You will also learnthat there is happiness in sobriety if you find companionship among other soberpeople and spend time with them. It is a gift unto itself to be able tocommunicate and find common ground with people who have been through similarexperiences to your own.
You both can rely onone another, which will help you develop a special friendship. If you hadn'tbeen sober, you never would have had the chance to connect with theseindividuals; this is a reason to feel extremely grateful and content.
When you find yourselfin a happy or pleasurable moment, you should strive to savor it and draw it outfor as long as you possibly can. Even though getting sober typically results inhappier lives overall, many people still have difficulty finding happiness inthe early stages of their sobriety.
As a result of thefact that everyone has their unique idea of what constitutes happiness, theprocess of finding joy in recovery is highly individual. You should make it ahabit to be willing to decline invitations, projects, or activities that willresult in a decrease in the amount of happiness in your life.
The question now is,what can you do to move closer to experiencing joy in the activities of yourdaily life again? How can you make happiness a priority during your time inrecovery?
Many people believethat happiness is less of a feeling and more of an accumulation of one'sactions and behaviors. When you think of joy, you probably think of things likea favorite memory from summer, a favorite pair of jeans, a song that you enjoy,and other similar things. Participating in pursuits that you take pleasure incan frequently bring about significant amounts of happiness.
You will need to pushthrough some challenging introspection during the recovery process to determinethe underlying causes of your addiction and develop strategies for coping withthose causes. You will feel happier in your sobriety if you take the time torecognize these things and figure out how to let go of them.
Being sober does notmean that all of your problems will disappear, nor does it guarantee that youwill be happy right away. However, there are activities that you can engage inthat will not only help you remain abstinent from drugs and alcohol but willalso please you.
You have probably hadsome difficulty in the past managing your self-care, so many of these mustinvolve you taking care of yourself. By clinging to your previous practices,you are preventing yourself from having a fighting chance to get better. Thefollowing are some behaviors that people who are content and sober exhibit.
1. Meditation
Meditation is of greathelp to people in recovery from substance abuse, although this may sound like acliche. This is because meditation allows you to connect with your true self.It brings self-awareness to both your physical and mental states, allowing youto live in the present moment as nothing but yourself.
It does this bybringing about a connection between your body and mind. It is an effectivemethod for coping with stress, anxiety, and depression, and it enables you tocontemplate life in its entirety.
2. Each Day
During your time inrecovery, maintaining a daily routine will assist you in avoiding triggers, loweringyour levels of depression and anxiety, and keeping you motivated. A routinewill give you a sense of purpose while also ensuring that you have enough timeto participate in all of the activities necessary for a successful recovery.
This can help changeyour perspective as well as your mood because you are aware of what lies aheadrather than being uncertain of what the day may bring.
3. Exercise &Diet
Maintaining yoursobriety and keeping a positive attitude are both greatly enhanced when you takecare of your health. When you exercise, endorphins are released into your body,which helps relieve stress as well as symptoms of mental illness.
Maintaining sobrietyand meeting your nutritional requirements both benefit from following a dietthat is both healthy and balanced. When you maintain good health, not only doesyour mood improve, but so do your urges to indulge in unhealthy behaviors.
Support Groups
You will also learnthat there is joy in sobriety if you seek out the company of other sober peopleand form friendships with them. It is a gift in and of itself to be able tocommunicate with and relate to people who understand what you have beenthrough.
You will be able toform a one-of-a-kind friendship if you lean on each other for support and worktogether. If you hadn't gotten sober, you never would have had the opportunityto connect with these wonderful people; therefore, you have a lot to bethankful for and happy about in this regard.
ProvidingMotivation to Others by Way of Your Sobriety
It is natural to feelthe desire to repay the people and the community that has helped you becomesober and remain sober. It is also natural to want to do so in a way that ismeaningful to you. The beauty that comes from discovering happiness in yoursobriety is that this is how it looks.
Because you know howmuch effort is required and how much sobriety has given you, you are in aposition to help others find their way through treatment and provide supportwhen it is required. Now is the time to stop, think, and give thanks for thechallenging times we've been through. Do what you can to motivate other peopleand demonstrate the benefits of sobriety to those around you so that they canheal.
In the process ofrecovery, recovering addicts do more than just abstain from their drug ofchoice. In most cases, they can regain their enjoyment of life... The vastmajority of people pursue happiness in their lives.
By learning toappreciate their lives in recovery, recovering addicts discover that they canexperience happiness and even joy. They have chosen to live a life of freedomrather than taking their own lives through the use of substances that they areaddicted to. "Full Life: A Spiritual Workbook for the Recovery ofAddictions," by Dr. Francis A. Martin, Ph. D. No one has ever claimed thatgetting sober after abusing substances is an easy process.
When you have beenstruggling with alcoholism or drug addiction, regaining your sanity, sobriety,and serenity is one of the most difficult things you will ever have to do inyour life. It is one of the things that you will never be able to do.
However, this does notimply that your recovery must be a miserable experience. In the same way thatthe quantity of your dysfunctional or "bad" habits was linked to youraddiction, the number of your healthier or "good" habits can supportyour journey toward sobriety. When you put these seven behaviors into practice,you can open yourself up to the joy that makes staying sober worthwhile.
When I read this, fora few different reasons, it made me laugh out loud. To begin, it fits perfectlywith the persona of this member of our group, whom we all know and adore. Thesecond reason is that it's the goddamn truth!
It is a fallacy tobelieve that we will ever be the kind of person who is perpetually upbeat andfeels as though they are floating on clouds. We can be the only ones who aren'tliving their #bestlife when we log onto social media, but that's not the caseat all; it's all a load of bullshit.
If you choose tomaintain your sobriety, you will have the opportunity to lead a fulfilling andhealthy life. You have the opportunity to reclaim control, engage in novelexperiences, show some courage for a change, and implement constructiveadjustments that will significantly enhance the quality of your life.
But because we arehuman, even though we have stopped drinking, we are still going to have dayswhen nothing goes right, and we are going to feel sad and depressed from timeto time. Even though we have stopped drinking.
If you want to changeyour life, you have to change what you do, how you think, and who you arearound. You have to stay away from the people, places, and things that youassociate with substance abuse so that you don't trigger a relapse.
One of the firstlessons you learned during drug rehab is that if you want to change your life,you have to change what you do, how you think, and who you are around. Thisdoesn't just have to include your old drinking and drugging pals; some of thesober people around you can also put your recovery at risk when they (at best)don't provide you with any level of emotional support or (at worst) impede yourrecovery.
This doesn't just haveto include your old drinking and drugging pals; it can also include some of thesober people around you. When you're trying to get sober from drug or alcoholabuse, you can't have that kind of negativity in your immediate environment.
Spend the majority ofyour time instead with the loved ones who are encouraging you throughout yourrecovery process. They are supportive when you are experiencing feelings oftemptation or being overwhelmed, and they are aware of the times when you haveto prioritize your recovery. If you can't keep your old friends, find some newones. Where exactly can you find new people who are willing to assist you?
-12-Step support group get-togethers
-Sessions of group psychotherapy
-Support groups
-Other individuals who are also working on their sobriety can be an excellent source of companionshipand support because they are aware of everything that you are going through andcan, as a result, provide you with both the fortitude and the motivation thatyou need.
Aside from that, Ibelieve that we misunderstand happiness in the majority of cases.
It makes no differenceif you experience setbacks along the way, as they are unavoidable. You are notas completely broken as you were in the past by difficult times. They fuel you.The more victories you have, the more you begin to appreciate who you are as aperson. Perhaps not to the extent that Lizzo does it, but you have noticed thatyou are less critical of yourself.
Leave Reply