They can feel overwhelming and like they will never end. When you feel better, your mood is elevated, you’re more likely to ignore the little annoyances, and you’re less likely to feel like a relapse is your only way out of any uncomfortable situations that may arise. You can always improve how you fare in sobriety by looking at where you can improve your quality of life. I share my experience because I do not want others to be blindsided like I was. Sobriety is not all roses and reggae, after all, and those who are in a position to help, will always stress the indisputable fact that being clear-headed is better than being a drunk.
Recovery Connection
Go to a 12-step meeting, find a sober group online, or call a sober friend who understands. Once you’ve admitted that you have a problem with substance misuse, getting help is the next step. The opioid crisis revealed the total failure of our intellectual model around drugs because it revealed that if something’s presented to us as medicine, we surrender our authority. And we’re like, Well, the doctor said it’s fine, so a bunch of people were given a really dangerous drug — a really physically addictive, habit-forming drug — and now we have 100,000 people dying a year of fentanyl overdoses.
Avoid Old Routines and Habits
You may also experience what is commonly called sobriety fatigue, which refers to the overall exhaustion that may occur as a result of the emotional and physical stress of staying sober. So, it’s extra helpful to have a support network available to you when you need it. 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. My biggest fears in life include being in large groups of strange people, standing at parties by myself, and really just people in general. Drunk me didn’t have to worry if I was alone at a party because drunk me didn’t abide such things. Drunk me didn’t worry if she belonged, or said the right thing, or had to have small talk because drunk me just handled that.
The hardest part of being sober is explaining it to you. Here’s why you shouldn’t ask.
That’s more than breast cancer, car accidents, gun violence. And then when you reverberate that beyond the individual, to their families, and for how many years it’s been going on now, it’s really appalling. Reported writing can be useful — it’s important — but it’s not the thing you turn to when you want to remember what it felt like or when you’re trying to process what happened.
Tips to Stay Sober
By Michelle PugleMichelle Pugle, MA is a freelance writer and reporter focusing on mental health and chronic conditions. As seen in Verywell, Healthline, Psych Central, Everyday https://ecosoberhouse.com/ Health, and Health.com, among others. Some studies find that this structure, along with a start date for sobriety and milestones, is important to some people in recovery.
- Normally I wouldn’t mind—I mean, my conversations are littered with expletives—but when it’s two in the morning, and I’m sober and tired, it wears thin quick.
- How you feel today — no matter how boring, stifling, angering, or depressing it may be — will be different tomorrow.
- If left unchecked, anger can have a negative impact on your health and your lasting sobriety.
- I am very happy and grateful to be two years sober, but I wish I’d known then, what I know now.
- 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.
- These days, unless I’m feeling generous, I simply say, “I don’t drink,” and leave it at that.
Or it could be that you’ve developed a physical health problem that you know is probably due to drinking and you want to make positive changes before things get worse. If you’re not experiencing negative health effects right now, it might be a good idea to learn about what could happen if you do keep drinking. Keep in mind that self-help strategies are helpful tools, but you may need additional help to remain sober long-term. Addiction treatment can be beneficial in helping you learn coping skills, gather insight into any underlying co-occurring issues, and develop relapse prevention methods that can assist you in maintaining long-term sobriety. But then again, our social culture and traditions often revolve around alcohol. I’ve tried for most of my adult life to satisfy these curious inquiries with a revolving set of answers.
- This support fosters the motivation and self-confidence needed for sustained sobriety.
- If you’re not experiencing negative health effects right now, it might be a good idea to learn about what could happen if you do keep drinking.
Instead, she started out writing an elegy for the Bushwick-based rave-culture scene, which she got involved with after developing a strong intellectual and personal interest in hallucinogenic drugs. This was also around the time she entered an idyllic love affair with a younger boyfriend, with whom she lived and partied. Her parallel lives of partying and reporting culminated in a life-altering moment at a Black Lives Matter protest that catalyzed the protracted and dramatic ending of her relationship. Her boyfriend, injured by police, experienced a manic episode that led Witt to question her own perception of reality. It also covers tips on how to deal with the challenges you’ll face on your journey to sobriety. Relapse (using substances again after stopping) can and does happen, with 85% of people experiencing relapse at least once and half of them doing so within the first two weeks of sobriety.
That finally there was a reaction proportionate to the kind of violence that was being inflicted. As a reporter, I thought maybe we would see some big structural change after feeling helpless for a long time. And then, when I was working, I’d have to pretend to be culturally legitimate to these really right-wing people I ended up interviewing. I mean, it was really hard to figure out what to say about certain things.
Getting Through Detox
I know, I know, this website is called “Recovery Connection” and it is designed to encourage those who are suffering the slings and arrows of addiction to get help. It is also an educational tool for addiction being sober sucks professionals and those in recovery, and I am here to tell you I had some unexpected lessons to learn when I became sober. As previously mentioned, no one treatment is effective for all people.
- It was a horrible cycle of self-medicating my anxiety with alcohol which, in turn, only made my anxiety levels worse.
- Setbacks don’t erase progress, though, and they don’t mean you’ve “failed” to stay sober.
- The amount of time it takes to achieve abstinence can depend on the individual, says Tetrault.
- Support isn’t just needed to get a person started on the path to recovery from addiction.
- Other definitions, however, focus on the process of recovery and coping habits that support health and wellness over the long term.
Support groups can include 12-step meetings like Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) or non-12-step groups like SMART Recovery, which has a more secular approach. Whether it’s for health, relationship, financial, or any number of reasons, consider creating a list on your phone of the reasons why you want to get and stay sober. Set a reminder once or twice a day to look through your list and share it with a supportive person in your life if you feel comfortable. Often-times in recovery, being sober seems to be the aim. Yes, it is a crucial and a fundamental part (the beginning aspect) of starting the journey to full scale “recovery,” but the independent process of avoiding drugs and alcohol is nowhere near true freedom.
