People often use quotes on addiction recovery. Why not? Language is a powerful thing. The right thing said at the right time is memorable, and can even be life-changing. In fact, at Castle Craig, we think it’s so important that we include it in our therapy. When dealing with addiction and recovery, words can be a source of strength and motivation. When things get difficult, it is important to seek support. Although you can reach out to a therapist, fellowship, or trusted friend, you can also use your own resources.
As part of your drug or alcohol addiction recovery toolbox, quotes on addiction can be something to turn to if other methods are not enough.
This collection of quotes includes reflections on addiction, motivational words for recovery, and generally inspiring and uplifting messages.
Quotes on Addiction and Recovery
- “First you take a drink, then the drink takes a drink, then the drink takes you.” – F. Scott Fitzgerald
- “Recovery is not a race. You don’t have to feel guilty if it takes you longer than you thought it would.”- Anonymous
- “It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop.” – Confucius
- “When you can stop, you don’t want to. And when you want to stop, you can’t. That’s addiction.”- Anonymous
- “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
- “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
- “The goal isn’t to be sober. The goal is to love yourself so much that you don’t need to drink.”- Anonymous
- “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
- “I am not defined by my relapses, but by my decision to remain in recovery despite them.”- Anonymous
Quotes on Addiction Can Be a Source of Strength
- “Recovery is an acceptance that your life is in shambles and you have to change.”- Jamie Lee Curtis
- “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
- “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
- “Recovery is about progression, not perfection.”- Anonymous
- “Remember that just because you hit bottom doesn’t mean you have to stay there.”- Robert Downey Jr.
- “Recovery is something that you have to work on every single day and it’s something that doesn’t get a day off.”- Demi Lovato
- “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
- “Rock bottom became the solid foundation on which I rebuilt my life.”- J.K. Rowling
- “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
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Be Inspired by Those Who Have Been There
- “Every day is a new day. No need to dwell on the past. Look straight ahead.”- Saint Charlotte
- “People are not addicted to alcohol or drugs, they are addicted to escaping reality.”- Anonymous
- “You are not weak for struggling. You are strong for continuing to fight.”- Anonymous
- “Change your behaviours and your feelings will follow.”- Susan McManhon
- “Be addicted to improving yourself.”- Anonymous
- “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
- “Alcoholism is above all a disease of denial.”- David Stafford
- “One of the hardest things was learning that I was worth recovery.”- Demi Lovato
- “If you can quit for a day, you can quit for a lifetime.”- Benjamin Alire Sáenz
- “I used drugs to feel better. I quit drugs to be better.”- Anonymous
- “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
- “Before you can break out of prison, you must realise you are locked up.”- Anonymous
- “Someone once told me, ‘I heard you finally got rid of your addiction.’ I smiled and said, ‘No, addiction doesn’t work like that. Once you have it, you will always have it. I just choose not to feed it.”- Anonymous
- “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
- “Loving an addicted child is like grieving his death and fighting for his life at the same time”. All while hated, helpless, and alone.”- Anonymous
- “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
In addition to all the above, it can be beneficial to read and ponder over the 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.”
Getting Help
These are just some of the quotes on addiction and recovery. If you are in recovery, these should become so familiar to you that they are part of your consciousness. When you are faced with a challenge, it should come into your mind, and serve as an automatic checklist whereby you can assess and handle your daily problems.
If you think that you might need help in your recovery, or you are at risk of relapse the words of those who have gone before you might be the guidance you need. If you really feel in trouble, contact Castle Craig today for help.
