Whether you are new to recovery
or an old veteran, certain obstacles may get in the way of your sobriety. Being
prepared for and knowing how to handle these situations will help you on your
path to long-term addiction recovery.
You have
probably heard that staying sober in addiction recovery is difficult. And while
it does definitely have its challenges, knowing what to expect and
understanding how to overcome these difficulties before they happen can be the
difference between success and failure.
Below we
have put together a few of the most common hurdles you can expect in addiction
recovery along with a few tips on how to more easily overcome them.
7 Things that Make it Tough to Stay Sober:
1. Unrealistic
expectations.
Upon
leaving addiction treatment, it is not uncommon to feel the desire to boomerang
your life back into order immediately. You may be thinking about a new career,
buying a house, or meeting that special someone. Having goals for your first
year in sobriety is great, but you need to keep it realistic. After all, you
are recovering from an illness that took away years of your life. Staying sober
and healthy is your number one priority, and if that is “all” you accomplish in
your first year of sobriety, then you should give yourself a pat on the back!
Recovery is hard work, and you should be proud!
2. New feelings.
All those
feelings that you had kept masked underneath drugs or alcohol will come
flooding to the surface. Especially for the first few months in recovery your
feelings will be intensified, and it can often be scary. But the best thing to
do is acknowledge them – and then let them go by engaging in activity. Allowing
yourself to get lost in the rabbit hole of your thoughts can lead to relapse.
When you are feeling intense negative feelings (this will happen a lot in early
recovery) get active by calling your sponsor, going to the gym or taking a
walk, meeting up with a friend for coffee – basically doing anything you can to
get yourself ‘out of your head’. While it is important to come to terms with
your feelings, take it slowly. It has been a long time since you allowed your
feelings to come through so strongly on a regular basis, and it will take a
while to get used to them!
3. New
responsibilities.
Activities
such as paying bills or applying for jobs may seem incredibly foreign and
difficult. During the time that you were using, these activities may have been
done under the influence, or often completely neglected. Getting used to these
“new” responsibilities can seem like a huge undertaking and can create stress.
Stress is one of the biggest relapse triggers, so make sure you reach out for
help. Talk to your sponsor, friends and family when you feel overwhelmed – they
are there to help you get through the tough times and stay sober.
4. Not fully
committing to recovery.
This is incredibly important. Getting and staying
sober is a task that cannot be completed overnight. Recovery is a long and
winding journey that you must be committed to in order to be
successful. It is so important to understand that you and only you are
responsible for your own recovery – while family, friends and your sponsor can help
you along the way, you will not be successful unless you are willing to make
serious changes in your life and work on staying sober each and every day.
5. Lack of positive
thinking.
Positive
thinking can go a long way when it comes to successfully staying sober in early
recovery. Many people go into recovery feeling as though it is a jail sentence
or some sort of punishment. It is important to remember the positive changes
that recovery has brought or will bring to your life, and remind yourself of
these things each and every day. It also helps to keep a gratitude journal, a
gentle reminder to yourself of the things you can be grateful for each day.
6. Forgiveness (or
lack thereof).
In order to be successful in addiction recovery,
you must forgive yourself. This is very hard for some people, especially for
those who were involved with dishonest or hurtful situations during their
addiction. There are many alcoholics and addicts who were responsible for
taking another person’s life through motor vehicle accidents or violent acts
while under the influence. No matter what you did when you were addicted, you
need to forgive yourself. You need to understand that those actions were caused
by your illness, and now that you are in recovery you are able to act as the
person you truly are. Beating yourself up over the past will only lead to
depression, anger and other negative feelings that will more than likely send
you into a relapse.
7. Undiagnosed
co-occurring disorder.
As many as 6 in 10 people with a substance abuse
disorder have at least one other mental health
disorder, often
referred to as a dual diagnosis or co-occurring disorder. Common mental health disorders
that accompany addiction include stress or anxiety disorders, depression,
personality disorders and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among others.
If you
have an underlying mental health disorder that has not been properly diagnosed,
chances of staying sober will significantly decrease. It is important that your
addiction treatment provider is experienced in dual diagnosis. If you believe
that you may have an underlying mental health disorder that has not been
properly diagnosed, talk to a mental health professional immediately, before
your disorder causes you to relapse.
Be Successful in Recovery
No matter
how much you think you are prepared to be successful in recovery, there will
always be curveballs headed your way. One of the most important things that you
can do is to surround yourself with an amazing support group – fellow
recovering addicts, your sponsor, and family and friends who you trust to
support you in your journey – and open the lines of communication. Reach out to
your support network when times get tough, or when you feel scared, sad or
anxious. Attend a meeting if you are feeling lost.
Shafa Home , offer’s a unique and effective
addiction treatment method that includes relapse prevention and an intensive
aftercare programme. If you are struggling to stay sober, reach
out to one of our addiction counsellors to see how we can help.
Shafa Home is country’s premier organization for treatment of
alcohol/drug problems, de-addiction, rehabilitation, counseling, treatment for
females, nasha mukti , psychiatric disorders and secondary addictions like
gambling, internet etc.
( These Articles are the sole property
of “ The Cabin Chiang Mai “ , they are its original
authors )
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