5 of the Best Sobriety Tips
Are you looking for ways to get your life back on track? Are you tired of letting your addiction control your decisions and relationships? If so, then you need a few sobriety tips to help you get on the right path.
Make no mistake about it, the road to recovery isn’t easy. If it were, then everyone would do it. However, the grind and adversity that you’ll face will make your sobriety all the more rewarding. In time, you’ll be a motivation to all others in your current position.
See below for a list of early sobriety tips that you can use to create momentum in your recovery.
1. Go Co-Ed
Yes, ladies and gentlemen, you read that correctly. There are many great treatment centers out there, some of which restrict the treatment clientele to one gender.
The idea with these one-gender treatment centers is to remove the temptation and/or frustration with the other sex to help you focus on recovery.
However, for many addicts, it’s that frustration or mistrust that’s the root of the problem. If that’s you, then going to a one-gender won’t do you much good. It doesn’t help you cure your triggers and frustrations that lead to your addiction.
Choosing a co-ed treatment center will allow you to grow meaningful relationships with the opposite gender, and thus help you make the most of your situation. It will help you prepare for the outside world.
However, this co-ed rule doesn’t just apply to your treatment center. It also applies to the support system that you’re growing. Make sure you have people of all different genders, races, and backgrounds so that you can see the beauty in people, not the bias you might have towards them.
A huge part of recovery is finding relationships you can count on, and we’re proposing that your new network be as diverse as possible!
2. Work on Self-Acceptance First
There are some addicts out there that never seek out treatment. Others of them are forced to seek treatment by relatives or friends, but quickly relapse. Why? Because they don’t believe they actually have an issue—or at least they refuse to believe it.
If you really want to achieve sobriety and live a healthier, happier life, then the first step is always going to be reaching self-acceptance.
Self-acceptance is when a person acknowledges their entire situation. That means becoming aware of your strengths, weaknesses, and everything that’s in between.
The first part is easy. Who isn’t going to accept their good qualities? The second part can be the hardest part of recovery. Accepting the fact that you’ve made mistakes and are in your current situation because of decisions you’ve made.
But here’s the encouraging part: that doesn’t dictate the rest of your life. In fact, this is just a mere microcosm of your life, if you take control right now.
Once you reach self-acceptance, you’ll be able to create monumental change. You’ll be open to new ideas. You’ll find the strength to fight through the inevitable adversity and come through the other side stronger than before.
3. Find the Fun in Life
Let’s say you buy a donut at the grocery store. You bring that donut home, place it in your pantry and tell yourself not to eat it. Then, you sit on the couch for a few hours. Do you think you’ll have the strength to hold off on the donut?
The odds are that you won’t, but not because you don’t have the strength to resist it. It’s because you didn’t find a way to entertain yourself or change your mindset.
If you’re going to achieve a sober life, you have to make a change for the better. That includes finding fun activities that you can build a passion for.
There are several awesome hobbies out there, such as photography, writing, exercising, playing sports, camping, acting, and so on. If you find yourself thinking about your addiction one day especially, then do a one-off fun activity like going to a live sports game, hitting up a museum, skydiving, etc.
4. Know Your Triggers
Within all these tips for getting sober is a foundational rule that you have to apply to your life: knowing your triggers.
Turning your head to them or shrugging them off won’t do any good. Those triggers will come back around eventually, so you need to be prepared.
If you take the time to learn what makes you tick and used to make you resort to your addiction, you can also create a preemptive response to it, that way you can avoid getting yourself into trouble.
5. Focus on Your Health
Many studies have shown a correlation between poor diets and depression. If depression is your main trigger, then it’s time to take back control of the situation.
Things such as implementing a better diet or prioritizing more exercise can help you prevent depression, increase your confidence, and reduce your temptation to eat, smoke, drink, or engage in any other unhealthy habits.
But don’t feel like you have to change everything in one fell swoop. Start with something small. Commit to eating whole foods for a week and see how you feel. That means nuts, fruits, veggies, grains, legumes, and seeds.
Use These Sobriety Tips to Help You
Now that you have seen an in-depth guide full of sobriety tips, be sure to use these on your road to recovery.
Take the time to assess your current situation. What are your triggers? How did you get here? What do you need to remove from your life to prevent yourself from falling into the same hole?
Be sure to browse our website for more articles on maintaining sobriety, as well as many other helpful topics.
