Finding the Meaning to The Sober Life

Living sober means abstaining from all mind-altering substances, including alcohol, prescription drugs, and street drugs. It is a day-by-day process that requires you to focus on the present rather than getting overwhelmed by the long-term. There is something about the addiction recovery process that makes you grateful for the little things in life. You learn to appreciate simple things like waking up and not feeling sick or having extra money to go out and get a cup of coffee with a friend. There are some people that I had to let go of when I first got sober, and some people that eventually fell out of my life because our lifestyles became incompatible.

When you suffer from addiction, you become so obsessed with obtaining more alcohol or drugs that you stop investing in your relationships with other people. In fact, the selfish behaviors that often come with https://goodmenproject.com/everyday-life-2/top-5-tips-to-consider-when-choosing-a-sober-house-for-living/ addiction often break the relationships that you have with others. One of the major benefits of sobriety is that you will regain the patience, time, and ability you need to build long-lasting relationships.

What vitamins should I be taking to optimize health and increase energy?

Many people who misuse alcohol or drugs have trouble dealing with anger. If left unchecked, anger can have a negative impact on your health and your lasting sobriety. 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 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.

• In essence, it’s the condition of not having any measurable levels or effects from alcohol or drugs.
• No, you decided to go big, to do something meaningful – to do something that you can (and will) commit to.
• She worked in the addiction field for 8 years and now uses both her personal and professional experiences with addiction as an influence for her writing.

We don’t need an outside stimulus, like drugs or alcohol, to change our emotions. How we decide to feel about certain circumstances and our own emotions is up to us. If you are just learning how to live sober, it is ever important to know that you are not alone. There are people in similar shoes as you, who also desire to make a positive change.

Focusing on Building Healthy Relationships

It’s seen as normal to drink, and quitting that drug can feel like breaking a social pact. So your bold, life-improving decision to not drink will mean changes almost everywhere you look. Here are some surprising (and not-so-surprising) occurrences that will inevitably happen to your relationships, your identity, even your free time, and how I’ve learned to deal with each one. The “Sober Curious” movement has grown in recent years after author Ruby Warrington published the book called “Sober Curious” in late 2018. A CivicScience survey published last month, shows a greater percentage of people report they are curious about living a sober lifestyle, from 12% in 2020 to 19% this year. A sober life is always better than one spent fighting with addiction.

While you were actively addicted, you likely had poor boundaries that contributed to self-harming behaviors like substance abuse. Part of living a sober life is establishing healthy boundaries and understanding the negative or positive impact of the people and things you choose to surround yourself with. As you continue to sober house, setting these boundaries will become more natural and you will reap the benefits daily.

A Different Version: Living a Sober Life

For more ideas on how to live a sober lifestyle visit Own Your Limits. In recovery, alcoholics learn to address the underlying issues that drove them to drink in the first place. Drinking alcohol would only serve as a temporary solution and ultimately perpetuate the cycle of addiction. Additionally, alcohol affects the brain’s neurotransmitters and can hinder progress in therapy or relapse prevention strategies. Ultimately, abstaining from alcohol allows recovering alcoholics to heal and grow in a healthy and sustainable way. Ultimately, it is always safer for problem drinkers to completely abstain from alcohol in order to avoid the risk of relapse.

Loved ones may resist accepting your claims of having changed and be reluctant to trust you. There are many reasons people struggle to break free of their own misery, which (again) is why support systems and programs are often so critical to addiction recovery. There are a lot of things that happen naturally when you quit drinking alcohol. You feel better (at least you SHOULD) because you’re not hungover and laying at death’s door every other morning. Seeking support from a therapist or support group can also be helpful in managing thoughts and emotions related to relapse and preventing future occurrences.

Donald Trump Donates Part of Salary to Alcoholism Research

A heavy drinker may be able to occasionally have a drink without relapsing. Can you honestly control and enjoy your drinking at the same time? If you can honestly answer “Yes,” you are likely not an alcoholic.

• Therefore, when you become sober, your weight will likely stabilize itself.
• We are fully licensed by the State of California and our treatment center is accredited by The Joint Commission – the standard of excellence in quality programs.
• You’ll feel better, but you’ll also sleep better and eat better,” said Opland.
• Some of the immediate changes you will need to make will be obvious—like not hanging around the people that you used with or obtained drugs from.
• Unfortunately, there is a stigma surrounding those with addiction.

A support system can provide comfort and guidance as you go through the recovery process. Friends and family can be great sources of support, as well as support groups and the 12-Step program. Yes, living a sober life does require that you abstain from using drugs and/or alcohol. However, sobriety and abstinence aren’t mutually exclusive.

Because here’s what sobriety alone cannot fix for you:

I believe that taking care of yourself should always come first. So, my job is to help you create a slow and mindful life that aligns with your values and goals so you can finally go from a state of constantly doing to peacefully being. As time went on, alcohol wasn’t really fun anymore and it only gave me problems. At that point I was too dependent on it and the only way I could stop was by getting help. Now I’ve learned that there is a whole world out there of things to do that do not involve alcohol. I found out it was what was holding me back from really experiencing life.