You can really stay sober for the rest of your life, but it may help to not think about it forever. In contrast, many people in recovery find it easier to take things from day to day. To achieve years of sobriety, you have to start with one day. Staying sober forever is really about staying sober one day or one moment at a time.
You have to be honest with yourself and how you feel. You've come a long way. Recovery isn't easy, but it's worth it. Being sober can be stressful, but it doesn't have to be, and it certainly won't be stressful forever.
You're not punishing yourself for not drinking, you're rewarding yourself, so go out and give yourself a massage to relieve some of that tension and feel proud while you're being pampered. When you're sober, you'll probably find that you stop gaining weight (and maybe even lose a few pounds) without really working hard. Finding a sober community is essential to feeling a sense of belonging and camaraderie in their shared struggles to overcome addiction. For example, you could complete a sober living program but not feel ready to return to the real world.
Staying sober is a tough 24-hour experience, and every minute, you learn to identify the triggers, temptations, environmental hazards, and sometimes the distractions needed to help you stay sober. In a sober life, you'll be in a community of sober, like-minded friends committed to helping one another. Finding a support group committed to helping others can be a beneficial and cost-effective way to stay sober. Not only do most addicts and alcoholics have a phobia of commitment, but the idea of staying completely away from mood- and mind-altering substances “forever” can prevent people from getting sober.
Staying sober for the long term requires self-care, getting support, a relapse prevention plan, and a commitment to living a healthy life. If this sounds like you, you might be surprised to learn how much more effectively you can deal with sober things. You'll never finish everything you want to do, but if you set strict deadlines, you'll stay on track to staying sober. When you're sober, you don't have to worry about developing life-threatening complications because of your habits.
After all, you can't surround yourself with a drug dealer or your old friends who drink and expect to stay sober for a long time. When I got sober and overcame my addictions, my life didn't magically improve, it just stopped getting worse. So, use your sober brain to think about the long-term consequences of your short-term reward and recognize what that would do to your life.
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