To stay sober, one must navigate various challenges and triggers that may threaten their commitment. These challenges may include social pressures, emotional upheavals, or even internal battles with cravings and temptations. It requires resilience, self-awareness, and a set of effective strategies to overcome these obstacles and maintain sobriety. Research shows that if you maintain these types of toxic relationships, your chances of relapsing are greater. To avoid relapse and remain sober, it’s important to develop healthy relationships.
Focus on the Meaning of the Holidays
Many 12-step programs suggest that sobriety means total abstinence—never using the substance ever again. If you’re in recovery from a substance use disorder, you already know how much work it took to achieve sobriety, and you’ll want to do everything possible to avoid having a relapse. It may seem that relapse is the last thing that could happen to you, but the truth is they are very common for people new to recovery. By Julia Childs Heyl, MSWJulia Childs Heyl, MSW, is a clinical social worker and writer. As a writer, she focuses on mental health disparities and uses critical race theory as her preferred theoretical framework. Located on a beautiful, quiet street with ample parking, it has easy access to both highway and MBTA.
Set Clear and Achievable Recovery Goals
Sobriety requires embracing a new way of life, and change comes with challenges. You’ll face successes, setbacks, growth, and joy along your journey. They’re all part of the process and work to serve the greater goal of a healthier, happier you. BetterHelp can connect you to an addiction and mental health counselor.
How To Stay Sober?
Establishing a strong support network is crucial for staying sober. Surrounding oneself with understanding friends, family, or support groups can provide invaluable encouragement, guidance, and accountability. These individuals serve as pillars of strength during challenging times, offering a safe space to share experiences, seek advice, and find solace. Staying sober involves a conscious choice to refrain from consuming substances that can impair judgment, alter perception, or lead to dependence. For individuals recovering from addiction, staying sober goes beyond a personal decision—it becomes a fundamental aspect of their journey toward healing and reclaiming control over their lives. It signifies a dedication to breaking free from the destructive cycle of substance abuse and embracing healthier alternatives.
Meeting and Bonding with Sober Individuals
- You are worth it to yourself, your family, your friends, and to any superior being you believe in.
- This positive reinforcement can strengthen your commitment and provide motivation during difficult times.
- Building a new, healthy routine to replace the old one that encouraged or involved drug or alcohol use is an essential part of any post-rehab lifestyle.
- Staying sober is fun and incredibly rewarding, but these are 40 tips for the times when staying sober is easier said than done.
- Eventually, a person often recognizes that they are losing control of their sobriety, which only drives them toward substance use.
When you feel the pull to drink again, you can stay sober by reading up on what’s happening in your head that’s making you think you want to drink. Have an open mind, but for a few of us in recovery, this does work. When you catch yourself thinking of drinking, of wanting nothing more than to have one glass of whiskey, then stop and close your eyes.
Understanding how ‘sober is better’ and appreciating the profound impact sobriety can sobriety strategies: 13 tips for staying sober have on mental and emotional health is an essential aspect of the recovery journey. For individuals in recovery, achieving and maintaining sobriety not only leads to physical well-being but also enhances mental and emotional stability. There is a correlation between poverty and substance abuse disorders and subsequent relapses.
Friends, family, and loved ones can all be powerful supporting figures, and recovery programs like 12-step programs or counseling are also extremely effective. When you have a substance use disorder, your brain has created countless links between your addiction and seemingly unrelated actions that you usually perform. One of the most common examples of this dynamic is when a former smoker reaches for a cigarette while drinking a beer, even though they stopped smoking years ago. Even certain emotional states can trigger a relapse, especially if you use a substance to help cope with something else in your life. Recovery from a substance use disorder or addiction is rarely an easy path. Some days will be a breeze, while others can be downright scary and overwhelming.
By implementing these coping strategies, you’re building a strong foundation for your recovery journey. Be patient with yourself as you learn to navigate life without substances. Stress is a common trigger for substance use, making stress management crucial in early sobriety. By developing healthy stress-relief activities, you can reduce the risk of relapse and improve your overall well-being.
When you feel ready or just want someone to speak to about therapy alternatives to change your life call us. Even if we cannot assist you, we will lead you to wherever you can get support. You’ll never finish everything you want to do, but if you set strict timelines, you’ll keep yourself on track for staying sober. For many people who complete their stay at a rehabilitation center, therapy becomes part of the outpatient program. It’s continual treatment to help you get better, continue checking in and isolate why you turned to alcohol in the first place and how to avoid triggers going forward.
Practice Healthy Living#
- Whether you rediscover old passions or try something new, take time to explore what truly matters to you.
- Instead, be present, look at the things around you and identify only facts.
- Even certain emotional states can trigger a relapse, especially if you use a substance to help cope with something else in your life.
- Acknowledge these small wins and allow yourself to feel proud of your choices.
- Experts often describe relapse as a process that begins long before an addict returns to using a substance.
Hosted by therapist Amy Morin, LCSW, this episode of The Verywell Mind Podcast shares how to avoid repeating mistakes and build better habits. 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.
That’s six hard, beautiful, glorious years during which I not only stopped drinking, but also finally moved on from all recreational drugs as well as a history of bulimia. Every decision to remain sober, especially in challenging environments, is a victory. Acknowledge these small wins and allow yourself to feel proud of your choices. This positive reinforcement can strengthen your commitment and provide motivation during difficult times. Keeping physically active during the holidays can reduce stress and improve your overall well-being. Activities like walking, cycling, or attending fitness classes can provide a healthy outlet for stress and also keep you engaged and focused on your health.
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