Volunteering is a great way to reconnect with your community. Helping others actually boosts our own mental health and feelings of self-worth. Plus, it helps us with our emotional sobriety and wellness.
Finding Happiness in Sobriety
Abstaining from alcohol can dramatically enhance your physical health. The liver, heart, and other vital organs benefit greatly, reducing the risk of serious conditions such as liver cirrhosis, heart disease, and various cancers. Benefits of being sober include better nutritional absorption, healthier skin, and a stronger immune system, which are essential for long-term health. I wish I could promise that if you don’t drink for four months or six months or twelve, then you’ll have reached some magical number where all your hopes and dreams come true. There is a quiet ferocity that comes with quitting alcohol. The world is so much bigger when you’re sober, and you feel emboldened to grab your slice of it.
Enjoying mornings
Getting divorced and having my kids half the time so I only have half the responsibility for other people and can focus on myself for literally the first time in my entire adult life. I guess this is telling me I need to make big changes in my life, but I’m betting everyone here knows how much easier that is said than done. At least before I’d have the night time to drink and smoke some pot, listen to music, play guitar, feel something beautiful. Now that music just doesn’t sound or feel the same.
I don’t want to lie. But I also want to acknowledge all the hard work I’ve done.
Our brains don’t like imbalance and will work very hard to correct it. That overcorrection is what you’re probably feeling right now. It’s pretty nice to actually enjoy your coffee and not use it as a lifeline. Plus, having the energy to get things done or just chill and enjoy the morning quiet. Mornings just become a whole lot better without the fog of last night’s drinks hanging over you. Sobriety turns mornings from something you dread into parts of the day you can actually look forward to.
This newfound time opens doors to exploring hobbies, cultivating new skills, and investing in yourself. Also, the absence of hangovers means waking up feeling refreshed and ready to make the most of each day. The cost of alcohol adds up quickly, with nights out, special occasions, and even casual drinking at home carving a significant dent in budgets. Once alcohol is out of the equation, that money can be redirected towards savings, investments, or spending on experiences and items that bring lasting joy rather than fleeting pleasure.
Why You Get Diarrhea After Drinking Alcohol
Some will certainly remain, but even those aren’t necessarily long-game friendships. Sobriety is kind of like the fast-pass line at Disneyland, except the ride is growing up. While making the decision to be sober was the best thing being sober sucks I’ve ever done, it’s also one of the hardest. Not only because not drinking is hard, but also because we live in a society where most everyone around us drinks. Get coffee with a friend to take your mind off relationship problems.
- Your feelings will look different in a day, a week, a month, and a year, so look to the future with optimism.
- One of the best things you can do for yourself when you’re feeling bored in sobriety is to find a way to serve others.
- This subreddit is a place to motivate each other to control or stop drinking.
- She said anyone can have the same experience being sober.
And while these things might sound serious and scary, it’s important to note that it’s one piece of a larger puzzle. It’s not as simple as “getting out there” and “trying something new.” It’s hard to do that when you suffer from extreme depression and anhedonia. The very things you should be doing to feel better require a level of motivation you might not be able to fathom. Getting drunk did not magically change the dynamics of that situation. We were all just sitting around and getting drunk, perfectly content to not really do anything together.
Benefits of a Sobriety Tracker
Everyone faces difficult situations, ranging from getting a rough night’s sleep to dealing with a death in the family or an unexpected divorce. But I PROMISE you, if you keep moving forward, things in your brain will start to click. And one day, it will occur to you that you’re actually happy and enjoying your life. Will eating salads and drinking water make your boredom go away?
- Now that you know the chemical reason for your boredom, let’s explore additional factors that might be contributing to these feelings.
- If I was part of AA, I had to do it to respect the other people who’ve expressed a willingness to stop drinking and do the best they can, one day at a time.
- Improvement might start within a few weeks, with more significant changes becoming apparent 1-2 months into sobriety.
- I socialized with people more because people are more fun and entertaining and easy to talk to after a few glasses of wine.
Sober Sidekick is a free app with over 150,000 people in a sober community, and all who have substance abuse issues are welcome. The recovery community includes people from all walks of life, with a wide variety of ages and social classes. Once you’ve been sober for a while, you may start to believe that you’re in https://ecosoberhouse.com/ the clear from alcohol or drug abuse, and maybe you are. No matter where you are on your sobriety journey, removing any temptations around your house is a good idea, especially during the initial abstinence period. Maybe you’ve been sober for years, or perhaps you just decided an hour ago to live a sober life.
Unfortunately, for someone in recovery, feelings of discontent are dangerous. It doesn’t take long for thoughts to become words and words to become actions. Before you know it, a lousy day in sobriety can quickly turn into your last day in sobriety if you turn to drugs and alcohol to ease your emotional discomfort. Once you’ve decided to live a life of sobriety, you’ll need to learn strategies to maintain a sober life. From remembering your why to creating healthy distractions from triggers, you can begin your comeback story right now.