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Whether you are just starting your journey towards addiction recovery or are looking for motivation during long-term sobriety; sometimes inspirational words from others can help to keep focused on the goal at hand. These 100 inspiring quotes can help everyone through each step on the road to recovery.
Quotes to help with addiction recovery
These 100 quotes can help you understand why you turn to alcohol or drugs, galvanize you to confront your substance abuse, and inspire you to fix it. They can lend you strategies as you work toward sobriety, pick you up when you relapse, help you when your recovery feels tenuous, even when you're holding a 10-year sobriety chip, and, in dark times, make you feel less alone.
As you read through these quotes, a few will resonate. Maybe they hold a mirror to your existence, are particularly effective at dismantling your denial, or allow you to think of yourself and your addiction in a new way. Jot those few quotes down, in a notebook or on your phone. As you move toward recovery, or just renew your grasp on it, remind yourself of those words. They can be a comforting shoulderΓÇöor a bracing reality checkΓÇöwhen you need it most.
Recovery quotes
Whether youΓÇÖre just wondering if recovery is possible for you or shoring up your sobriety after decades in recovery, these words will remind you why addiction is so destructive and hard to evict from your lifeΓÇöand why that fight is always worth it.
- ΓÇ£Addiction, at its worst, is akin to having Stockholm Syndrome. YouΓÇÖre like a hostage who has developed an irrational affection for your captor. They can abuse you, torture you, even threaten to kill you, and youΓÇÖll remain inexplicably and disturbingly loyal.ΓÇ¥ - Anne Clendening, writer and yoga instructor
- ΓÇ£An addict is someone who uses their body to tell society that something is wrong.ΓÇ¥ - Stella Adler, actress
- ΓÇ£Asking for help is really the beginning of any sort of recovery process.ΓÇ¥ - Marc Maron, comedian
- ΓÇ£I live in negotiation with a shadow side that has to be respected. There is a wound. I believe that this is more than a characteristic of addiction. I think it is a part of being human, to carry a wound, a flaw and again, paradoxically, it is only by accepting it that we can progress.ΓÇ¥ - Russell Brand, comedian and actor
- ΓÇ£Remember just because you hit bottom doesnΓÇÖt mean you have to stay there.ΓÇ¥ ΓÇô Robert Downey Jr.
- ΓÇ£Recovery is something that you have to work on every single day and itΓÇÖs something that doesnΓÇÖt get a day off.ΓÇ¥ - Demi Lovato, singer and actress
- ΓÇ£Nobody stays recovered unless the life they have created is more rewarding and satisfying than the one they left behind.ΓÇ¥ - Anne Fletcher, addiction specialist
- ΓÇ£The goal isnΓÇÖt to be sober. The goal is to love yourself so much that you donΓÇÖt need to drink.ΓÇ¥ ΓÇô Unknown
- ΓÇ£Rock bottom became the solid foundation on which I rebuilt my life.ΓÇ¥ - J.K. Rowling, author
- ΓÇ£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.ΓÇ¥ ΓÇô Tom Stoddart, photojournalist
- ΓÇ£Recovery is not simple abstinence. ItΓÇÖs about healing the brain, remembering how to feel, learning how to make good decisions, becoming the kind of person who can engage in healthy relationships, cultivating the willingness to accept help from others, daring to be honest, and opening up to doing.ΓÇ¥ - Debra Jay, addiction specialists
- ΓÇ£Being a drug addict in recovery is actually a great place to be because youΓÇÖre forced to be looking at the rancid layers of the onion that youΓÇÖve been carrying around for a lifetime. Whatever degree of struggle it offers me, IΓÇÖm actually grateful for. It keeps me working towards change, it gives me the desire for changeΓÇ¥ - Anthony Kiedis, rockstar
Addiction quotes
Addiction can feel like a black hole, particularly if youΓÇÖve tried to quit before and failed or relapsed. But you can escape and build a different life, no matter how many times you stumble.
