Content
This support fosters the motivation and self-confidence needed for sustained sobriety. It is generally the first step in a more comprehensive treatment plan. As explained and elaborated on by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, relapse prevention is the main goal of all addiction treatment. Treatment provides you with the tools to change your thoughts, emotions, and behaviors around substance use. If you’re not ready or willing to change those behaviors and thoughts, then treatment cannot do what it’s designed to do.
- If you find it difficult to make new, sober friends, try joining a support group.
- A therapist can help you learn new coping skills, develop new thinking patterns, and address any co-occurring mental health conditions that may make recovery more difficult.
- Getting sober may seem difficult, but there are strategies you can use to get and maintain sobriety.
- Outpatient programs vary widely but typically provide a designated number of hours of treatment per week at a treatment center or facility.
Some people who move from a controlled and protective setting find themselves awash in the environmental cues that lead to their drinking. Sobriety can be a fixed-term goal like staying sober for a set period (such as Dry January), or a lifelong goal of staying sober from all substances. It’s not hard to see why people get more done when they’re sober. When you’ve got high energy levels and lots of free time, it’s easier to stay focused on work, school, and personal projects. It’s much easier to stay financially fit when you’re sober. Besides saving all that money in the first place, you’ll be in a better state of mind to make good financial decisions.
Ways to Get Sober from Alcohol
Don’t be afraid to ask for help and let people know that you’re having a hard time. They’ll be much happier that you reached out now, before you picked up, then afterwards, when a relapse has already happened. When you’re in early recovery, even good days can be tough. It feels like you’re pulled in 521 directions at once, and there’s the constant draw to fall back into old habits. But when life sucks, staying sober can be more than hard, it can feel like it’s next to impossible. Early sobriety may come with feelings of fatigue and the stress of dealing with challenges (people, places, and things that stimulate the urge to use).
Advertisement
You will have days when you don’t necessarily make the strongest choices to improve your well-being or strengthen your recovery. No matter what happened yesterday or even five minutes ago, you can choose to be patient with yourself, reassess, and pivot as needed. Anything you can do to improve your overall health and wellness will serve double duty and improve your ability to stay sober. Battered and broken, Ortega celebrated his 28th birthday by disappearing with friends for a solid week of partying.
Identify Your Triggers
We’ve seen multiple societal changes in our lifetime, from fashion trends to laws, to name just two, and as I wrote in my last post, there have been a number of changes to the thinking in the addiction field. To accommodate those changes, it appears that the meaning of the word “sober” has changed. Some people may have had legal troubles or gotten a DUI. Others may have increased marital or relationship problems that are heading toward divorce or breakups. Maybe your work life has suffered, and your boss is tired of you calling in sick or coming in late.
It’s difficult to admit that you have lost control over your substance use. When it seems like all you want to do is forget, to go get high or drunk and be gone, if only for a few moments, remember what addiction’s cost you. Remember what life was like when every moment was chaos and unmanageable. Remember how family and friends wouldn’t return calls or didn’t trust to leave you alone.
Give yourself time
When things feel out of control or you feel that you’re at risk for relapse, go to a meeting. Stand up and say, I’m having a rough time, and any extra support is appreciated. Financial troubles and problems finding and keeping employment are major triggers for relapse, but it is possible to take baby steps and get your finances in order. Just keep in mind that your improvements won’t happen overnight. You may also need to change your route to work or home in order to avoid any triggers, or people, places, or things that make you want to use drugs or drink again.
Feeling guilty or ashamed of past behavior or actions during active addiction is natural and healthy. People in recovery from a substance use disorder frequently have problems meeting work-related responsibilities, maintaining employment, and managing money. If you were active in your addiction for a period of time, you may have developed financial problems. A mental health professional can help you cope with some of the challenges you’ll face on your path to sobriety. If PAWS is severe or if you’re experiencing prolonged symptoms, a medical professional can help you work through them and remain in recovery without relapse.
However, once you give up drinking or drugs, your life will change for the better in a multitude of ways. Whether you’re an addict or you are simply looking to improve your health, here are 14 reasons sobriety makes your life healthier, more fulfilling, and more fun. That being said, you might not be at a place where you want people to know you’re not drinking, and that’s OK. You can provide an excuse, like that you’re on antibiotics, or you aren’t feeling great or want to feel fresh for something you have going on the next day.
While we are unable to respond to your feedback directly, we’ll use this information to improve our online help. So here’s a deep dive into the many reasons people struggle on their unique paths to sobriety as well as insights on how to overcome the fears and challenges they’ll likely meet along the way. Yes, asking for help was already listed, but it is so important that it is worth repeating. Getting through recovery’s ups and downs requires you to do more than just occasionally show up and interact with people who may be able to support you. You can always improve how you fare in sobriety by looking at where you can improve your quality of life.
Alcohol-Related Health Problems
For example, you may have developed a co-dependent relationship, or a family member, friend, or employer may have been enabling you without even knowing it. The symptoms involved in PAWS can be a barrier to recovery if you’re not careful. In addition to being able to recognize them, it’s important to know when to seek help. However, research suggests that while 12-step groups are effective, people often don’t continue their involvement at beneficial levels over the long term. Knowing relapse signs can help you recognize your risk of relapse, and they may include a return to addictive thinking patterns and compulsive behaviors. So now I’m sober, and I have zero choice but to be me in all situations.
Post-acute withdrawal syndrome (PAWS) involves experiencing withdrawal symptoms that persist past the detox period. Such symptoms are often related to mood and may include irritability, anxiety, depression, sleep problems, and fatigue. Sobriety means not being under the influence of a substance. However, the word is often used in different ways in different contexts. Many 12-step programs suggest that sobriety means total abstinence—never using the substance ever again.
Sucks Being Sober
It can seem intimidating to look at the end goal and know the many steps it will take to get sober. No one can wave a magic wand and make you or someone you love sober. Sobriety is a lifelong https://ecosoberhouse.com/ journey filled with challenges and obstacles but also incredible rewards. One of the easiest ways to forget your own problems is to give back to people less fortunate than yourself.
- Everyone faces difficult situations, ranging from getting a rough night’s sleep to dealing with a death in the family or an unexpected divorce.
- After a night of drinking, one friend gleefully conversed with a woman across the bar about the virtues of soup—for an hour.
- You can learn more about treatment through some of our sobriety stories.
- This article will describe sobriety in more detail, the challenges a person faces while working to stay sober, the options for treatment, and tips for building a sober lifestyle.
