The type of response we have to situations differs from one person to the next. It is quite common for some to worry significantly about a therapy session while others worry about not opening up. However, it is important to remember that sobriety is not something to be afraid of. Sobriety can be an incredibly rewarding experience. Sobriety can help you to improve your health, your relationships, and your overall quality of life.
Many of us drink because we need something to turn down the volume of the toxic shame parade running through our brains. If your friends don’t want to hang out with you unless you’re drinking, then you know where you stand with each other. Another common fear in sobriety is that you’ll wind up alone because no one will want to hang out with you. We are biologically wired for companionship, so this is a very real and instinctual fear to have. I don’t think it’s change that you’re so afraid of. If you didn’t want to change, you wouldn’t bother to get sober.
Confessions of an Alcoholic Mom, Part I: Motherhood and Alcoholism
The fear of being sober is a very common fear in recovery. To outsiders it might sound like a fear of success, but the fear of sobriety is more about your feelings without substance abuse. After all, it’s been a long time since you were sober, and maybe your last experiences of sobriety were traumatic. That’s why you started using in the first place. The truth is, you have been using drugs or alcohol to cope with your feelings and maybe even symptoms of mental illness.
- Learning to live in a drug and alcohol-free manner involves making a genuine commitment to a new and permanent lifestyle.
- Learning healthy coping skills is key when it comes to dealing with the pain and struggles that life sometimes presents.
- Relapses are quite common and how you manage them is essential for long-term recovery.
- It’s not okay to be dishonest with yourself about where you’re headed.
Some people use alcohol or drugs to help them sleep. Part of alcohol and drug withdrawal does involve insomnia, but this is temporary. During treatment, you will be working on achieving balance in your physical and mental well-being through nutrition, exercise, counseling, and activities. Your treatment center will address your ability to sleep through the night along with your other fears, cravings, and physical or psychological symptoms.
Mental Health Treatment Programs
Being at a party or trying to find the perfect romantic partner without alcohol is the stuff of nightmares for many people. Even people for whom alcohol is not a problem experience this. 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. Sober movements are redefining what it means to have fun and challenging alcohol’s role in our social lives. After a while, you’ll be enjoying life on entirely different terms.
- These fears will remain with you until you confront them.
- Whether you have one day sober or 10 years, recovery presents challenges.
- A lot more good comes from living than not having to deal with a hangover or coming down from a drink or two the next day.
- These professionals can help you understand your fears and provide the tools you need to overcome them.
- One thing that all addicts have in common when starting recovery is that they are often afraid of the process.
Losing friends is another common reason people are afraid to get sober that appears to come true. There is no denying that upon getting sober you will see some of your friends leave. But what you will also notice is that fear of being sober those people who are your friends – beyond just partying, drinking and taking drugs – will never leave. As we get mature, we need to learn healthy ways to deal with the pain and difficulties that life can throw at us.
Why You Shouldn’t Be Afraid to Get Sober
You make it up to everyone you ever hurt by never being that person again. You’re going to be a little weird and wobbly at first. Drinking stunts your emotional and personal growth.
You will be making new friends in treatment and recovery, as well as through your support group meetings and new activities you will now start to enjoy. Getting sober means replacing your primary coping mechanism – drugs and alcohol – with new, unfamiliar ones. The process can be uncomfortable, particularly for someone who is afraid of feeling in general. Staying stuck in this fear generally means staying stuck in addiction. For most addicts, this will be one of the most valid fears of getting sober, because the pain inside can be scary.
Powerful Mini-Course – How to Quit Drinking & Feel Good About It.
So for some people, sobriety can be a bit scary. Fear is always about loss; it is present only when there is desire. Fear arises when there is a conflict between what you want, need or love and what might happen if that want, need, or love is not fulfilled. Addressing fears in recovery is important because, despite being mere flights of imagination, fears have the power to derail many of your recovery efforts.
- A drink of wine or a joint won’t make you feel better, so you have to get sober instead.
- Grief and loss are painful, but using doesn’t help it just prolongs the agony.
