The transition from addiction treatment to living a sober life is often the most challenging stage of recovery. Once you’ve completed your residential program and transitioned back into your daily routine, sobriety becomes your sole responsibility. Ideally, you’ll have friends and counselors to call in times of crisis or when you need a compassionate ear, but generally, you’re in charge. As a result, you may worry — are you up to the task of staying sober? Sierra Sage Recovery Services offers the resources and support necessary to maintain a lasting recovery.
Addiction Recovery Has Prepared You for Sobriety
The answer to whether or not you’re up to the task of staying sober is a resounding “yes.” Exclaim it every day if needed. Staying sober is what you’ve been training for. And by using your recovery behaviors and healthy coping skills, you can avoid those situations that make you want to relapse. Use the resources you’ve put in place when you feel uncertain. They include:
- Support group meetings
- Calls to your sponsor
- Crisis hotlines
- Staying active in your recovery community
- Helping others
Keep your days structured, just as you learned to do in rehab. Additionally, avoid putting yourself in situations where you feel aimless, bored, or lonely. Stay connected. Stay communicative. Lastly, take each day of staying sober as the major victory it is.
Aftercare Will Assist You in Staying Sober
The aftercare program at your drug and alcohol addiction treatment center offers many resources for staying sober. Therefore, make sure you’re taking full advantage of alumni activities such as events and gatherings. And be sure to attend meetings regularly. When you’re with others in recovery, listen to their success stories and ask them about resources they find helpful. Aftercare is intended to help you through times when you feel weak or challenged. Consequently, you should use it to your full advantage.
Addiction Recovery Has Taught You How to Care for Yourself
When dealing with addiction, you learned how not to care for yourself. In recovery, you’ve resolved that issue. You now understand how getting at least eight hours of sleep at night and eating well are vital to staying sober. Additionally, you must guard against old, destructive behaviors, including:
- Communicating with friends who are still using
- Allowing yourself to become over-tired and fatigued
- Not managing your stress efficiently
- Eating poorly
- Putting yourself in risky situations
Staying sober must now be your top priority, every day, for the rest of your life. You can make it easier on yourself by practicing learned recovery behaviors. Or you can make it more difficult by drifting away from what you learned in treatment.
Staying Sober Is Why You Started This Journey
You didn’t have to reach out for help. You didn’t have to start recovery. You could have remained as you were. But because you did decide to change your life for the better means you have the ability to grow and to heal. Never doubt that you have the courage and the strength needed to stay sober because you’ve proven yourself already. As long as you draw upon the many resources you have on hand; failure is not an option. If you remember to stay active and connected in your recovery community and to reach out to others in need, your future is as bright as you want it to be.
If you’re struggling to stay sober after rehab and you’re in the Las Vegas area, Sierra Sage Recovery Services is just a phone call away. We help clients in all stages of addiction and addiction recovery. If you’ve entered the initial phases of relapse, there’s still time to reach out. And if you’ve relapsed already, we can still help you find your way back. Call us today at 833.922.2884 for help staying sober.
