How to Stay Sober in Recovery
Trying to stay sober from drugs and alcohol can be a difficult battle. There will be many emotional issues to overcome if long-term sobriety is to be achieved.
For an addict, one day everything will stop working.
To stay sober from drugs and alcohol there will need to need proper therapy and life-skills in place to achieve recovery.
One addict in recovery decided to share their story of overdosing, entering drug rehab, and learning to stay sober from drugs and alcohol.
“I asked my psychiatrist to prescribe me something else. At this point, I was on at least eight different prescription medications. This one, I remembered, made me sleep. I took it, hoping not to wake up again.
I did wake up…with the EMTs there.
Finally, my mom had worked up the courage to face my addiction. At this point, I was only addicted. No shred of “me” was left. I was put into a psych ward and stayed for a week. I was still in complete denial about everything. I was given the choice to go get help at a women’s addiction treatment center or to stay in the psych ward. I took the first option.”
Maybe There is Hope
Two weeks into addiction treatment, my therapist asked me to write down a history of my drug use. Every drug I used, how often I used, the age when I first tried drugs. For some reason, seeing my drug history on paper allowed everything to click into place. I was an addict and I think deep down I always knew. A wave of relief washed over me. I knew what my problem was. Maybe I wasn’t so hopeless after all. Maybe there was a solution. Maybe there was hope.
How Does Drug Rehab Work?
For me, attending an all women’s treatment facility was necessary. It allowed me to have a safe detox and separate myself from drugs. I’m eternally grateful to the therapist who gave me that assignment.
I found I was able to relate to other women. We all shared this mutual problem. It was the first time I was completely honest with my peers and nothing bad happened. The women’s addiction treatment center also instilled in me how grave my situation really was.
“Go to a meeting every day,” I was told.
“Get a sponsor,” “don’t get into a relationship,” “get a job,” “become independent from your parents,” “do the right thing when no one is watching,” I was told.
So I did.
How to Stay Sober After Rehab
Working a twelve-step program is essential for my sobriety to be permanent. You see, I have a disease that tells me I don’t have a disease. I need to be reminded of this through the support of a twelve-step fellowship, or else I could see myself slowly floating off on my own.
The peace and the happiness which came through working the twelve-steps is priceless. I always thought happiness was obtained by swallowing a pill or sticking something up my nose. Turns out that’s not the case. It’s usually the small stuff where I feel the most joy. Only a sober me notices the color of the sky or the smile I get when I speak to my mom.
Does Katie’s story sound familiar to you? Are you or a loved one suffering from addiction? At Lighthouse Recovery Institute, we’ve been there.
In fact, many of our staff are in long-term recovery. We know what it’s like to be unable to stop binge drinking or compulsively using drugs. Let us show you another way, a sober way.
Call Lighthouse today at 1-844-I-CAN-CHANGE or 1-(561)-381-0015. You’ll be connected to a caring and expert outreach and admission coordinator who can help start the process of recovery.
Lighthouse Recovery Institute: Guiding You to a Brighter Tomorrow
