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You may be able to fix some of what’s lost and damaged. It’s a disease that needs ongoing treatment to keep it at bay. At the same time, come to grips with the fact that this is the reality you are living with and there’s no way to turn back the clock. With that understood, you can begin to move forward with working towards recovery again.

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. Having a chaotic or disorganized lifestyle can also hinder your recovery. It’s important to develop a structured daily and weekly schedule and stick to it.

of the Best Alcohol Alternatives to Spice Up Your Sobriety

What began as a drink here or there after work soon wound up being much more than that, to the point where you could not wait to get home and get drunk. Maybe you even tossed back a few at work, in the car on the way home, or in the morning to get you going. “I am going on seven weeks of being sober, and I could not be any happier.” “I feel great. To all those that are ready to give up because of withdrawals, hang in there! It does get better.” “By day five, I started exercising, and by day seven, I cranked the intensity up from there. My skin and eyes look better, and the bloated stomach is starting to recede.”

Financial troubles and problems finding and keeping employment are major triggers for relapse, but it is possible to take baby steps and get your finances in order. Just keep in mind that your improvements won’t happen overnight. Depending on the type of dependency, PAWS can last from six months to two years after you stop using drugs or alcohol. Some definitions of sobriety call for complete lifelong abstinence while others focus on developing coping mechanisms that can reduce harm with the understanding that setbacks are common.

BPD and Alcoholism: What Makes Someone Struggle With Both?

I surrounded myself with people that drank and used just like I did. I truly thought I was just the fun party girl who only socialized and drank alcohol. I thought just because I didn’t drink fear of being sober in the morning and at times would go a few days without booze, that alcohol was a non-issue for me. This prevented me from being able to see that I had a dangerous relationship with booze.

Until we smash these common misconceptions about sobriety, people will continue to think sobriety is boring. What you will be interested to find out once sober, is that without the artificial highs and lows that substance abuse provides, an even, consistent ‘you’ will actually be far more fun to be around. And the only people who will try to tell you otherwise are people who still require drugs or alcohol in order to have fun. Sexiness really has nothing to do with drinking or doing drugs. You only fear that you will lose your sex appeal because you think that you will become inhibited and closed-off if you do not drink or do drugs.

Fear of Sobriety

After 30 days of sobriety, physical withdrawal symptoms should be well in the past. The remaining battle is to maintain abstinence and recovery. “I’m very irritated at times. I feel really good about my choice to quit drinking. I have headaches often and I have weird and bad dreams. Every night I dream that I’m having a drink again.” If physical symptoms continue after 11 days of abstinence, seek medical attention. Those persistent symptoms might have some other cause than alcohol withdrawal. Because they might lose their friends, many people are afraid of getting sober.

Now that you are sober, you may have discovered that some of your past relationships were not only unhealthy but downright toxic. It’s not just your drinking buddies and drug dealers who can get you into trouble—sometimes those who are closest to you can contribute to a relapse. It may help to pick a quit date, or a day when you choose to discontinue use of alcohol or drugs. It’s also helpful to change your environment—for instance, avoid going to bars. There are also resources such as 12-step groups and recovery groups.

Sobriety Fear #7: You’ll lose your friends.

In some situations, people are scared sober, meaning they suffer life-threatening consequences to overdosing or using. You may be afraid to stop using because you have no idea what life will be like after you do. As you work through the detox process, you can start to feel the overwhelming frustration and anxiety build https://ecosoberhouse.com/ around being sober. Post-detox, you may have a wide range of emotions flooding your mind. You’re likely also to start feeling the stress build, perhaps the same stress that leads you down the path to using. Our hopes and dreams may have gotten stuffed down along the way during our descent into drugs or alcohol, too.