Early sobriety for most can be extremely challenging. For many of us, years were spent smothering and numbing our emotions with chemicals. Once that chemical band-aid is removed, many of us will begin to deal with years of issues that have been swept under the rug. So, when does this whole recovery thing get easier?
There’s not a one-size-fits all answer to this question, but there are several courses of action we
can take when we get sober to live a peaceful and productive life. The truth? It just takes time. However, here are a few tools to keep in your sobriety toolbox to make the often-bumpy road a little easier to travel.
1) Get a Support Group: While we are unfortunate that we live in a time where many suffer
from the disease of addiction, we also live in a time where there are recovery support groups all over the world. Twelve step groups, SMART Recovery, and more are available to anyone at no cost if they need help staying sober.
2) Find a Trusted Person to Call When You Need to Talk: Once you get involved in a support group, find a person who has been sober longer than you that can help you along the road to your recovery. Listen to how they have stayed sober and be willing to take suggestions. This person is often referred to as a “sponsor”, and they are essential to have in early sobriety.
3) Get Honest: Recovery doesn’t work if you continue to build a life built on lies. You have to be
willing to get to honest with, not only yourself, but with others. This includes being willing to tell people if you want to drink/use or have relapsed. Tell on yourself. Get everything out so that it doesn’t eat you up. Lies turn into shame, and how do we tend to deal with shame as addicts/alcoholics? Drinking and drug use.
The idea of never being able to drink/use again can be incredibly overwhelming. Taking your recovery 24 hours at a time can help make this walk seem more manageable. Just focus on staying sober today. Don’t worry about tomorrow or yesterday. All we really have is today.
Anyone who has been sober long enough will tell you that, with time, recovery gets a lot easier.
Remember that for many of us it took years to create the chaos that turned our lives upside-down. It’sgoing to take time to repair. Will there be moments where it is hard and uncomfortable? Yes. But it’s a decision that you will never regret.