LAMB OF GOD’s RANDY BLYTHE On Being 14 Years Sober: ‘I’m Not Afraid Of Being Around Alcohol Or Drugs’
We’ll challenge this notion and embark on a more refreshing perspective by dismantling the myths surrounding abstinence. Here are the 10 things you’ll love about being sober. If this is you, counseling may be a helpful way to work through difficult thoughts and painful emotions driving the urge to use substances.
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- We’ll challenge this notion and embark on a more refreshing perspective by dismantling the myths surrounding abstinence.
- I’m not a doctor or mental health professional, so my advice shouldn’t be construed as medical or therapeutic.
- These mechanisms will pave the way forovercoming hardshipwithout relying on a substance.Thesehealthy coping mechanismsare more sustainable than numbing pain or trying to drink away your past challenges.
Financial Savings
Alcohol can cloud judgment and lead to poor decision-making, often putting a strain on personal and professional relationships. Sobriety brings clarity and often improves communication skills. Why being sober is better for relationships is that it allows you to engage more authentically with others, rebuilding trust and strengthening bonds that might have been damaged by past behaviors. Alcohol contains a high number of empty calories, which can contribute to weight gain.
Reasons to Stay Sober: Your Ultimate Guide
” 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. At first I struggled to feel “drunk enough” to belong at AA. Not many people ride into those meetings on a scary genogram. The DUI-divorce-got-fired stories made me wonder if I was in the wrong place.
Classy Problems: It’s All on Loan
Here are some surprising (and not-so-surprising) occurrences that will inevitably happen to your relationships, your identity, even your free time, and how I’ve learned to deal with each one. I never felt comfortable until alcohol entered my system and then it was always an excuse for my behavior. I remember when a friend of mine was moving away and I cried. When they never reached out and I did a kind of mental inventory of why, I realized that whenever I was drunk, I never appeared genuine. I doubt it’s technically “photographic,” but it feels that way compared to the alternative – murky, muddy, blur of time. What’s interesting about being sober is what I don’t remember about being drunk.
You can provide an excuse, like that you’re on antibiotics, or you aren’t feeling great or want to feel fresh for something you have going on the next day. It’s important to remember that you never have to give yourself up to make other people comfortable—ever. Whether you’re stating a one-sentence response (“I don’t drink”) or using a small excuse, the only thing to consider is whether you are comfortable, and whether your boundaries are being upheld. The life I had before I quit drinking was a lot like Groundhog Day; I was always waiting for it to begin and always reliving the same stuff, day after day, year after https://www.inkl.com/news/sober-house-rules-a-comprehensive-overview year. When I finally walked away from booze at 34, my life opened up. I can honestly say sobriety is the best thing I have ever done for myself.
If you want more information about it, you can find it at the same SAMHSA link below. I have a friend who had an addiction to opioids and was able to stop using them. As much as I’m proud of the fact that I have 17 years sober, those years accumulated one day at a time. And if I can’t do that, I’ll get up tomorrow and try again. It wouldn’t make me better or worse than anyone else.
Call for Help With Addiction
In the past, you may have spent your time and energy using drugs and alcohol. Sobriety opens up more possibilities to explore and embrace new hobbies that foster creativity and bring joy. Participating in activities such as exercising and sports, learning to play an instrument, cooking, painting, drawing, or other things you enjoy can help prevent relapse.
Practice Healthy Living
It disrupts the sleep cycle, particularly the REM stage, crucial for mental restoration. Benefits of not drinking alcohol include deeper, more restorative sleep, which improves cognitive functions and overall daytime alertness. That being said, you might not be at a place where you want people to know you’re not drinking, and that’s OK.
Focus on conversation
Invest in a jigger or a wine measure to keep track of your pours. Sticking to the recommended 14 units per week can help you maintain balance while staying mindful. 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. If PAWS is severe or if you’re experiencing prolonged symptoms, a medical professional can help you work through them and remain in recovery without relapse. The symptoms involved in PAWS can be a barrier to recovery if you’re not careful.
- Sobriety opens up more possibilities to explore and embrace new hobbies that foster creativity and bring joy.
- Thesober lifecan also give you the opportunity to think aboutnutritionas well.
- If you or someone you love is considering this path, Uplift Recovery is ready to support you.
- Ask any sober person whether they want to go to a cocktail party or stay in with a pack of La Croix, The Crown, and a bathrobe.
- Or just reassessing your relationship with alcohol?
The idea of sobriety can feel boring or lame, and like it’s only an option for someone who’shit rock bottomand had to become sober because they had no other choice. In this exploration of Bible verses about being sober, you will uncover teachings that encourage mindfulness and sober living as a means to honor God and foster spiritual growth. These verses remind us of the freedom that comes from living with intention, far from the distractions of intemperance.
They drink deliberately, with more awareness and consideration, prioritising quality over quantity. Those moments in the river are some of my most treasured because I was alive to all the details. If I zoom out to that time in my life, away from that one special moment of that one special day, it was certainly not a happy time. I’d spent the past few months visiting my granddad, not in his apartment but in the hospital room we both knew he’d never leave. Driving down the next day, my husband dropped me off there. I sat with Granddad, scent of the river water still on my skin, and spoke to him for the last time.
Consider reaching out to a vocational rehabilitation counselor or career coach to help you update your resume, practice job interview skills, and locate jobs that match your skills and experience. A structured routine will help you achieve other goals in your life, whether they are short-term (like being on time for work) sober house or long-term (like going back to school and changing careers). Having a chaotic or disorganized lifestyle can also hinder your recovery. It’s important to develop a structured daily and weekly schedule and stick to it. There are also the added costs of paying for takeout food because you’re too drunk or hungover to function properly.
Anything that makes you happy and calm gets you outside your head. Prioritize doing it for at least a few minutes every day. Another friend of ours got permits to build a deck but the contractor was pricey as all hell… so we looked up what we needed to do and gradually built a deck in their back yard. My free time is full of miscellaneous projects and activities. I try everything and can keep myself busy if the powers off and phones are dead.