Essential Tips For Staying Sober After Addiction
Anyone who has ever struggled with addiction, whether it be an addiction to alcohol, drugs, or both, knows that getting sober isn’t easy. What’s more difficult, however, is the ongoing fight to remain sober. After working so hard, you might think that relapse is impossible. Sadly, for those new to recovery, relapse is very common. In fact, most people who find long-term sobriety have at least one relapse along the way. With that in mind, here are six essential tips for staying sober.
- Make Time For Exercise
Drinking excessively and taking drugs will always impact your health. Most people recovering from addiction aren’t nearly in the best shape. Because of this, you should incorporate more physical activity into your life. This has many physical benefits, but it will help to reduce stress and boredom too. These are common triggers for relapse, so find exercises that you enjoy.
According to Michael Dadashi who was addicted for a decade before he got sober, “it is critical that you stick to a good routine and avoid stressful situations”. Michael who now runs a drug and alcohol treatment centre Infinite Recovery in Austin, Texas also believes that one has to choose one’s friends wisely. “Austin is often ranked as one of the top 5 most drunk cities of America. So in order to stay clean and sober, I have to be wise about situations where the temptation may get too high.
- Have A Structured Day
An unpredictable lifestyle can easily hurt your sobriety. If you’re left with nothing to do, you might find yourself drinking or taking drugs to pass the time. When in rehab, like a cocaine addiction treatment center, your days are mapped out. You know when you have to wake up, attend a group, eat meals, and more. Setting a schedule like this for yourself at home will definitely help you. 
- Avoid Old Party Buddies
Staying sober will be difficult to do if you go back to your old life. It’s important that you get away from any old habits, routines, and people that might harm your recovery. Hanging around with heavy drinkers and users will make recovery almost impossible. When you’re not under the influence yourself, you’ll feel quite left out of the group, and might be tempted to join the party. 
- Build A Support Network
Many addicts and alcoholics get to the point where most of their closest friends are addicts too. Now that you’re sober, you have to build relationships with people who have a positive influence on your life. While you may feel as though you’ve burnt bridges, friends and family members might come back if they see that you’ve changed. However, you will have to make the first move.
- Deal With Past Mistakes
Anyone who finds themselves in recovery usually has a lot of pain and suffering to unpack. There are probably lots of things in your past that cause your feelings of guilt and shame. Those feelings can quickly become toxic, making recovery that much more difficult. To avoid a relapse, you must take responsibility for your mistakes, forgive yourself, and begin to move past them.
- Prepare For Any Questions
Every addict is eventually put in a situation where they’re asked about their sobriety. When this takes you off guard, all the feelings of guilt and shame you’ve tried to overcome can come flooding back. That is why you should decide what you’ll say ahead of time. The person asking questions might be struggling themselves, which means that your answers could help them.
Staying sober is definitely difficult, but the advice above should make it a little easier.
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