For recovering addicts and alcoholics, that tedium can be dangerous, especially when the substances don’t matter as much as the craving for more being sober sucks — more excitement, more emotion, more adventure, more danger. When you’re feeling down, seek out support from friends and family to help keep you sane and from slipping into old behaviors. Don’t be afraid to ask for help and let people know that you’re having a hard time.
- And you’ll remember what you’ve got to fight for.
- His area of interest is substance abuse and individual happiness.
- For recovering addicts and alcoholics, that tedium can be dangerous, especially when the substances don’t matter as much as the craving for more — more excitement, more emotion, more adventure, more danger.
- Ask any sober person whether they want to go to a cocktail party or stay in with a pack of La Croix, The Crown, and a bathrobe.
- One minute you’re cooking dinner, and the next, you’ve lost five minutes to daydreaming about that one time you threw up on your mother-in-law’s new rug.
Discover more from Real Deal Sober Living
So if all of your friends drink alongside you, then there’s no issue, right? Well, there’s a concept in psychology known as “confirmation bias,” and it means that we often look for evidence to support something that we already believe to be true. 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.
Staying Sober When Life Sucks
However, when it has happened, I have to speak up to point out that I didn’t drink and I’m not subsidizing their drinking. If you’re like me, this Alcohol Use Disorder can feel entirely terrifying. I have always hated the feeling that I’m putting people out or being difficult.
Recovery Connection
Sobriety will get better when you are actually open to LEARNING from other people how to be a happy, stable individual. Because the thing is, we don’t actually know. Now, not every program or therapy approach will work for you. But you don’t know until you try, and you have to genuinely try.
Seek Support
Before you know it, a lousy day in sobriety can quickly turn into your last day in sobriety if you turn to drugs and alcohol to ease your emotional discomfort. 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.
The Downside of Sobriety
You have already accomplished so much by choosing to stop using drugs and committing to sobriety. Staying sober every day is an incredible feat. Every minute that you avoid relapse, you are proving to yourself that you have the power and capability to make your life what you want it to be. You have the power to make changes that will improve your life, make sobriety more interesting, and connect with awesome people who can help you enjoy your life in recovery.
