Taking Care Of Your Sobriety
As an alcoholics or drug addict, you have a distinct disadvantage in your way of thinking. Your addiction has lead you to become accustomed to instant gratification. Whatever your whim, that’s what you shall have. Sadly, that’s not a very effective way to live in today’s world. Society expects patience and tolerance for change. So how can a recovering alcoholic or drug addict survive? By taking care of your sobriety.
Sobriety Is A Living Thing
If you ever had an indoor houseplants or a pet, you know they won’t survive if you ignore them. At least an animal has means of getting your attention. A plant will simply wither and die in the corner. Either way these living beings depend on your attention to keep driving. It can help you as a recovering alcoholic or drug addict to think of your sobriety as a living being.
You must tend to your sobriety every day, possibly several times a day. If you don’t, you may or may not notice the changes right away. Life may feel a little more difficult. Your mind may start to drift toward the negative. You may not feel that energy used to have a few weeks or months ago. You might find yourself getting more angry at certain things or people in your life. You might start to distance yourself from others that cut down on your aggravation and frustration.
Addiction Relapse Sneaks Up – Frog In Boiling Water
Hopefully, you would notice these changes and directly connects them to your lack of attention on your sobriety. However, this is often like the frog in the pot of boiling water. The frog starts out in a pot of cold water. The temperature is turned up so gradually that by the time the frog realizes it is getting hot, it is has already gotten scalded.
Thankfully, relapse risk doesn’t have to mean you are completely scalded. You may have a close call and catch yourself before you take a drink or hit up with old buddy for some drugs.
Prevent Relapse Before Things Get Bad
When you part in drug or alcohol rehab, you get a lot of support for keeping up good sobriety habits. When your drug rehab is over, the picture can get a little fuzzy. So what does taking care of your sobriety look like in your everyday life?
– Eating healthy meals on a regular basis every day
– Sleeping about the same amount of time every night
– Going to bed at about the same time every night
– Getting physically active a little each day or week
– Staying in touch with people you trust to be honest
– Attending support groups or alcohol treatment
– Focus on being generous to others
– Taking care of any medical issues promptly
– Develop healthy interesting hobbies
– Spend time developing and mending relationships
Caring For Sobriety Is Caring For Yourself
The above list is pretty basic, but you probably get the idea. This is a lot like brushing your dog every week, feeding her twice a day, walking her daily, clipping her nails weekly, taking her to the vet, etc. You don’t wait to do those things until your dog is starving or shaggy mess. You do these things because you love your dog and you want her to stay healthy everyday. Your sobriety needs the same kind of devotion and attention. When you take care of your sobriety, your sobriety will take care of you.
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