In my mind, sobriety meant Friday nights alone on my couch, watching Netflix and hiding from the rest of the world who was definitely out drinking. Instead of being afraid that you won’t recognize yourself, look at it as an opportunity. You get to define yourself from here on out, and there won’t be any regrettable drunk shenanigans doing that on your behalf.
Post-detox, you may have a wide range of emotions flooding your mind. You’re likely also to start feeling the stress build, perhaps the same stress that leads you down the fear of being sober path to using. Even after being in recovery for a while, you may not be delighted with the changes you have made.4 In fact you may realize you don’t like being sober.
I enjoyed my trip so much more by not numbing out with alcohol
Drinking stunts your emotional and personal growth. It’s what you use to check out of everything else. The truth is, you have no idea what success will look or feel like.
Recovering from substance use disorder takes courage and determination, and it’s important not to underestimate that as you move through the process. AA’s sister program Narcotics Anonymous (NA) follows the same framework, but is designed for those recovering from other substance use disorders. The first step is for a person to admit that they are powerless over alcohol, and that alcohol use has made their life unmanageable.
Sobriety Fear #1: Never Drinking Again.
But many people use the excuse that they are cowards just so they can keep on using the substances. If you truly want to live a clean and sober life, you are already ahead of the game. Intention and commitment are crucial to having a successful recovery. Getting sober means replacing your primary coping mechanism – drugs and alcohol – with new, unfamiliar ones.
- If you truly want to live a clean and sober life, you are already ahead of the game.
- When it comes to support systems specifically designed for those in recovery, there are several types and options to explore.
- By entering addiction treatment, you are liberating yourself from the shackles of alcohol and drugs.
- Those aren’t the friends you need to be spending time with right now.
- First, it is normal to be afraid when you first get sober.
You cannot afford to be around them any longer. After you have been through treatment and are in recovery, you may realize that they were not really your friends anyway. True friends do not enable each other to poison their existence in an endless cycle of drinking and drugs. You will be making new friends in treatment and recovery, as well as through your support group meetings and new activities you will now start to enjoy. What’s going to happen when you step out of the residential rehab center and into life again?
Fear of Facing Your Damage
You may no longer be in some people’s lives because of your actions. However, another fear is the worry of not belonging anywhere. You may feel as though you don’t belong in a place of employment because you screwed up so badly.
It’s a convenient cop-out we’re all guilty of using. Those who are overly pessimistic and say, “I’m going to be miserable forever,” will inevitably fail. You’ll get significantly better at identifying the kind of people you genuinely enjoy being around, which is much harder to do when everyone is vibing off overpriced cocktails in dimly lit bars. Being at a party or trying to find the perfect romantic partner without alcohol is the stuff of nightmares for many people. Even people for whom alcohol is not a problem experience this. Sober movements are redefining what it means to have fun and challenging alcohol’s role in our social lives.