If you want to be free of drugs or alcohol, it is going to take some work. Going sober requires time, dedication, and lots of self-control. Asking for help is never a bad idea, because the more people you can have on your side, the better.
Go Sober! Start By Enlisting the Professionals!
Getting sober takes tremendous work. One of the best things you can do is get professional help from a treatment center, or at the very least, a therapist. When you go to a treatment center, you’ll be under the care of doctors, therapists, and nurses who have seen clients like you countless times.
At the beginning of treatment, you’ll go through a period of detox. Attempting to withdrawal from drugs or alcohol on your own is extremely difficult and can even be dangerous. To get through it successfully and safely, make sure to do so under the care of a professional in what is called a medically supervised detox.
Whether you choose to stay in treatment when you are done with detox or not is your decision, but the more time and energy you can dedicate to your sobriety, the better off you will be in the long run. Think about getting sober as building a strong foundation for a house. Without it, the house would eventually collapse.
More Things You Can Do When You Decide to Go Sober
If you want to go sober, you’ll have to change your patterns and behaviors. Addiction is continuing to do the same detrimental things with the false belief that it will have a different outcome. This won’t work. You need to do some things differently to see real, sustained change for the better.
The company you keep plays a huge role in your sobriety success. If you continue to be around drug addicts and drinkers, you’ll eventually fall back into that pattern, too. When attempting to go sober, create distance between these people and yourself, and go out of your way to find positive, healthy people to surround yourself with.
It is also important to keep yourself busy. Boredom can be one of the worst triggers for relapse, so avoid it at all costs. Make yourself a list of possible activities you can do if boredom strikes as an alternative to drugs or drinking. Even just knowing that there are options out there may be the push you need to stay sober.
As you progress in your sobriety, be gentle and forgiving with yourself. This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t take your recovery seriously, but rather don’t put too much pressure on yourself all at once. The most important thing you can do is stay sober, so make that your priority. After that, things like a good job, better relationships, and other little luxuries will follow, as long as you keep doing the right thing.
Recognizing the Signs It’s Time to Get Sober
More often than not, you’ve most likely seen telltale signs that your addiction is causing you major problems. There are several ways to determine that it’s time to get help for your substance abuse.
- You’ve developed health problems from your usage. Alcoholism commonly leads to liver and kidney failure, as well as serious damage to your immune system. When you stop using, your body will be better able to naturally defend itself from infection.
- You keep chasing the feeling you got when you first start using. If you’re an alcoholic, you might keep drinking to get a taste of that initial high you got after your first beer. It’s the same when you try a drug like MDMA or oxycodone. You might feel invincible at first, but there’s no mistaking that you’ll never feel like you during that first hit.
- You black out often or can’t remember what happened the night before. When you’re partying and drinking/using to the point where when you wake up in the morning, you can’t recall anything you did, that’s an issue.
- Your usage has gotten you into personal and legal trouble. About 80 percent of prison-related offenses have drugs and alcohol involved, and two-thirds of assault victims say that alcohol was a factor in their abuse. When your drinking or drug use leads you to commit crimes like stealing or assault or hurt the ones you love (mentally or physically), it’s time for you to get help.
- You are isolated. It’s likely that when you first began using, your family and friends voiced concern about your habits and staged an intervention. If you ignored their advice, they may have had to distance themselves from you for their safety. When you get sober, you’ll be able to reconnect with those who love you the most.
- Your drug use is going against your morals. It’s time to get sober if you’re at the point where you’re selling your body just to get your next fix, or you’re borrowing money for drugs under deceitful motives.
Get Long-Term Recovery Through Professional Help
It may sound easy enough to just quit drugs and alcohol “cold turkey” and stop using right away. In reality, the best and most effective way to get sober for good is to receive treatment from a drug and alcohol rehab facility. Licensed medical staff understands how harmful substances affect the body and brain, and they’ll be able to change how you think about drinking and doing drugs.
Medical detox is the first step in treatment. It’s necessary for people addicted to drugs and alcohol to have these harmful substances flushed out of your body. You’ll likely go through painful withdrawal symptoms during this time, but you’ll be supervised by clinicians who are trained in detox. They may also provide you with additional medication to wean you off your drug of choice.
Once detox has ended, the hard part of sobriety begins. Family therapy, group therapy, individual therapy, and holistic therapy at Discovery Institute can all help change the way you have thought about substances. Therapy can also surround you with people who have had similar life experiences to yours.
Benefits of Sobriety
The benefits of sobriety are wide-ranging. After getting sober, you’ll immediately notice improvements in your brain function, followed by your mental health and well being. You will come to realize how much drugs and alcohol have negatively impacted your life.
- You’re able to focus/concentrate better. Drinking and abusing substances can affect your attention span. When you steer clear of harmful drugs, even just for a few days, your concentration and focus improve, as well as your memory and critical thinking.
- You can sleep better. Consistent drinking and using will disturb your sleeping patterns, and you won’t feel as groggy in the morning.
- Your anxiety and depression will lessen. If you have depression or anxiety disorders, using substances can enhance these. Once you stop, though, your symptoms will lessen and you’ll be able to
- Your relationships will improve. Spending time away from drinking and doing drugs will make you realize what’s most important in life. You’ll be able to be a better friend, spouse, brother, sister or child when you’re sober.
Get Sober at Discovery Institute Today
Discovery Institute has the tools you need to get and stay sober. Don’t want to wait another day? Contact us now and see what a life free of drugs and alcohol can do for you.
Dr. Joseph Ranieri D.O. earned his BS in Pharmacy at Temple University School of Pharmacy in 1981 and His Doctorate Degree in Osteopathic Medicine at the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine in 1991. He is Board Certified by the American Board of Family Medicine and a Diplomate of the American Board of Preventive Medicine Addiction Certification. Dr. Ranieri has lectured extensively to physicians, nurses, counselors and laypeople about the Disease of Addiction throughout New Jersey and Pennsylvania since 2012.