To overcome addiction, you need to decide it internally, casting aside your previous denials and excuses and abandoning your old patterns of thinking and ways of life. But you're not an island. Beating addiction also requires you to have the strength to ask for help when you can't do it alone.
- ΓÇ£If you can quit for a day, you can quit for a lifetime.ΓÇ¥ - Benjamin Alire Saenz, writer
-  “The initial journey towards sobriety is a delicate balance between insight into one's desire for escape and abstinence from one's addiction,” Debra L. Kaplan, therapist
- ΓÇ£All the suffering, stress, and addiction comes from not realizing you already are what you are looking for.ΓÇ¥ ΓÇô Jon Kabat-Zinn, doctor and author
- ΓÇ£Thinking about not drinking forever was very scary, but once I did it wasnΓÇÖt hard anymore because I had all of these miracles happen that let me know I was on exactly the right path.ΓÇ¥ - Lana Del Rey, singer-songwriter
- ΓÇ£Addiction is an adaptation. ItΓÇÖs not youΓÇôitΓÇÖs the cage you live in.ΓÇ¥ - Johann Hari, writer
- ΓÇ£Job one is get out of that cave. A lot of people do get out but don't change. So the thing is to get out and recognize the significance of that aggressive denial of your fate, come through the crucible forged into a stronger metal.ΓÇ¥ - Robert Downey Jr, actor
- ΓÇ£Don't pick up a drink or drug, one day at a time. It actually is simple, but it isn't easy: it requires incredible support and fastidious structuring.ΓÇ¥ - Russell Brand
- ΓÇ£That inner dialogue proves to us, 'You're not capable of change. You are weak. You're staying stuck.' And when you break that cycle, the empowerment that comes out of it, that says, 'I'm not weak, I'm actually strong, I've proven to myself that I am capable of change,' and I believe people are capable of big changes." - Drew Barrymore, actress
- ΓÇ£People who go through rehab or a halfway house walk a tough road together and not all of them make it. We knew we faced a powerful adversary that demanded respect. Unlike combat, the adversary was inside us.ΓÇ¥ - Rob Delaney, comedian and actor
- ΓÇ£As IΓÇÖve had to remind myself, if you have a problem, getting help is a sign of courage, not weakness or failure. With acceptance and humility, I continue to avail myself with the help of so many people and I am grateful to all those who are there for me. I hope down the road I can offer an example to others who are struggling.ΓÇ¥ - Ben Affleck, actor
Celebrity recovery quotes
Addiction can feel like a shameful secret, a place of isolation, a mark of failure. But some of the worldΓÇÖs most successful celebrities have struggled with the same urges and overcome them. Many have shared their experiences of despair, self-destruction, resilience, and recovery to inspire others fighting similar battles and to assure them theyΓÇÖre not alone.
