You are not a slave to your emotions or your addiction. You can choose to sit where you are for a moment, assess, and figure out a way forward.
Thinking back to before I was sober, I usually had to drink to be around people. When I stopped drinking, not only did my recovery dictate that I needed lots of time to myself, lots of self-care, and lots of nights in, I discovered that I was, How to Open an Inmates Halfway House in 2023 Business Plan in fact, someone who relishes in alone time. I recharge when I’m by myself, and I deplete when I’m with others—especially big groups. While making the decision to be sober was the best thing I’ve ever done, it’s also one of the hardest.
Feeling Like Being Sober Sucks? 12 Tips for Feeling Better
Spending sober time becoming familiar with your body intimately can help you better communicate your needs to someone else when you feel ready for that step. Before I quit drinking, I never really used to care about dividing the bill down the middle with a group. At some point after college, it just didn’t matter if someone had a meal that was four dollars more than mine, or if they ate more edamame, or even if they had one more drink than I did. Not only because my portion of the check is significantly smaller than anyone else at the table, but also because I refuse to invest in Big Alcohol.
- If you’re like me, this can feel entirely terrifying.
- When you’re sober, you have more time and mental energy to spend on the people who matter most to you.
- In fact, being sober can make your life more fun and rewarding than it’s ever been before.
- Instead, buck up and remember what’s in your control.
But this, I’ve learned, is a beautiful thing. As the lines between real and fake blur, Americans increasingly chase the idea of authenticity. The first step may be to consider self-knowledge, truthfulness, and other building blocks on the road https://g-markets.net/sober-living/art-therapy-for-addiction/ to personal growth. You can always improve how you fare in sobriety by looking at where you can improve your quality of life. Sometimes, it is the little things you may not realize are having a significant impact on your ability to cope.
Tips to Stay Sober
Please remember that you have already achieved great things in your life for you and those surrounding you. By choosing to be sober, you have given so much, changed so many aspects of your life. A lifestyle that you have worked so hard to get rid of previously – all from that initial thought of being sober sucks. SELF does not provide medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.
- It’s OK if a person returns to this step many times on their journey toward sobriety.
- The other people next to you at group therapy sessions and support group meetings all have experiences that can help you.
- Regardless of your reasoning behind being sober, you don’t have to be miserable.
- Becoming sober isn’t just about abstaining from alcohol.
- However, if they’re still opening and actively consuming substances in your presence, you may still need to separate yourself.
I’d argue that many of us gravitated to a group of friends who have drinking habits that align with our own, and we did this because we didn’t want sober friends. The saying goes that your worst day in sobriety is better than your best day in addiction. When I hang out with my “normie” friends, and they have a couple of beers, loosen up a bit and then head home without doing anything crazy, out of control or self-destructive. I look at them and there’s a part of me that envies their ability to put down a drink, to enjoy alcohol responsibly without having it take over their lives. It makes me feel like I am just an out-of-control person. One of the things that I truly loved about substances was that they gave me an escape; an escape from my problems, an escape from my incessant worrying, an escape from reality.
