Author: Gary Jackson

Sobriety Strategies: 13 Tips for Staying Sober

A mental health professional can help you cope with some of the challenges you’ll face on your path to sobriety. It is estimated that up to 80% of those who find long-term sobriety had at least one relapse along the way. Some people experience many setbacks before they find lasting recovery. Your intentions may be good, but it takes more than willpower to avoid having a relapse. Therapy offers a safe space with supportive individuals who want to see you maintain your sobriety. It is the place to honestly assess your situation and prospects of remaining sober.

  • Avoid old routines and habits that can make it easier to slip back into addiction.
  • Addiction often creates problems at work up to and including job loss.
  • Accept that you’re human and that you’ll slip up.
  • Surrounding yourself with others undergoing the same broad experience can be powerfully motivating.
  • Going to work helps keep your mind away from drugs, but you need to find other ways to fill up your idle time.
  • Cut out toxic relationships from your life.

A recovering addict usually encounters triggers that can compel them to return to their old ways. Staying sober is hard work and will demand significant life adjustments. However, a life of complete sobriety, even after years of addiction, is achievable with the right level of commitment, support, and coping skills. We have compiled 15 tips on how to stay sober and live an addiction-free life. Most people in recovery undergo at least one relapse, but you learn from each experience.

Stay physically active

Drinking or using drugs is also expensive. If group meetings are not an option, you might consider SMART (self-management and recovery training). This self-empowering methodology is an alternative to Alcoholics Anonymous. For example, attending local 12-step meetings like NA or AA. Surrounding yourself with others undergoing the same broad experience can be powerfully motivating.

Always be willing to learn, and don’t assume you “know the way”. Whether you’re a teenager or an adult, its important to communicate with your family – especially your parents. Feeling sorry for yourself won’t accomplish anything. Accept the cards that you were dealt, and move on.

Make New Friends

If this occurs, continue moving forward in your life and acknowledge that the possibility may occur some time in the future. You can also dedicate your time to online communities. Blog your progress or post in sober-friendly discussion forums (or reddit). While it’s true, people on the internet can be cut throat, if you find the right community, you’ll find nothing but support.

While recognizing these triggers is a vital first step, it needs to be followed up with action. To achieve this, you’ll learn superior and healthier coping strategies that don’t involve drink or drugs. Meditation is a healthy way to calm ourselves. It helps you become still and track your rapid thoughts.

Build a Healthy Lifestyle

The less downtime you have, the less likely you are to suffer a relapse. This does not mean, however, that you have to be perpetually busy. It means having balance in one’s life, for rest, productive work, and play. It also helps to know that a trigger is a temporary experience that will pass if you wait it out.

Going through detox and stopping all substance use is only the first step; the real work at staying sober happens in the weeks and months following detox. Staying sober requires intensive care and therapy tailored to the individual needs. It also involves having a network of family, friends, or a community of people that offer guidance and support on the journey to recovery.

With each thought that arises, do the same. Imagine them as fish passing in front of you. It begins a process of “thinking of thinking” and as strange as it may seem, it helps pull you out so you can calmly observe from afar.

  • Remember…one day at a time – Maintaining sobriety is a journey, and it is important to keep your focus on the present moment.
  • Many 12-step programs suggest that sobriety means total abstinence—never using the substance ever again.
  • Staying out of risky situations means taking deliberate steps to avoid people and situations that can trigger cravings.
  • Our representatives work for a treatment center and will discuss whether their facility may be an option for you.
  • It’s essential to build relationships with people who are supportive and focused on activities that will support your sobriety.
  • Listen to the community and recognize you’re not alone, others are in a similar situation.