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While this is true, living a sober lifestyle isn’t simply about abstaining from substance abuse. When you are in recovery, you can overcome the symptoms of addiction and instead have a healthy lifestyle. The sober life can also give you the opportunity to think about nutrition as well. You’ll enjoy general health and wellness that you can’t necessarily achieve if you’re drinking or using drugs. If you find it difficult to make new, sober friends, try joining a support group. Spending more time with supportive loved ones and planning activities for the entire family can also help you develop a healthier lifestyle and avoid situations in which you would normally drink or use drugs.
Alcohol and drug use can also significantly affect mental and emotional health. Substance abuse is often linked to mental health problems such as depression and anxiety and can also exacerbate existing mental health conditions. By getting sober, individuals can reduce their risk sober life of developing these problems and start to address any existing mental health concerns. There is such a huge misconception in our culture that you have to drink alcohol in order to have fun. For many people, it starts out as a social lubricant and then turns into a social crutch.
Last year, in the dank grips of winter lockdown, I decided to stop drinking alcohol.
What you choose to share with them is totally at your discretion, but take good care of yourself and trust your boundaries. If they don’t respect your decision to look after yourself, it might be worth reconsidering the relationship. Sober individuals remain the anomaly in most social situations and your friends will want to know why you’re choosing to abstain. Of course, it’s been proven that drinking profoundly alters an individual’s mood, behaviour, and neuropsychological functioning. Abusing substances can also lower your energy due to the fact that substances often rewire the parts of the brain that control your mood.
This money can now be used to fund savings goals, nutritious foods, activities with your family, and other things that you have always wanted to do and never could do because of addiction. Maybe you used to abuse drugs and alcohol because you didn’t like yourself and you were trying to be someone else. Or maybe you hated yourself because you couldn’t stop abusing substances. Either way, as you continue living a sober life, you may learn how to love yourself (flaws and all), respect yourself, and feel confident and good about the new decisions you’re making. At Silver Linings Recovery Center, we provide a variety of inpatient and outpatient addiction treatment programs and therapy services to help you get back to living a sober life. Our addiction treatment programs cater to people addicted to alcohol, prescription drugs, and multiple illegal drugs.
Take It One Step at a Time
Then, they don’t have to learn how to love themselves because they’re covering their feelings rather than dealing with them. When you live a sober life, you can get to know yourself and feel comfortable in your own skin. Self-love and addiction are two things that can never go hand-in-hand. But when you put an end to your relationship with alcohol and drugs, you can start fixing damaged relationships and build stronger, healthier connections with loved ones. You’ll communicate better, rebuild trust, set better boundaries, and develop deeper emotional connections.
By getting sober, individuals can learn new, healthier coping mechanisms to help them manage their emotions more effectively. In addition to preventing health problems, getting sober can help individuals recover from existing health conditions. For example, suppose a person has been diagnosed with liver disease due to alcohol abuse.
Navigating Summer Stressors and Addiction
Substance abuse can take a significant toll on relationships, both with romantic partners and with family and friends. Alcohol and drug use can lead to conflict, arguments, and damaged trust, which can be challenging to repair. By getting sober, individuals can start to repair relationships that may have been damaged by substance abuse and build new, healthier relationships based on mutual trust and respect.
If left unchecked, anger can have a negative impact on your health and your lasting sobriety. You may also experience what is commonly called sobriety fatigue, which refers to the overall exhaustion that may occur as a result of the emotional and physical stress of staying sober. So, it’s extra helpful to have a support network available to you when you need it. 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. After all, you can’t hang around your drug dealer or old drinking buddies and expect to remain sober for very long. Some SLHs offer intensive outpatient services, including on-site medical care.
Especially when you build up a tolerance to drugs (increasing your dosage and continuously needing more of them), all those dollars add up. When battling an addiction, you tend to focus your energy working to acquire your substance of choice. In turn, you put less time and focus into your career and saving for the future.
- Imagine how much money you would have at the end of a year if you took the money you’re spending on drinks or drugs and put it into a savings account.
- How many times did you have to apologize for things you said or did while you were addicted?
- Depending on the type of dependency, PAWS can last from six months to two years after you stop using drugs or alcohol.
- You don’t have to try and wrack your brain to remember who you were with or what happened.
- They will show you that you do not need to drink to socialize and you do not need to be intoxicated to have fun.
Sober living allows you to regain the positive aspects of your life, to access and experience them wholeheartedly. Without drugs or alcohol, you will begin to understand feelings of appreciation, love, support, joy, connection. You will create moments with loved ones, remember them, and hold them closely. You will shape a life that is worth living— a life that is mentally, psychologically, and physically positive. With newborn energy and confidence, long-term recovery becomes even more obtainable.
Key Elements of Life in Recovery
A vital component of a successful sobriety lifestyle is developing healthy relationships with people in your life. Many people struggle with maintaining healthy relationships, and this can be a key reason for relapse. A life in recovery gives you the unique opportunity to develop healthy coping mechanisms. https://ecosoberhouse.com/ These mechanisms will pave the way for overcoming hardship without relying on a substance. These healthy coping mechanisms are more sustainable than numbing pain or trying to drink away your past challenges. Life after addiction allows you to feel more in control of your activities and your relationships.