Sobriety: How to Get Sober and What to Expect

Being comfortable with communicating can empower you to reach out and seek guidance and assistance from your peers, support system, and addiction treatment specialists, and mental health professionals. Some people who don’t drink alcohol have made a conscious decision to eliminate alcohol from their lives, sometimes through the help of a 12-step program such as Alcoholics Anonymous (AA). Whether sober house it’s to improve your physical health or state of mind, it can be beneficial to explore the role alcohol plays in your life. Living sober can bring about positive changes in relationships, career, health, and overall happiness. It allows individuals to take control of their actions and make meaningful connections with others. Living a sober life means abstaining from the use of alcohol and drugs.

Now, you can get into different experiences that will add fun, value, and friendships to your life. With a clear mind, you can focus on what will lead to long-term happiness. You can help others in their sobriety, which is proven to increase happiness. Seeking a support group committed to helping others can be a beneficial and cost-effective way for you to stay sober. Addiction is a “chronic brain disease” that is treatable yet not cured. Relapse of any chronic diseases, like asthma and diabetes, can and do occur throughout a person’s lifetime.

Being Sober in Relation to Alcohol

After that first month, you start seeing more positive health benefits of sobriety. Your cravings are manageable, especially if you’ve figured out ways to replace alcohol with solid alternatives. If you’re a heavy drinker, it’s important that you stop drinking under the care of your doctor or an addiction specialist. It’s likely that you’ll experience some withdrawal symptoms, especially if you’ve developed a dependency on alcohol. If you’re sober curious and treating yourself yourself to a Dry January or Sober October, you may see some immediate benefits once you stop drinking. Your sleep will improve, and you certainly won’t be waking up to any hangovers.

• Likewise, observe if you use hard words with others to prevent vulnerability or protect yourself.
• Shun toxic relationships and build as many new sober relationships as possible.
• A vital component of a successful sobriety lifestyle is developing healthy relationships with people in your life.
• Judy is a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor in the State of Maryland, and a National Certified Counselor.
• A heavy drinker may be able to occasionally have a drink without relapsing.
• You will increase your chances of success if you find others who are like-minded and share your goals.

Throughout his tenure at The Freedom Center, he has strategically built relationship with referring providers, hospitals and local government leaders. Corey has continued to grow The Freedom Center brand, educate his local community on Substance Use Disorder and become a pillar of the local recovery community. Corey’s mission is to provide quality behavioral health care to local community members who reach out in need, regardless of their financial situation. Outside of The Freedom Center, Corey enjoys playing golf, hiking and most of all being the best father to his three young boys.

Avoid Old Routines and Habits

There is no shame in admitting that you need to go back in your recovery! Each stage of recovery brings you closer to your goal of long-term sobriety. When you advance to a new phase, tell your loved ones and share your success with them. When you can develop healthy relationships with, and get support from, your friends, family, and lovers, you will be able to keep yourself from engaging in self-destructive behavior. As you become more confident in your sobriety, you will start to respect yourself enough not to reach for a bottle.

• In the fields of addiction and mental health treatment, sobriety typically refers to a person’s decision to maintain abstinence from substance use.
• These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'sober.’ Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.

You are now sober – or at least sober according to the dictionary definition. Sobriety in its broader sense only begins once you are powerfully motivated to change, finally a stop to behavior you know needs adjusting. With that initial motivation in place, you can then begin engaging with the process of getting sober. You’ll need to remain vigilant, paying close attention to how you feel as well as developing sharper situational awareness to protect yourself from temptation. Getting support doesn’t have to mean going to rehab, although that is an option.

How Do You Determine If You’re Sober?

Many people struggle with maintaining healthy relationships, and this can be a key reason for relapse. Renaissance Recovery is an Orange County addiction treatment and mental health treatment organization dedicated to helping people achieve a life free from addiction. Research shows that many people with addiction use drugs or alcohol to deal with stress or emotional turbulence. This often occurs when people struggle https://www.healthworkscollective.com/how-choose-sober-house-tips-to-focus-on/ to deal with emotions and instead self-medicate, numbing any emotional pain with substances. Once you move beyond rehab and beyond the most acute risk of relapse, though, you may start to feel that purely abstaining from alcohol does not provide the reward or the motivation you need to pursue lasting sobriety. Research also suggests that sobriety can result in improved memory and cognitive functioning.