You have to do what is best for you, and you can’t let your anxiety about a sober future prevent you from doing what you need to do. Besides, your current idea of fun usually involves holding your hair while you throw up discounted tacos and cheap margaritas. Here’s the thing about the word “fail.” So long as you dust yourself off and keep trying, you haven’t failed at all.
They actually have more fun in recovery and (gasp) actually remember it! They have been able to attend family events and go through big life celebrations and enjoy it all without alcohol. Along with how much life changes after we quit drinking come the misconceptions about how we will interact with the world when we do. Hitting rock bottom is another obscure concept that has been talked about a lot more recently as something not needed in order to get sober. In fact, this stigmatized belief can actually prevent people from asking for help and finding a recovery path that works for them for fear that their substance misuse isn’t severe enough.
“I Will Not Be Able to Talk to People”
The truth is, life happens on life’s terms, and when I got sober, I acquired the tools to deal with stress as it cropped up. I have learned so many valuable lessons about powerlessness and understanding how to accept things precisely as they are throughout my sobriety. Fear is an emotion that drives addiction and also stops you from being happy in recovery. Overcoming fear is one of the biggest challenges for people with the disease of addiction, and you have to learn how to do it. Fear is a natural emotion in all of us, and we feel fear so that we can protect ourselves from danger.
I am so incredibly grateful that I did succeed in putting in the work to stay sober. It is true that you may lose your old drinking and drug-using buddies. However, you should embrace this as a positive sign that you are on the right track. Being clean and sober means avoiding the temptations fear of being sober that come with certain people, places, and things. After you have been through treatment and are in recovery, you may realize that they were not really your friends anyway. True friends do not enable each other to poison their existence in an endless cycle of drinking and drugs.
Substance Abuse Treatment
To addicts, a life free from drug addiction and alcoholism has the potential to be miserable and boring. The prospect of never going out again and partying can seem dismal to some. Many people in addiction recovery need to learn how to have fun again and be social without alcohol. As any of our alumni can tell you, it’s perfectly normal to feel a little anxious and fearful before entering an addiction treatment center. Embarking on any journey to a completely new life brings forth challenges and uncertainty, and addiction can make it seem too complicated to work. If you find yourself without social invitations, try to find activities that don’t center around alcohol that you personally enjoy.