The American Psychological Association says negative emotional states can come before relapse, so you may want to consider increasing signs of anger, frustration, depression, or sadness as potential relapse signs. Depending on the severity of the addiction or substance, a medically-supervised detox may be necessary to safely help you through withdrawal during the first few weeks when being sober sucks relapse risk is highest. Detox can occur in a hospital setting or as the initiation into the inpatient or outpatient rehabilitation process. Yes, asking for help was already listed, but it is so important that it is worth repeating. Getting through recovery’s ups and downs requires you to do more than just occasionally show up and interact with people who may be able to support you.
Making Friends When You’re Sober Is Basically Impossible — But This Social Trick Worked – YourTango
Making Friends When You’re Sober Is Basically Impossible — But This Social Trick Worked.
Posted: Wed, 06 Sep 2023 07:00:00 GMT [source]
” 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. ” Sometimes they stop talking to you altogether.
When being sober sucks
It doesn’t take long for thoughts to become words and words to become actions. Before you know it, a lousy day in sobriety can quickly turn into your last day in sobriety if you turn to drugs and alcohol to ease your emotional discomfort. I’m often reminded of how being “just sober” sucks. I have half a decade without drugs and alcohol, but sometimes I’m more miserable than I ever was when I was getting high.
Learning sober coping strategies to deal with stress can help you stay calm and avoid triggering explosive emotional reactions or relapse. The goal is not to avoid feeling angry or upset but to self-soothe without substances. Breathwork, meditation, and yoga are all some ways you can work on your emotional regulation outside of a healthcare provider’s office. Unfortunately, for someone in recovery, feelings of discontent are dangerous.
Being sober sucks
Both old habits and unhealthy relationships can trigger those negative emotional states that may increase the risk of relapse. If you feel like sobriety sucks, you need more support. You can find the balance in recovery you need.
Go to an amusement Park – The rides might give you the adrenal rush we miss and it’s fun to watch other drunks stumble around and barf as they get off rides. Go test drive cars – (Unless you’ve already lost your drivers license.) This can be fun, but you will have to put up with car salesmen. But that can be fun too – I love tormenting car salesmen. Go to a bookstore or library – You can sit there and read their books for FREE.
Get Support
So now I’m sober, and I have zero choice but to be me in all situations. While making the decision to be sober was the best thing I’ve ever done, it’s also one of the hardest. Not only because not drinking is hard, but also because we live in a society where most everyone around us drinks. And even more quickly, once again alcohol ends up getting a hold on you. Before you realise it, you have that feeling of being back to square one, wondering what you ever saw in drinking, yet here you are back to drinking. Toxic relationships are those in which you feel unheard, misunderstood, unsupported, demeaned, unsafe, or attacked.
- Common setbacks to getting and staying sober include withdrawal, craving, and pressure to use substances.
- Ask for extra hours at work if you’re having a hard time with roommates.
- If you’ve been in the throes of addictive behaviors for some time, you may be used to chaos and high-stress situations.
- As with most problems, the solution is as difficult or as simple as we make it.
- I’m often reminded of how being “just sober” sucks.
- Perhaps some just prefer to behave like jerks.
By Michelle Pugle
Michelle Pugle, MA, MHFA is a freelance health writer as seen in Healthline, Health, Everyday Health, Psych Central, and Verywell. Sometimes, it is the little things you may not realize are having a significant impact on your ability to cope. You are not a slave to your emotions or your addiction. You can choose to sit where you are for a moment, assess, and figure out a way forward.
Build a Support Network
There’s no more not caring if they see your cellulite or whatever you’re hiding under there; and you will, once and for all, discover that sex is never like in the movies. It is an awkward, vulnerable dance between two awkward, vulnerable humans. You are a mirror now, a flashlight of sobriety in a society that is laced with the judgment that it’s abnormal to abstain from alcohol. People will assume you drink and will be very curious about why you don’t have a drink in your hand when they do. Please remember that you have already achieved great things in your life for you and those surrounding you. By choosing to be sober, you have given so much, changed so many aspects of your life.
- Recognizing this need for change means taking into account how drugs or alcohol have been causing problems in areas of your life.
- For many, it’s a lifelong process of unlearning coping mechanisms that revolve around substances like alcohol or cannabis, and it’s also a process of relearning how to live life sober and stay sober.
- Building a support network is one of the best things you can do to build a strong foundation for sober living.
- The goal is not to avoid feeling angry or upset but to self-soothe without substances.
- I mean obviously, we don’t have to, we can continue destroying our bodies, mental health, relationships, and everything we encounter.