It’s important to remember these relationships can change, and if you’re in long-term recovery from substance misuse, you deserve support that honors your decision to abstain. “Whether a person’s sobriety journey is easy or challenging doesn’t take away from the fact that they are deserving of respect and joy.” Developing healthy habits, such as regular exercise, proper nutrition, and self-care, is crucial for supporting long-term recovery and overall well-being. By making a conscious effort to prioritize your health and adopt healthier habits, you’ll not only improve your physical and mental health but also increase your resilience against relapse. Medication-assisted treatment (MAT) combines medications with counseling and behavioral therapies to provide a comprehensive approach to treating alcohol addiction. Medications like naltrexone, acamprosate, and disulfiram have been proven to help reduce cravings and promote successful recovery.
Emotional Changes
Be sure to avoid any routines that used to lead you to your unhealthy substance use. It’s essential to acknowledge your feelings about quitting drinking. If you’re not sure you are ready to change, think about how alcohol is impacting your life.
You Don’t Have To Quit All At Once
If you do drink, do everything in your power to avoid a heavy binge. This is where it becomes essential to think of the progress you made. I know that I had several starts, stops, and bouts of questioning if this was the right decision for me. I personally used to worry that I wouldn’t be strong enough to stay sober.
Improved Physical Health and Reduced Risk of Alcohol-Related Diseases
To avoid relapse and remain sober, it’s important to develop healthy relationships. It is estimated that up to 80% of those who find long-term sobriety had at least one relapse along the way. Some people experience many setbacks before they find lasting recovery. Your intentions may be good, but it takes more than willpower to avoid having a relapse.
Options for Treatment
In fact, you can find it online with sites like Sunnyside, which helps you create a customized plan, Tempest, Moderation.org or Ben’s Friends for people who work in the food and beverage industry. If you drink to ease the pain of loneliness, then make a conscious effort to connect with others. Alcoholics Anonymous cautions its members not to meth withdrawal symptoms timeline & detox treatment get too hungry, angry, lonely or tired—all of which can make you more vulnerable to the urge to drink. Find activities that are mentally and emotionally nourishing and bring you joy, and identify ways to connect socially with friends, says Witkiewitz. “Try doing a ‘dry’ month like Dry January, Go Dry for July or Sober October,” says Moore.
Remember that you won’t be alone
“They took me by the hand and walked with me when I couldn’t walk on my own.” His rehab counselor suggested that he move into a sober living housing community in Hickory, NC. “There was enough stability, and treatment and recovery national institute on drug abuse nida it put structure into my life,” he says. Then the NFL Alumni Association got him into the Desert Hope Treatment Center in Las Vegas, where he now continues his recovery while working as a patient liaison.
- It is scary to leave your family and friends and comfort of your home to go to treatment, but for me, the thought of living the alcoholic life was even scarier.
- Alcohol addiction treatment relies heavily on different types of therapy that help participants identify, process and accept their emotions.
- For example, you may have developed a co-dependent relationship, or a family member, friend, or employer may have been enabling you without even knowing it.
- This may mean that you don’t spend time with someone you used to use drugs with or go somewhere you used to drink.
- This didn’t motivate me to quit, but I was afraid of how bad things could get if I drank too much.
Twelve-step programs are very successful for people who truly want to quit using. Not everyone likes the format of meetings and the 12-steps, so AA or NA might not be for everyone. It’s not uncommon for addicts to want to leave rehab in the beginning, but the negative feelings usually subside agonist definition and usage examples with time. Your experience at rehab will greatly depend on your perspective, where you go, fellow patients, and your providers. Till this day, I still keep in touch with my counselor in treatment. I learned a lot from the experience and overall it was a positive experience for me.
A small amount of alcohol is removed from the body through sweat, urine and respiration. Alcohol can be detected in sweat, urine and the breath for at least as long as the liver is breaking down alcohol. Remember that changing deep habits is hard, takes time, and requires repeated efforts. We usually experience failures along the way, learn from them, and then keep going. Overcoming alcohol use disorder is an ongoing process, one which can include setbacks.
It may help to pick a quit date, or a day when you choose to discontinue use of alcohol or drugs. It’s also helpful to change your environment—for instance, avoid going to bars. There are also resources such as 12-step groups and recovery groups. If you’re in recovery from a substance use disorder, you already know how much work it took to achieve sobriety, and you’ll want to do everything possible to avoid having a relapse.
Within just a month of not drinking, your body can begin to reap the benefits. Your liver can start to heal, your risks of heart disease and cancer go down, and you may begin to sleep better. If you’re having difficulty sticking to your goal or just want some extra guidance, consider reaching out for professional support. Maybe you don’t think you depend on alcohol exactly, but you still wonder whether you might be drinking too much.
More than 35 years of drinking had brought him to the brink of death. He would drink to the point where he passed out, only to wake up and start drinking again. “I needed to get off alcohol for a long enough time to let those pathways find the right way to go.”
Rebuilding relationships is essential for a successful recovery, as strong connections with friends and family members provide a vital support network. Embracing the three P’s of recovery – patience, persistence, and perseverance – will help you stay motivated and overcome obstacles as you strive to achieve lasting sobriety. Remember, the best goals for sobriety involve committing to yourself each day, focusing on your overall health, attending recovery meetings regularly, and staying sober indefinitely. The consequences of alcohol addiction extend far beyond the physical and emotional realm, impacting personal relationships, job performance, and overall well-being.
There are many options for treating alcohol use disorder without rehab, including free support groups, quitting on your own, online programs, and medication- or moderation-based programs. Alcohol withdrawal symptoms can be mild for some people, but can be dangerous and even fatal for others.1 The quantity and frequency at which you drink has a major impact on this. But there are other factors as well, including genetics and pre-existing health problems.
Developing some coping strategies and putting them into regular practice is an important part of staying sober. If you choose to quit without rehab, look for other forms of support in managing cravings—from other peers in recovery, to private counselors, or even podcasts and apps. Tailored treatment programs and follow-ups are often a part of recovery success. Treatment should include medical and mental health services as required.