Often-times in recovery, being sober seems to be the aim. And when I couldn’t seem to get ready in time, or when my purse was a tangle of wadded keys and gum wrappers I felt so bereft. Similarly, there are many people who drink and use drugs because they feel more fun, daring, likable, and interesting when under the influence. Removing the thing that they believe gives them more charisma or self-confidence around being sober sucks other people can trigger the very real worry that they won’t like their sober self. If you’re asking this question, you’re not alone.
Staying Sober When Life Sucks
This is part of our https://dev1.sentientgeeks.us/datascholar/understanding-the-risks-of-drinking-and-driving/ ongoing commitment to ensure FHE Health is trusted as a leader in mental health and addiction care. When things seem to be going down hill, you must remember that bad things happen to people all the time. That includes not becoming a victim to life’s circumstances. Reach out to a loved one when you’re feeling down. From being outside sweaty, running around and playing with bugs in the mud, to laughing at farts (I still do that) and wrestling with your friends. There is such a calm presence with children because they haven’t yet been mentally affected by themselves.
What Being Sober Feels Like
Don’t be afraid to ask for help and let people know that you’re having a hard time. They’ll be much happier that you reached out now, before you picked up, then afterwards, when a relapse has already happened. While you’re in active addiction, the life you imagine without drugs seems awful. Sobriety seems like a lot of hard work, boring, and downright miserable—not to mention impossible. And, when going to rehab demands stepping back from your life for a temporary period of time in order to focus on getting well, recovery can seem more like regression than moving forward. When you’re in early recovery, even good days can be tough.
The Experience Blog
- It is also an educational tool for addiction professionals and those in recovery, and I am here to tell you I had some unexpected lessons to learn when I became sober.
- There is such a calm presence with children because they haven’t yet been mentally affected by themselves.
- One reason for this is the understandable and very common fear of what being sober feels like.
- Regardless of the situation, being a victim never kept someone in recovery.
While this point of view is understandable, it’s also thankfully often misleading and entirely possible to overcome, as a member Sober living house of FHE Health’s Alumni Program recently shared…. I’m often reminded of how being “just sober” sucks. I have half a decade without drugs and alcohol, but sometimes I’m more miserable than I ever was when I was getting high. The difference between then and now is that I have tools to get back to true freedom–where all the nonsense I am putting myself through mentally has no validity. It is not the mere fact that I am away from mind-altering substances, but it is because of the spiritual actions that can free my mind from itself.
- But when life sucks, staying sober can be more than hard, it can feel like it’s next to impossible.
- Remember how family and friends wouldn’t return calls or didn’t trust to leave you alone.
- And you’ll remember what you’ve got to fight for.
- In other words, success is the blissful absence of all of the devastating consequences of a previous drug or alcohol habit.
More Questions about Treatment?
When things feel out of control or you feel that you’re at risk for relapse, go to a meeting. Stand up and say, I’m having a rough time, and any extra support is appreciated. Here’s how to stay sober, and sane, when life sucks. Even though breakups, job losses, and an unexpected death of a friend or family member, can be devastating, they will all happen at some point. And you need to know that you can make it through without relapsing.
Call for Help With Addiction
Remember how family and friends wouldn’t return calls or didn’t trust to leave you alone. And you’ll remember what you’ve got to fight for. The FHE Health team is committed to providing accurate information that adheres to the highest standards of writing.
The Downside of Sobriety
If you haven’t felt what sobriety feels like, you can. The promise of sobriety is that “the way I feel stone-cold sober, even on my worst days ever … I would never trade to feel the effects of a drug and drink again,” our alumna said. She said anyone can have the same experience being sober. The hitch is you have to do it—as in get sober. When you’re feeling down, seek out support from friends and family to help keep you sane and from slipping into old behaviors.
Many people drink and do drugs precisely because they don’t like who they are and want to dull the sensation of their shame, self-loathing—even self-hatred. The prospect of being without the one thing that relieves their sense of low self-esteem and lack of self-love can be very scary. One of the easiest ways to forget your own problems is to give back to people less fortunate than yourself.