If you’re having the thought that you want to get sober and want to know how to get clean, there’s probably already an underlying motivation. Drinking alcohol can create problems in every area of life, including your Living in a Sober House: Fundamental Rules physical health, mental health, social life, work-life, and overall wellbeing. You may want to reflect on this list when you feel cravings to drink. The hope is that you will be ready to resume daily life after treatment, manage stressors and triggers, and stay sober for the long term.
Is Sobriety Date the Last Drink?
While some may relapse, others may not experience a slip in recovery. Celebrating someone’s sobriety can take many forms, depending on the relationship with the individual and where they are in their recovery journey. Remember to set achievable goals that can help you build confidence in your ability to overcome your addiction. Feelings of failure and shame can act as triggers for substance use.
Because you won’t be dealing with the effects of substances or spending hours seeking out drugs or alcohol, you’ll have plenty of time to devote to new hobbies, activities and friends. By day 6, you’re likely to have experienced some fluctuation in your mood and motivation. Your mental health can also be affected in the first week of sobriety.
How to Celebrate Sobriety
- When I still drank, it was easy to give myself an out from working out due to not feeling my best or being hungover.
- You may feel a boost in your overall wellness and satisfaction with life.
- While these can be healthy practices, try to find balance and not overdo it.
- Loving and encouraging family and friends can definitely help support your journey to become sober.
- Make sure you always have someone to lean on through the recovery highs and lows.
When substances control your life, it’s easy to feel trapped, ashamed, or stuck in a cycle of poor decisions. Choosing sobriety empowers you to take control of your future, boosting your self-esteem and giving you a sense of accomplishment. The longer you stay sober, the more confident you’ll feel in your ability to manage challenges without turning to alcohol or drugs. Whether you’re contemplating quitting alcohol or drugs, just getting started, or have already been living sober for years, the decision to embrace sobriety can transform https://appsychology.com/living-in-a-sober-house/ your life in countless ways. But it’s not an easy road—becoming and staying sober requires commitment, self-awareness, support, and perseverance.
The 10 Benefits of Being Sober and Why It’s Worth It
However, the word is often used in different ways in different contexts. Many 12-step programs suggest that sobriety means total abstinence, which means never using the substance again. Other definitions, however, focus on the process of recovery and coping habits that support health and wellness over the long term. You may face physical withdrawal symptoms, mental health challenges, and cravings that make it difficult to stay on track.
With the help of a medical professional, medications and devices can help patients deal with withdrawal symptoms during detox. Detox alone is not the same as treatment, but it is a step in the process. Most people with drinking problems are not able to change their habits overnight. In the early stages of alcohol addiction recovery, denial can be a huge obstacle. The best way forward for your recovery from alcohol or substance use is to incorporate a wide variety of strategies that will help foster success.
One part of the recovery journey for some people is emotional sobriety. While some people can stop cold turkey for a time, lasting sobriety is typically accomplished by following a road of recovery. If you are sober, but follow the same routine without making any changes in your life, it is easier to slip into old habits and behaviors. Be sure to avoid any routines that used to lead you to your unhealthy substance use. A significant part of avoiding relapse is understanding your external triggers.
People who embrace sobriety commit to not drinking at all, often through structured programs or support groups like Alcoholics Anonymous (AA). Sobriety is generally a long-term or lifelong commitment, driven by the recognition that alcohol has had a harmful or problematic impact on their life, and they choose to live without it. For some, the sober curious movement is a response to the adverse effects of alcohol, such as poor sleep, anxiety, weight gain, and decreased productivity. By cutting back or eliminating alcohol, individuals often notice improvements in their energy levels, mental clarity, and emotional stability. You will have good days and bad days, good weeks and bad weeks, and good months and bad months. None of that means you’re doing anything “wrong.” I am 17 years sober, and I still miss drinking sometimes.
Addiction Treatment Programs
Maybe you’ve picked up a new workout routine, daily journaling practice, or started a new podcast. Around day 10, you might experience your first full night of quality sleep. You might realize you’re having more dreams than you did before, and waking up feeling more rested and energized.
What Happens to Your Body During Medically Supervised Withdrawal?
Be honest about your ups and downs with yourselves and others in your support system. But feeling that way and keeping it to yourself, or trying to ignore or suppress those feelings, definitely can be. For many, recovery from addiction is a chance to pursue a meaningful life. Staying sober offers the stability and clarity needed to establish a sense of purpose, whether that’s through personal relationships, community involvement or pursuing long-term dreams.
The opposite approach to cold-turkey withdrawals is medical detoxification, which attempts to flush the alcohol out of your system as quickly as possible. This approach may not be safe either, as it can cause chemical imbalances that worsen withdrawal symptoms during the first days of sobriety. The answer was more negative consequences of drinking and more positive associations with God and/or spirituality. Interestingly, as of 2019, 73 percent of addiction treatment programs in the United States used a spiritual component,6 the majority referencing God or a Higher Power. Not only can avoiding alcohol or drug use improve cardiovascular, liver, and gastrointestinal health and dietary habits, but it can also help a person overcome mental health challenges. Outpatient behavioral treatment consists of a wide selection of programs for patients who visit a behavioral health counselor regularly.
While turning to sugar instead of alcohol is okay in the short term for most, you should work with your physician and therapist to identify healthier ways to cope with cravings. While this is often a time people experience much higher quality sleep, it’s also common to have vivid dreams of drinking alcohol and wake up disoriented. Dreaming about alcohol is a totally normal part of any sobriety journey.
Healthcare professionals have found that choosing sobriety can lengthen your life, improve your relationships, and increase your energy. The fear of failing in recovery is a significant barrier to treatment, and many may not pursue a professional treatment program because of this fear. There are infinite reasons why pursuing long-term recovery and sobriety can be the best choice for someone struggling with drug or alcohol use. Knowing what sobriety is, what it means to “be sober,” and some common challenges can empower you or a loved one to begin your sobriety journey with the right expectations.
All types of exercise have the benefit of improving mood for those still struggling with depression and reducing cravings for alcohol. This helps reduce the impact of relapse triggers while improving your overall health. Exercise should be a priority in the development of your recovery routine. Alcohol abuse causes significant damage to your mind and body, and it’s important to address the health of both if you want a sustainable recovery. Work on these three elements of health to help repair the damage done by alcohol.