- “I change when I’m drunk. I’m one of those people who changes…There is something in any person who drinks in a way that’s clearly not good for them, something that is attracted to that chaos.” - Daniel Radcliffe, actor
- ΓÇ£Getting sober was the single bravest thing IΓÇÖve ever done, and will ever do, in my life. Being courageous enough to acknowledge it privately with my family and friends. Working really hard at solidifying it, getting support around it, and being healthy. And then talking about it publicly. That is the single greatest accomplishment of my life.ΓÇ¥ -Jamie Lee Curtis, actress
- “The idea that the creative endeavor and mind-altering substances are entwined is one of the great pop-intellectual myths of our time… Substance abusing writers are just substance abusers —common garden variety drunks and druggies, in other words.” - Stephen King, writer
- ΓÇ£I realized that I only had two choices: I was either going to die, or I was going to live, and which one did I want to do? And then I said those words, ΓÇÿIΓÇÖll get help,ΓÇÖ or, ΓÇÿI need help. IΓÇÖll get help.ΓÇÖ And my life turned around. Ridiculous for a human being to take 16 years to say, ΓÇÿI need help.ΓÇÖΓÇ¥ - Elton John, singer and composer
- ΓÇ£I couldnΓÇÖt believe that anybody could be naturally happy without being on something. So I would say to anybody, ΓÇÿIt does get better.ΓÇÖΓÇ¥ - Eminem, rapper
- ΓÇ£Sometimes you can only find Heaven by slowly backing away from Hell.ΓÇ¥ - Carrie Fisher, actress
- ΓÇ£Like, at first itΓÇÖs fine and you think you have a dark side ΓÇô itΓÇÖs exciting ΓÇô and then you realize the dark side wins every time if you decide to indulge in it. - Lana Del Rey, singer-songwriter
- ΓÇ£I don't drink or do drugs anymore. I realized I wasn't going to live up to my potential, and that scared the hell out of me. I thought, 'Wow, I'm actually gonna ruin my life. I'm really gonna ruin it.ΓÇÖΓÇ¥ - Bradley Cooper, actor and filmmaker
- ΓÇ£I got sober. I stopped killing myself with alcohol. I began to think: ΓÇÿWait a minute ΓÇô if I can stop doing this, what are the possibilities?ΓÇÖ And slowly it dawned on me that it was maybe worth the risk.ΓÇ¥ ΓÇò Craig Ferguson, television host
Sobriety quotes
Sobriety isnΓÇÖt dull, sanctimonious, or churchy. Rather it is the conditions for a radically better life, with robust health, positive relationships, and the time and energy to both fulfill your responsibilities and pursue your passions.
- ΓÇ£Your best days are ahead of you. The movie starts when the guy gets sober and puts his life back together; it doesnΓÇÖt end there.ΓÇ¥ - Bucky Sinister, author
- ΓÇ£Somebody once asked me how I define sobriety, and my response was ΓÇÿliberation from dependenceΓÇÖ.ΓÇ¥ - Leslie Jamison, author
- ΓÇ£Being in recovery has given me everything of value that I have in my life. Integrity, honesty, fearlessness, faith, a relationship with God, and most of all gratitude. It's given me a beautiful family and an amazing career. I'm under no illusions where I would be without the gift of alcoholism and the chance to recover from it.ΓÇ¥ - Rob Lowe, actor
- ΓÇ£When I got sober, I thought giving up was saying goodbye to all the fun and all the sparkle, and it turned out to be just the opposite. ThatΓÇÖs when the sparkle started for me.ΓÇ¥ - Mary Karr, poet
- ΓÇ£I chose sober because I wanted a better life. I stay sober because I got oneΓÇÖ ΓÇô Unknown
- ΓÇ£[Without sobriety] I would never be sitting here with you, no way, no chance. I never would have been able to have the relationships that I do. I never would have been able to take care of my father the way I did when he was sick. So many things." - Bradley Cooper, actor and filmmaker
- ΓÇ£Getting sober is a radically creative act.ΓÇ¥ΓÇò Meredith Bell, author
- ΓÇ£I think itΓÇÖs important for me to show the world that sobriety hasnΓÇÖt made me soft. IΓÇÖm on a mission to prove IΓÇÖm still a nutcase.ΓÇ¥ΓÇò Steve-O, television personality
Alcoholism quotes
Alcoholism is an insidious addiction: the social and special occasion drinking most people indulge in escalates into dependence for a minority. But while millions of people have fallen prey to alcohol, millions have also broken free from its shackles, including many of the people behind these quotes.
