What to Expect When Getting Sober

Long-Term Recovery – What to Expect When Getting Sober

While in the grips of an addiction, it can be difficult to imagine any type of life without substance abuse, at least not one that seems pleasant from the addict’s current point of view. But there are many things that a person can start looking forward to when considering addiction treatment. What to expect when getting sober is about all the ways that your life will improve now that addiction is no longer controlling you. Even though relapse rates are as high as 60 percent within the first year, living a sober life has several positive aspects that make it worth the suffering.

The following showcases what to expect when getting sober.

The Return of Trust in Yourself

Addiction can cause various drug-seeking behaviors. Lying, stealing and letting people down are some of the common aspects of addiction. After months and years of living such a life, it can cause you to lose faith and trust in yourself. What to expect when getting sober can be about gaining confidence in yourself as a person again.

Elimination of Hangovers

During addiction, a large part of the person’s time is spent on using drugs and alcohol and recovering from it. The many symptoms of hangovers and withdrawal altogether vanish when you finally get your addiction under control. You do not have to deal with the many issues such as headaches, nausea, vomiting, cramps and pains anymore.

Getting in Touch With Your Emotions Again

Addiction to alcohol or drugs often causes a roller coaster of emotions. The addiction can cause strong feelings such as anger, fear, anxiety and confusion that aren’t founded, merely a result of the abuse. Life after alcohol abuse is a time when you will be able to get back in touch with your real emotions that aren’t caused by substance abuse.

Friends and Family Begin to Trust Again

One of the hardest experiences of becoming an addict is the loss of trust that others have in you. Understandably, they lost trust in you due to lies and deceitful behavior of the past. Once they start seeing you as a trustworthy person again, the way people treat you starts changing for the better.

You’ll Make New Friends

A large part of community-based approaches to addiction treatment, such as AA or group therapy, is about allowing addicts to learn from each other. Since you share experiences with other addicts in recovery, it becomes easy to relate and make new friends. Life after alcohol abuse is often about making these friendships that can last a lifetime and can prove to be crucial to long-term recovery.

A Change in Your Priorities

Addiction causes the addict to hold their substance abuse above almost all other aspect of their life. A parent may neglect their roles or a partner in a relationship may be neglected.  Once you’ve started living a sober life, your priorities change for the better and are more in line with your long-term goals again.

Increased Courage

Making the decision to stop substance abuse and going through treatment is a major step. It takes courage to deal with not only the physical dependence but also the emotional aspects that may have caused the addiction. This courage that is built through recovery can be applied to other areas of your life. What to expect when getting sober is that you may feel that you now have the courage to do things that frightened you before such as starting a new hobby or being more extraverted.

If you or a loved one needs help with abuse and/or treatment, please call the WhiteSands Treatment at (877) 855-3470. Our addiction specialists can assess your recovery needs and help you get the addiction treatment that provides the best chance for your long-term recovery.