Family issues, financial problems, and personal battles are just some of the challenges we humans face every day. This doesn’t change regardless of whether or not you’re in early addiction recovery. Life can get tough, which can leave you wondering whether you made the right choice of getting sober. No matter how hard things get, being sober is better than using drugs or alcohol. Remember, you have worked so hard to start your journey of recovery, don’t let that go to waste! You have a whole new life ahead of you to explore. But how do you maintain sobriety during tough times?
Recovery Is Lifelong
It is important to understand that addiction recovery is a lifelong process. At the beginning of recovery, you may have been able to remove yourself from society to focus 100% on getting sober. Unfortunately, inpatient addiction treatment does not last forever. The everyday stressors will eventually start to creep back up on you post-treatment but not to worry, with the right knowledge and awareness, you can easily manage these stressors without turning to drugs or alcohol.
Below are a few ways to maintain sobriety during tough times:
Check-in With Yourself
A crucial component to staying sober despite hard times is checking in with yourself. It’s important to be aware of how you feel at all times. It’s helpful to check in with yourself a few times a day to ask yourself “how am I feeling?” “am I stressed or overwhelmed?”. Taking a few minutes to reflect will help you identify any drug cravings or triggers and stop them from getting worse.
Embrace a Hobby
Hobbies can be a great productive outlet and a healthy distraction from the everyday stressors of life. Although it may contradict what we discussed above, it’s totally healthy to do something that takes your mind off of things that are stressing you out, within reason of course.
Reading, writing, drawing, or even something as simple as coloring are all constructive hobbies. If you don’t want to lean into your creative side, cooking and gardening are also nice hobbies to pick up. Cooking is an extremely useful skill due to the fact that we have to eat to live, and if you pick up gardening, you can plant fruits & vegetables!
Stick to a Routine
If you have never had a daily routine, this may be the best time to develop one . Keep a structured weekly schedule, even if you don’t have a job. Doing things the old way will only invite triggers that can cause relapse. If you used to wake up at 10 in the morning and only drink a cup of coffee, you could change that to waking a bit early, taking a small morning jog, making something healthy for breakfast, and starting your day. A chaotic lifestyle may hinder proper recovery, especially when you have to deal with life issues and unforeseen circumstances.
Eat a Balanced Diet and Exercise
Eating well and exercising will boost your overall mood, which ultimately leads to you coping with stress in a healthy way. Eating foods that restore energy will help you feel motivated to work out. Exercise such as karate and yoga can help achieve internal self-balance and control. Sticking to a regular exercise schedule and eating routine is an excellent way to stay sober and cope with stress.
Sleep
Never underestimate the power of a good night’s sleep. Lack of sleep can cause mood changes and the inability to think straight. If you anticipate a stressful week at work coming up, or are experiencing some personal issues like a break up, make sure to get at least 7 hours of sleep a night. Feeling well rested will help you feel relaxed and able to focus on your recovery.
We Want to Help
Are you struggling to remain sober during tough times? Laguna View Detox can help you achieve and maintain sobriety. We are a luxury drug and alcohol treatment center based in the beautiful Laguna Beach, CA. We offer a safe home-like and secure addiction treatment environment to help you develop a positive attitude towards addiction treatment and recovery.
We use cognitive behavioral therapy as a treatment process. We also focus on holistic treatment modalities during our inpatient and detox programs. We boast some of the best clinical team members around. Our caring support team will offer you excellent aftercare planning and an alumni program to follow up on how you are managing sobriety. Feel free to visit us today!