I took my last drink on December 19, 2016. In the early days, I felt that it was my responsibility to answer the question, “How come you aren’t drinking? ” I didn’t understand I could decline to sobriety sucks answer or that I didn’t have to make sense to everyone. For a period it was, “I’m an alcoholic,” and that tended to silence anyone (for clarification, I no longer identify as an alcoholic).
Why You Get Sugar Cravings After Quitting Alcohol
Developing a structured routine can help a person stick to their sobriety goals, make healthy decisions, and reduce the likelihood of triggers and relapse. Establishing a routine with regular sleep and support group attendance can reduce stress and help you stay sober. 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. This is when relapse risk is highest. Sobriety can be a fixed-term goal like staying sober for a set period (such as Dry January), or a lifelong goal of staying sober from all substances. Sobriety can be a particularly challenging pursuit for someone with an addiction like alcohol use disorder.
Avoid Old Habits and Toxic Relationships
Anything you can do to improve your overall health and wellness will serve double duty and improve your ability to stay sober. Everyone faces difficult situations, ranging from getting a rough night’s sleep to dealing with a death in the family or an unexpected divorce. Choose to recognize that the choices you make directly impact your experience.
- If you feel numb, like you’re in a fog, or have nothing going on – this is possibly one of the reasons.
- Sobriety will get better when you are actually open to LEARNING from other people how to be a happy, stable individual.
- These unanticipated obstacles to wellbeing have the capacity to derail an otherwise smooth sailing recovery.
- So let’s talk about when sobriety gets easier and what you can do to manage the rough patches ahead.
- Eventually, the stable people in our lives move on and are replaced by people just as dysfunctional as us.
- If you’re early in your sobriety or stuck in a cycle of relapse, you might find yourself questioning why you’re doing this to yourself.
- So many people have attributed their sobriety to her work after failing to succeed with more traditional approaches.
Some people sober up, but they’re still jerks.
Studies suggest digital health options can improve access to care for some of the 15 million people experiencing alcohol use disorder each year. Sometimes, separating from friends who are still actively using may be necessary. Oh, and all these accurate memories. Who needs to have a clear, coherent, chronological catalog of the events of all of his waking hours?
- In the early days, I felt that it was my responsibility to answer the question, “How come you aren’t drinking?
- You and I are not like those people.
- Whether you’re looking for treatment or for aftercare options, we can point you in the right direction.
No matter what happened yesterday or even five minutes ago, you can choose to be patient with yourself, reassess, and pivot as needed. I have since learned I am not alone in experiencing this phenomenon. 65% of all those in recovery gain weight, and if you struggle with an alcohol problem, there’s a strong chance you may also be fighting anxiety, depression, mood swings or compulsive behavior. These unanticipated obstacles to wellbeing have the capacity to derail an otherwise smooth sailing recovery.
Sobriety can be an incredible way to shed relationships you’ve outgrown as well as find new ones that align with your new values. Be patient and uphold your own standards. This isn’t to say that all of your friends will be threatened, or that all of your friendships will change. Some will certainly remain, but even those aren’t necessarily long-game friendships. Sobriety is kind of like the fast-pass line at Disneyland, except the ride is growing up. Personally, I always thought drunk people were fun, and I didn’t want my own poop relationship with alcohol to stand out.
How To Stop Drunk Spins: Does Throwing Up Help?
I was Matt Damon in Goodwill Hunting for all things self-help and mental health. If you don’t get a handle on the answer to those questions, you will continue to play the sobriety-relapse-sobriety game. I did for years before I finally quit, largely because I was fighting the wrong enemy. Before I go any further, please do not take this as an endorsement to start drinking again. What I’m saying is that alcohol itself was not the issue. Plenty of people drink alcohol moderately.
- Where you go for that support is entirely up to you – there are many paths forward.
- It’s normal to feel like the absolute worst person in the early days when you’re forced to deal with big emotions like guilt, shame, and regret.
- I used to be an easy target for abusers and gaslighting.
