7 Things That Inevitably Happen to Your Personal Life When You Get Sober

Since when do other humans possess perspectives worth considering? How can I be right all the time if others can be right some of the time? Not only did alcohol make me smart, it also made me impervious to the alternative viewpoints of almost everyone I encountered. I stop drinking my intelligence potion, work on myself for a few years, and whammo! Just like that, my ears are more than just sunglasses holders. Nobody told me this side effect of long-term sobriety.

It screws with our ability to make sound decisions, leading to risky and often embarrassing behavior. Occasionally, those bad decisions veer into the realm of irreparable damage to our relationships, health, or life. I don’t have that much sex, and that’s more like me saying, I no longer lower my standards and sleep with just anyone because of beer goggles.

I would tell you, but now that I’m not always right all the time anymore, I’d just be guessing.

However, if they’re still opening and actively consuming substances in your presence, you may still need to separate yourself. Since there are different reasons for using drugs and alcohol, there are also varying reasons why someone wants to get sober. Whatever your “why,” know that with treatment and support, getting sober is not only possible, but it’s also manageable long-term. McKowen and I both found that a sober life is actually more enjoyable, but it’s important to acknowledge that the transition isn’t necessarily seamless.

And those feelings of joy and wonder and appreciation are better than anything produced artificially by drugs or alcohol. In the end, the journey of recovery won’t be simple – there will be twists and turns and bumps and potholes and obstacles along the way. The biggest thing that is recovered is YOU. Getting clean from an addiction is an incredibly important step towards living a happier and healthier life.

Mental Withdrawals

Groups like Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous are vital sources of support that hold meetings in almost every major city in the country. They’re free to attend, open to all, and are one of the best places to find individuals who want nothing more than to see you achieve sobriety. Even online support groups can be immensely helpful in keeping a newly sober person clean. These groups can be accessed from anywhere in the world, as long as there’s an internet connection. And while in-person groups are usually considered the superior option, online groups offer a level of support for those who may simply not have had access to it otherwise. Hi we’re Jack and Meredith and we’re alcoholics.

These are called withdrawals – and they can be brutal. Sobriety is not an easy or quick fix to life’s problems. For many, it’s a lifelong process of unlearning coping mechanisms that revolve around substances like alcohol or cannabis, and it’s also a process of relearning how to live life sober and stay sober. So if you love someone with an unhealthy relationship with substances, please practice patience with their journey and remind them that you’re there for support.

Zopiclone and Quitting Alcohol – Everything You Need To Know

For the first time, you notice just how much has changed. It works for some folks and has the added benefit of pumping your body full of endorphins, creating new neural connections in the brain, and helping reduce depression and anxiety. Now, not every program or therapy approach will work for you. But you don’t know until you try, and you have to genuinely try.

Pass on your knowledge and let us know in the comments below. And these thoughts can quickly become something that we start to believe – and we act on these thoughts and decide that ‘yes being sober sucks’, and we end up getting hold of booze. Finding ways to relax after a hard days work WITHOUT reaching for the bottle? What type of void are we creating by leaving behind something that has been a long-standing part of our lives .

Avoid Old Habits and Toxic Relationships

This vice has become my saving grace lately. I hesitated for awhile because it still has a small amount of alcohol, but after doing research, I decided to give it a try. At less than half a percent of alcohol, one of these beers has the same alcohol content as Kombucha. Sometimes I don’t finish a full NA beer; sometimes I have three. As someone who genuinely enjoys the flavor of beer, there’s something quite soothing about holding the bottle and tasting something so similar. I understand why some people in recovery don’t mess with non-alcoholic beer.

It’s part of the sobriety package, and it’s not necessarily a bad thing. Sobriety can be an incredible way to shed relationships you’ve outgrown as well as find new ones that align with your new values. Personally, I always thought drunk people were fun, and I didn’t want my own poop relationship with alcohol to stand out. I wanted to blend in nicely with a crowd who understood that sometimes you just want to drink your face off, or one that didn’t think anything was weird about a glass of noon wine. Staying sober requires a person to dive deeper and begin unraveling why they were using the substance, their triggers for relapse, and how to avoid falling into a pattern of use again.

Grab a pen and paper and write down the reasons for you wanting to have a drink. Then read back those words and see if they are real. Their recovery is none of your business, and vice versa.

• I’m left with a lot of sadness which meditation and MBSR doesn’t seem to address and which alcohol at least masked for me.
• She is a phenomenal talent and voice in the recovery world.
• Go to a 12-step meeting, find a sober group online, or call a sober friend who understands.
• It’s important, then, to learn how to recognize the signs of denial so you can stop it before it makes getting clean even harder.
• Drunk me didn’t have to worry if I was alone at a party because drunk me didn’t abide such things.
• It can include a medically-supervised detox, various forms of treatment, including therapy and 12-step programs, and calling upon family, friends, and professionals for additional support.

But unfortunately, many addicts also suffer from other mental disorders at the same time. And when these disorders are left untreated, it can make relapse far more likely to occur. On top of that, people with mental disorders are also about two and a half times more likely to develop an addiction. Suffering from both being sober sucks is what’s known as having co-occurring disorders. And what makes this condition so problematic is the fact that both the addiction and the underlying mental problem have to be treated at the same time. Because when one is treated while the other remains, the symptoms can make it much harder to avoid relapsing.