Drug addiction and alcoholism are hazardous, with numerous physical, psychological, personal, and social effects. Drug users and alcoholics are not the only ones who suffer; their family members, close friends, spouses, and significant others are all affected. Accepting the consequences is sometimes simpler than stopping or seeking help.
Addiction can have a firm grip on you, controlling your thoughts and actions without you even realising it. Your brain has been altered by the drugs you’ve been taking or the substances you used to take, making quitting much more difficult. Long-term sobriety may sometimes feel exhausting, especially if you’re just starting. This is the exact reason why rehab centres have studied the conditions well and came up with effective rehab and treatment programmes to aid the recovering people.
The Road to Recovery Will Take Time
UKAT understands that recovery needs a tremendous amount of patience, endurance, and dedication. Maintaining a drug-free lifestyle is a never-ending quest. While recovery is not easy, it is absolutely possible. And the trick is to recognise when you awaken every morning that there are reasons to remain sober.
There are various grounds for such a decision to abstain from drug use and alcohol consumption. Above all, there are compelling reasons to maintain a sober lifestyle: personal goals, family, relationships, duties, work, or education. You have your defences. We are all guilty.
Even when you have quit drinking or taking drugs, your life is still far from reaching a dead-end. A lot of individuals believe the beginnings of it are yet to be realised and seen. Once you’ve overcome your addiction, you’ll be able to reclaim control of your activities and relationships until you reach the point of understanding that it wasn’t that impossible as you initially visualised it to be.
About your everyday life, you may find it more manageable without the terrible consequences of drug and alcohol abuse. Having a stable relationship with other sober people, relaxing, and less daily dramas and anxiety are all hallmarks of a better life in the entire journey of recovery. If you don’t use all your time on drugs and alcohol, you will discover that you have greater productivity and new sources of creativity.
Here are some helpful thoughts on how you can live a happy and successful sober life:
1. Live in the NOW!
When you’re up for a big leap, in this case, recovering from addiction, it would be effortless to slip back into frustration while you’re jumping through all kinds of hoops to achieve your goal of getting out from addiction. It’s not wrong to have a huge determination, but you need to understand that recovery is not a one-day process; it will take some time.
Don’t beat yourself up by putting in all your energy and focus on what’s at the end of the trail, especially if you’ve just started. Focus on the present, manage what needs to be done one day at a time. Would you be cooking dinner for New Year’s eve already in February? Definitely not!
2. Choose the right place and people to recover with
According to soberlink.com, recognising your weaknesses is a great way to manage your recovery from addiction, but that alone wouldn’t suffice. You must know how to act on the things that you need to control. If you know that a specific place or group of people will pull you back into, even just for a bit, drinking alcohol or using drugs, then it’s just right for you to veer away from those that will derail you from your tasks.
The environment can have a significant impact on the success of your recovery, and sticking around the neighbourhood and people where you used to care less about what you were doing while drinking alcohol or taking drugs will only put you back from ground zero.
Reconnect with your family and friends, away from those places and set of people that lead you into drowning deeper into addiction. Take the opportunity to rebuild your relationship with the people you have neglected while in addiction. Take long vacations away from the city, enjoy quality time and healthy conversations with your family and friends as these things will help you divert your attention from drugs or alcohol.
3. Learn to have fun differently
There will be times wherein your family and friends will organise and host parties to celebrate whatever it is that they need to rejoice about; you can’t just shy away from them while you’re in the recovering phase all the time. You can do something to enjoy the party with them without drinking alcohol or thinking about drugs.
You can talk to your family or friends to build a party plan that doesn’t have alcohol and invite people who are not into drinking. If that’s not feasible, then what you can do is to make sure that you’re drinking non-alcoholic drinks like clear sodas, sparkling water, and apple or grape juice; these are the closest drinks from the alcoholic ones.
You can also search for barman’s mocktail recipes online so you would know how to make one for yourself.
4. Go out and enjoy the outdoors
While in the recovering stage from addiction, you mustn’t confine yourself from the four corners of your house or flat because that’s going to stir your mind into boredom that often leads to backsliding thoughts.
One of the practical things that you can do to divert your attention is by going outdoors or simply enjoying the neighbourhood. You can go a long morning or afternoon walk because that is known and proven to help in relaxing the mind while energising your heart and your body in general. This can be great, too, if you have a companion to walk with while having a good and hearty conversation.
5. Improve your psyche and physique by exercising
Every day, at least one hour of exercise is recommended. You can run, jog, or do other forms of moderate physical activity. Perform a high-intensity workout if you want to lose a few pounds rapidly. Consider an hour-long fast-paced stroll.
Alternatively, you can sprint on intervals, but don’t overdo it. Just know that after a high-intensity workout, your muscles may ache, and that’s normal. While this is inconvenient, it indicates that your body is undergoing good changes. Drink plenty of water after each activity, stretch, and eat protein-rich foods. Protein, rather than fat, will aid in muscle rebuilding.
Mental health benefits from a healthy, sober lifestyle. This can energise you and boost your self-assurance, making long-term healing that more possible. Relationships that last a lifetime are now within reach. Healthy living habits become second nature, providing constant alternatives to drugs and alcohol and reducing the likelihood of relapse.
