15 Reasons to Stay Sober: Whats Your WHY?
” I didn’t understand I could decline to answer or that I didn’t have to make sense to everyone. For a period it was, “I’m an alcoholic,” and that tended to silence anyone (for clarification, I no longer identify as an alcoholic). These days, unless I’m feeling generous, I simply say, “I don’t drink,” and leave it at that. Some AA groups celebrate birthdays during certain times of the month. Chips are given out to AA members for their time staying sober.
Sobriety has taught me so much and provided me with so much insight on life and on myself. For that reason, I thought I’d share why I feel good about being sober. Finding happiness in sobriety is a process that takes time but is totally achievable with the right daily supports, priorities, and commitments. Healthy relationships, a regular practice of gratitude, finding your purpose, and living in reasons to stay sober the moment are some of the components of recovery that enrich the good feelings of sobriety. It’s been over six years since I first started seriously questioning my relationship with alcohol and considered a life without it. That’s six hard, beautiful, glorious years during which I not only stopped drinking, but also finally moved on from all recreational drugs as well as a history of bulimia.
How To Enjoy Living a Sober Life
Movies can make you laugh, and can help you let out a good cry when you need one. Plan a movie night with yourself or with some friends. You can binge-watch a series of movies, or just watch one of your favourites. You can also go to the movies to watch the latest film out. This is a great way to have fun and jump into a new world while maintaining your sobriety. In sobriety, you get to figure out what makes you feel alive and what makes your soul feel good.
(We already donated! you should too) After listening to this podcast it just hit me like damn… imagine if the only water I could drink was full of parasites and worms. Imagine having no clothes, and getting through the day with only eating a banana. I was listening to this, and I looked down at my health infused organic smoothie, my clean jeans and collared shirt, my https://ecosoberhouse.com/ car and my iPhone 6. No matter what, I will always have a nagging feeling in my mind that tells me I am not good enough or that I am not where I want to be. However, sobriety gives me the ability to look at my life objectively, and see how full my life actually is. Over time, and with hard work on myself, I have become much more comfortable in the present moment.
Your mental and emotional health.
Anyone whose ever been drunk has experienced the drunk munchies. Late night benders can result in early morning stops at Jack-in-the-Box or microwave pizzas. Without alcohol in your system however, you have the time, energy and learning capacity to try new recipes.
Spending time and connecting with like-minded people is an important part of the recovery process, just as much as finding activities to do that don’t revolve around substance use. A life in recovery gives you the unique opportunity to develop healthy coping mechanisms. These mechanisms will pave the way for overcoming hardship without relying on a substance. These healthy coping mechanisms are more sustainable than numbing pain or trying to drink away your past challenges.
You have more free time.
If these emotions become excessive, they can hold you back from recovery. If you are trying to maintain a sober lifestyle, those feelings can become toxic and contribute to relapse if you don’t deal with them properly. Now that you are sober, you may have discovered that some of your past relationships were not only unhealthy but downright toxic. It’s not just your drinking buddies and drug dealers who can get you into trouble—sometimes those who are closest to you can contribute to a relapse. Other definitions, however, often focus on the process of recovery and developing coping mechanisms and habits that support health and wellness over the long term. Total abstinence may be the goal, but the reality is that setbacks are common.
This leads to poor judgement as all decisions are a means to an end for an addict. How much of your money goes towards alcohol every day? When you’re sober, you’ll find you suddenly have a surplus in your bank account. It’s not just from the drinking either, but now you have more money by not spending on fast food or Uber drives home.
This one is a little obvious, but you will learn how to live a life of sobriety by attending AA and addiction recovery meetings. Different support groups for family members are also available so they can learn about your new life. You’ll meet new people in AA with whom you can grab a coffee and learn how to have new friends with whom you can have a good time. Too many people wait for the “perfect time” to seek help for substance abuse. Being sober will not only monumentally improve your life — it will save your life. If you suffer from addiction, it is likely that you are unproductive at your job, are unable to successfully complete daily tasks and are irresponsible with your finances.
You’re given the ability to zoom out and think about what you’re doing or what you’d like to be doing more of. Long term goals are very rewarding, and they help maintain habits and ethic. Long term goals are usually broken up into a bunch of short term goals. This way, you’re able to feed your more immediate gratification, but also see how it plays into the bigger picture. When you drink a lot, your concept of fun is often limited to what’s on tap.