Seven Common Fears in Recovery and Why Sobriety Is Still Worth It Promises Behavioral Health

Many individuals facing drug and alcohol addiction have developed a lifestyle around their addiction. Everything they do – day in and day out – focuses on that next hit, drink, or high. cbd addiction: is cannabidiol cbd addictive When you take that away, even when you know it is for the best, you are opening the door to all types of risks. And, to be frank, many times that reality is downright hard to swallow.

Develop new hobbies to find joy and fulfillment without the need for substances

When we’re sober, we may find those desires and dreams come to the surface again, prompting us to pay attention to them once again. With friends, if they aren’t on board with your sobriety, you’ll have some tough choices ahead. The good news is that you don’t have to worry about it until you’ve got some solid, sober days under your belt. After months or years of being fixated on drugs and alcohol, who are you if you arent an addict? These are some of the most difficult questions in recovery, and the answers may change over time.

Feel What Sobriety Feels Like for Yourself

In this situation, it’s important to be truthful with yourself. It hurts to think of what you have given up or lost for drugs and alcohol. Acknowledging and celebrating the hard work of recovery is helpful for keeping you motivated and reminding you why you took this brave step toward sobriety in the first place. Just be sure that your rewards don’t involve drugs or alcohol. Instead, focus on things, experiences, and activities that will support your new, healthy lifestyle. The first step in addressing a fear of sobriety is acknowledging the fear itself.

Why You Shouldn’t Be Afraid to Get Sober

Their process of getting sober will depend on numerous factors, including the severity of drug or alcohol use disorder and long-term goals of sobriety. Sobriety is a general term for staying away from mood- and mind-altering substances, though there is no commonly agreed-upon medical definition in terms of what sobriety means. People in recovery generally agree that abstinence is necessary but remains just a starting point for a new, sober life. If these emotions become excessive, they can hold you back from recovery.

If this is the case for you, you may want to dig deeper. You’re not obligated to drink just to make others feel good about their drinking. This is the hard part, but it’s also the most rewarding. When you do start to deal with your problems dangers of quitting alcohol cold turkey in healthier ways (and you will), you are going to feel completely transformed and unstoppable. You will have strong days when you feel like you can take on the world. And you will have days when every minute feels like a struggle.

I will tell you that the depression that I felt that day was strong enough that I would have gave into my depression along with the urges and the cravings for alcohol. If you are also a parent, you have yet one more reason to seek treatment. The sooner you do, the less likely it will be that your own children will model your depressive behaviors in the future. It’s also your chance to show them what to do if they should experience depression—or any other mental health issue. Acknowledging and accepting help when you need it is one behavior you can model for them now that can benefit them greatly in the years to come. Second, it’s essential to reach out to a support system.

1. When you are feeling those emotional and ups and downs, how do you pull together the pieces and stick to the path towards recovery?
2. A therapist who specializes in addiction and recovery can offer invaluable support.
3. Just focus on talking to your therapist, working through today’s challenges and making it another 24 hours without using.

At The Ranch at Dove Tree, a key component of our process is to give you the tools you need to move forward. That includes talking about these fears, learning to understand what sobriety will mean to you, and facing what’s underneath it all. If you or a loved one is struggling with depression/anxiety or addiction, help exists. Reach out today to receive the support and care you need. The FHE Health team is committed to providing accurate information that adheres to the highest standards of writing.

Yet, at the same time, it may feel better just to give in and use because that’s what they expect from you. If you try to stop using and fail, you’re disappointing them all over again. Look what I’ve done to my life.” This is a very common thought process.

It’s important to develop a structured daily and weekly schedule and stick to it. If PAWS is severe or if you’re experiencing prolonged symptoms, a medical professional can help you work through them and remain in recovery without relapse. Worrying about it constantly will only strengthen your fears and lessen your resolve to do anything. It’s a convenient cop-out we’re all guilty of using. You don’t have to produce some hidden, superhuman strength to be successful at sobriety. But you do need patience, empathy for yourself, and a firm commitment to meeting your goal.

Sobriety is a personal decision, and you should do what’s best for you, not what other people think is best for you. After detox, it’s easy to come to the realization that there alcohol use disorder symptoms and causes are people who are still standing by your side that probably should not be. You recognize what you’ve put them through, you’re ashamed of it and you wish you could take it back.

I will tell you that could have been further from the truth. In early 2018, I admitted myself to a program to deal with my anxiety and depression issues. It was one of the best decisions that I could have made in my life.

However, addiction treatment involves support in this respect. During rehab, you can take up fitness classes, as well as engage in meditation, yoga, cooking, nutrition classes and art. By exploring healthy living during rehab, you will find it much easier to carry on with these positive habits in your regular life. Maybe you’re ready—you’re practically desperate—to get sober and to change your life. The idea of getting sober in rehab only to relapse on the outside is a frightening thought. What you should know is that almost all addicts seeking help have relapses.

The fear of being sober is often about dealing with your loss of a coping mechanism for “real” life. You’re afraid you don’t have the tools and resources to help you to maintain your sobriety. You are afraid that being sober will simply be too hard. If you’re scared of becoming sober, there are a few things that you can do to ease your fears. First, it’s important to educate yourself about sobriety.

By Michelle PugleMichelle Pugle, MA is a freelance writer and reporter focusing on mental health and chronic conditions. As seen in Verywell, Healthline, Psych Central, Everyday Health, and Health.com, among others. Some studies find that this structure, along with a start date for sobriety and milestones, is important to some people in recovery. If you’re involved in a 12-step program, you likely already know the importance of milestones.

One reason for this is the understandable and very common fear of what being sober feels like. Life in the absence of the self-medicating highs and euphoric escapes that drugs or alcohol once provided can suddenly appear very boring, uneventful, and empty. While this point of view is understandable, it’s also thankfully often misleading and entirely possible to overcome, as a member of FHE Health’s Alumni Program recently shared…. For some, being sober means dealing with painful memories, powerful emotions, and incredibly stressful thought patterns.

Drug addiction specialists will always try to instill your recovery process with optimism and hope. They will help you to build self-confidence and allow you to realize the power you have to maintain sobriety. Remember, an untreated substance addiction will grow.

So if you’ve hidden your addiction well up until now, that’s not going to last. Eventually, other people will know you have a problem. Rather than waiting for them to find out after a terrible accident or losing your job, seek help now. You can choose how much to tell them about where you’re going and why. But if you do choose to talk about your addiction, it’s from a place of taking responsibility for it.