- "First you take a drink, then the drink takes a drink, then the drink takes you." - F. Scott Fitzgerald, author
- ΓÇ£I once heard a sober alcoholic say that drinking never made him happy, but it made him feel like he was going to be happy in about fifteen minutes. That was exactly it, and I couldnΓÇÖt understand why the happiness never came, couldnΓÇÖt see that alcohol kept me trapped in a world of illusion, procrastination, paralysis. I lived always in the future, never in the present. Next time, next time! Next time I drank it would be different, next time it would make me feel good again. And all my efforts were doomed because already drinking hadnΓÇÖt made me feel good in years.ΓÇ¥ - Heather King, author
- ΓÇ£I wanted a drink [because] I didnΓÇÖt want to feel what I was feeling, and a voice within was telling me that I needed a drink, that I couldnΓÇÖt bear it without it. But that voice is a liar. You can always bear the pain. ItΓÇÖll hurt, itΓÇÖll burn like acid in an open wound, but you can stand it. And, as long as you can make yourself go on choosing the pain over the relief, you can keep going.ΓÇ¥ - Lawrence Block, author
- ΓÇ£The problem of alcohol is, itΓÇÖs just too easy. ItΓÇÖs everywhere. At least hard drugs, you have to have a dealer. All I know is, I could feel its presence in an ominous, daunting way that was preventing me from being my higher self.ΓÇ¥ ΓÇô Ben Harper, singer-songwriter
- ΓÇ£When was the last time you woke up and wished youΓÇÖd had just one more drink the night before? I have never regretted not drinking. Say this to yourself, and youΓÇÖll get through anything.ΓÇ¥ - Meredith Bell, author
- ΓÇ£When I was growing up, when I thought of an alcoholic, I thought of some toothless old guy in a trench coat in a basement somewhere. I just never thought that would apply to me. That type of stigma kept me from getting the help that I needed when I knew I needed it.ΓÇ¥ - Joe Manganiello, actor
- ΓÇ£I was mad at that bottle. At how it allowed me to stay complacent and numb.ΓÇ¥ - Jessica Simpson, singer
- ΓÇ£For people who drink too much, the problem isn't really about booze. It's about an inability to deal with life ... What giving up booze does is allow you to look at yourself through an untainted mirror for the first time.ΓÇ¥ - Collin Farrel, actor
- “Rehab isn’t what finally got me sober. It was nearly losing everything and finally seeing that whatever benefit I thought alcohol gave me was outweighed by what it would cost me… ‘You’re removing the capacity to be present, not just in the bad moments.’ You’re numbing the good feelings. You’re numbing everything. It’s profoundly selfish.” – Elizabeth Vargas, television journalist
- ΓÇ£Alcoholism is a devastating, potentially fatal disease. The primary symptom of having it is telling everyone--including yourselfΓÇöthat you are not an alcoholic.ΓÇ¥ - Herbert L. Gravitz & Julie D. Bowden, authors
- ΓÇ£ItΓÇÖs been said that alcoholics are egomaniacs with low self-esteem. ItΓÇÖs the perfect description. Being larger than life and yet your pride is crushed with self-loathing.ΓÇ¥ - Gary Oldman, actor
- ΓÇ£I think once I made up my mind that I was allergic to alcohol, and thatΓÇÖs what I learned, it made sense to me. And I think it was kind of pointed out that you know if you were allergic to strawberries, you wouldnΓÇÖt eat strawberries. And that made sense to me.ΓÇ¥- Betty Ford
Drug abuse quotes
These quotes grasp drug addiction in all its hues: from the early usage to numb pain and loneliness, to the sinking into physical dependency and the erosion of your self-esteem and all other plans for your life. These words remind us that drugs donΓÇÖt intensify life, enhance creativity, and bring us joy but rather do the polar opposite. They remind us why we strive towards recovery, even when it feels very far away.
