiction does not define who I am or who I will be!”- Lisa Renee Barnes Lampros
- “I understood, through rehab, things about creating characters. I understood that creating whole people means knowing where we come from, how we can make a mistake, and how we overcome things to make ourselves stronger.”- Samuel L. Jackson
- “I really mean when I say my biggest fear in early recovery was that I would never have fun again. The beautiful truth is that recovery has given me freedom and the confidence to go out in the world and leave my own mark.”- Tom Stoddart
Getting Recovery Help for Alcohol or Drug Addiction
The powerful words on this page show that addiction recovery is never something you have to face on your own. If you are struggling with addiction or starting rehab treatment and feeling afraid, you can bring them into your mind to help you assess and handle your daily challenges.
Here at Castle Craig, we understand that recovery is built on lasting connections, and that is why you become part of our lifelong community the moment you leave residential rehab treatment. This connection continues through our dedicated Recovery Club, a compassionate network of past patients who are committed to supporting each other.
If these quotes have motivated you to begin your recovery, or if you feel you need to return to rehab treatment, please contact us today for confidential advice.
