The notion ‘everything must change’ in recovery is a misnomer. Not everything changes in recovery. You are probably the one thing that changes most, which leads to other changes. However, that does not mean every single thing you ever knew is gone. It takes time to align your new sobriety with a recovery that will stick around for the long haul. It can be a long, hard road but it is worthwhile to have a life you love that is focused on your sobriety.
Take it Slow
Easy does it, as the saying goes. Don’t step too fast into your future just because you have a few notches under your belt in recovery. You feel ready to charge back into the world and get into real life again, but you may not be able to handle all the things happening at once. The pace of life is going to seem different to you. Take time to readjust and realign. You’ll thank yourself later.
Make Up
While you were addicted to drugs or alcohol, it is likely you caused harm to people you loved. Where harm was caused, it is helpful to go back and apologize. Even if you are sober and healthy, they still remember how difficult it was to be around you sometimes. The challenge is letting them know you are ready to make amends for old wounds and want to repair damages. Then let them decide if they are willing to embrace that change now, or in the future.
Find Sober Friends
No matter how much people say they support you in sobriety, most likely people are not always what they seem. Some may just not be able to help you in this new phase of life. They are either using substances themselves or going a different direction from you. That is okay. Even if your time spent with these people does not include times of getting high or drunk, there is a chance of them stimulating your own memories and make you experience cravings.
While you do not have to give up everything in sobriety, there are a few things you should give up: substances and people that do not support your sobriety. It is hard to stay clean and sober while you have those going on in your journey. The challenge is staying focused on sobriety for you, however that looks. Engaging with new friends, exercise, clean eating, and a healthy lifestyle is key to staying on top of your recovery. It will be difficult at first but if you persist, it will begin to feel like you’ve been doing this for a million years and you’ll find yourself wondering why you ever looked back.
A Step in the Right Direction provides quality care for clients seeking support for addiction recovery. We teach people how to live a sober life through programs, therapeutic support, and evidence-based therapies. Our recovery program is staffed by people who understand the power of addiction. For more information sober living programs for men and women as well as recovery programs, call (877) 377-3702.