- ΓÇ£At first, addiction is maintained by pleasure, but the intensity of the pleasure gradually diminishes and addiction is then maintained by the avoidance of pain.ΓÇ¥ - Frank Tallis, psychologist
- ΓÇ£I used to think a drug addict was someone who lived on the far edges of society. Wild-eyed, shaven-headed and living in a filthy squat. That was until I became one.ΓÇ¥ - Cathryn Kemp, writer
- ΓÇ£Most addicts I have talked to report a similar experience. They did not start using drugs for any reason they can remember. They just drifted along until they got hooked. If you have never been addicted, you can have no clear idea what it means to need junk with the addictΓÇÖs special need. You donΓÇÖt decide to be an addict. One morning you wake up sick and youΓÇÖre an addict.ΓÇ£ - William S. Burroughs, writer
-  “Drugs are a waste of time. They destroy your memory and your self-respect and everything that goes along with with your self esteem.” - Kurt Cobain, rockstar
- ΓÇ£People use drugs, legal and illegal, because their lives are intolerably painful or dull. They hate their work and find no rest in their leisure. They are estranged from their families and their neighbors. It should tell us something that in healthy societies drug use is celebrative, convivial, and occasional, whereas among us it is lonely, shameful, and addictive. We need drugs, apparently, because we have lost each other.ΓÇ¥ - Wendell Berry, writer
- ΓÇ£Not all addictions are rooted in abuse or trauma, but I do believe they can all be traced to painful experience. A hurt is at the center of all addictive behaviors.ΓÇ£ ΓÇô Gabor Mate, doctor and addiction expert
- ΓÇ£IΓÇÖve wanted to feel pleasure to the point of insanity. They call it getting high because it's wanting to know that higher level, that godlike level. You want to touch the heavens, you want to feel glory and euphoria, but the trick is it takes work. You can't buy it, you can't get it on a street corner, you can't steal it or inject it or shove it up your ass, you have to earn it.ΓÇ¥ - Anthony Kiedis, rockstar
-  “There’s not a drug on Earth that can make life meaningful.” – Sarah Kane, playwright
- ΓÇ£People always want to ask me about my drug problemΓÇöI never had a drug problem; I had a self-esteem problem!ΓÇ¥ - Gloria Gaynor, singer
- ΓÇ£ThatΓÇÖs at least in part why I ingested chemical wasteΓÇöit was a kind of desire to abbreviate myself. To present the CliffNotes of the emotional me, as opposed to the twelve-column read. I used to refer to my drug use as putting the monster in the box. I wanted to be less, so I took moreΓÇösimple as that.ΓÇ¥ - Carrie Fisher, actress
Recovery daily quotes and mantras
Many people find mantras and affirmations helpful in their recovery: reciting them throughout the day, using them during meditation and prayer, finding comfort and inspiration in the words in times of strain. Mantras arenΓÇÖt just empty words: they can alter how we perceive and interact with our reality. By repeatedly reinforcing a positive statementΓÇöthat recovery is possible and we are deserving of itΓÇöwe can gradually change our mindset and from there change our lives.
The best mantras are not fanciful or idealistic but rather practical and dynamic, pointing the way toward personal change. Here are some tried and true options.
- ΓÇ£YouΓÇÖre not responsible for your disease, but you are responsible for your behavior.ΓÇ¥
-  “Sobriety is a journey, not a destination.”
- ΓÇ£I can change my story.ΓÇ¥
- ΓÇ£I deserve to be sober.ΓÇ¥
- ΓÇ£I refuse to give up on myself.ΓÇ¥
- ΓÇ£Failure is a stepping stone.ΓÇ¥
-  “What I do today creates a better tomorrow.”
- ΓÇ£I am becoming who I want to be.ΓÇ¥
- ΓÇ£I am worthy of inner peace.ΓÇ¥
- ΓÇ£I accept myself completely.ΓÇ¥
Quotes for self-love
Addiction is often rooted in poor self-esteem, which then erodes further as you fail to stop using, feel stigma and shame, and neglect your physical and mental health. Self-love is crucial to your recovery, helping you tend to your needs, forgive yourself, and work towards a better life.
- ΓÇ£One of the hardest things was learning that I was worth recovery.ΓÇ¥ - Demi Lovato, actress and singer
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