Getting sober is one thing. Staying sober is a whole other ball game. Here is a top ten list of hints to help you stay sober.
1 - Make sure to be completely honest with yourself and others. (You hear countless stories of people who relapse because of the shame and guilt of lying to someone.)
2 - Start doing the activities and hobbies that you used to do before your life became controlled by addiction.
3 - Keep in touch and stay involved with your support system.
4 - Be sure that you know what your triggers are and then learn how to handle them as to avoid a relapse. Remember no matter how long you have been sober addiction is very powerful and anyone is capable of relapsing.
5 - Remember what it was like when you were addicted to drugs or alcohol. This is not to say dwell in the past but make sure you remember how far you have come and how good your life has been since you have been sober.
6 - It is important to get ample rest. When someone is constantly tired they are more apt to be able to fight of triggers and urge to abuse drugs.
7 - Eat well and try to exercise on a regular basis. It will help with your self esteem. Be good to your body.
8 - Be sure to have goals. Keep a list of the things that you want to accomplish during the course of a day, week, month or year.
9- Donāt be too hard on yourself. Even when things in life donāt go your way, remember how far you have come and how much you have accomplished in sobriety.
10 - No matter what happens donāt drink or abuse drugs. Remember that it is only going to get tougher if you pick up a drink or drug.
If you do relapse remember that the sooner that you seek out help the better chance that you will get back into sobriety without causing too much damage to the life that you worked on so hard to build.
I canāt deal with watching other people on tv or irl friends drink and while being sober, itās so boring!
After every time I watch other people drink I always go out and buy a pint of vodka! How can you resist watching other people drink and still stay sober? You must have very strong willpower!
Btw I never knew you were addicted to drugs or alcohol before.
I sliped yesterday and took a sip of wine. Wasnāt enough to get me drunk or anything it was just a sip. Felt wonderful and I wanted more so I made sure I didnāt drink anymore. Everybody was drinking and everyone was drunk, and I was able to control myself. I think it was the hardest night of my life, I was still able to have a lot of fun and even danced. I relapsed a bit, but was able to pull myself together again. Does this count? Should I start my sobriety count from zero again?
Call it ā14 months with one slip upā. Youāre definitely not starting from zero youāve gained so much from sobriety and didnāt do any damage last night.
Itās what I think. I just feel so damn guilty. Another guy there that is also sober just gave me a look of disaprovalā¦ I felt immediately guilty and didnāt drink anymore.
Thatās strong of you to not continue drinking it shows character. Just donāt fall back in that trap! Down the rabbits hole! Surely if we become addicts again itāll be the death of usā¦eventuallyā¦even more so since weāre sz. I donāt think he was showing disapproval in you more like disappointment. Now get back on that horseā¦youāre still a survivor and a hero if you keep going with it.
So how do you resist when you see your friends drinking? I had went 2 month without drinking but group skyped with some friends and everyone was drinking. I broke down and bought a pint of vodka later that day.
Itās toughā¦Idk @Bipolar_Bear, it doesnāt sound like you have a huge issue with drinking, but getting a sober support network is important. So you have people to call when you have a craving. Like going to AA and getting peoples numbers to call when you get a craving. Me personally, I havenāt had one craving that lasted more than 2 seconds since I started taking the Naltrexone pill. Idk itās tough
focus on the amazing will power to not have any moreā¦ and focus on the fun of getting a few dances inā¦
You fought your impulsesā¦ and wonā¦ I wouldnāt start the count over againā¦ in factā¦ Iād add a few points for that oneā¦
One of the things I had to do to stay sober was cut ties with my āfriendsā who were also heavy drinkers and drug users and had no will or want to quit.
They derailed me a few timesā¦ I had an easier time staying sober when I stopped hanging with them.
Most of my friends left the country, the sober ones at least. The crisis hit and everybody scattered around the world. I made new friends that are not sober but respect the fact that I am.
Yepā¦ I like being alone to be honest. I donāt have much patience for social interactions and chit chat. I like laughing with people, so Iām a funny one. I keep it at thatā¦ Sometimes I feel comfortable having more serious conversationsā¦ But a lot of my friends have issues, and I keep mine to myself. Since I found this forum I hardly talk about my issues out in āreal lifeā
Iāll be all alone if I cut all those ties.
