When you suffer from an addiction to either drugs or alcohol, the very thought of seeking help, getting clean, and being sober can be scary. Perhaps you are afraid to know how it feels to be sober. Many people who abuse drugs and alcohol use it as a form of self-medication. Drugs and alcohol provide a euphoric feeling that allows the person to escape from the trials of everyday life. Therefore, the absence of drugs and alcohol may seem boring or even empty. If you feel the same way, you are not alone. Although your thought process is understandable, it is an inaccurate notion and one that you can overcome.
Experiencing Sobriety
Sobriety will initially feel like hard work. Before you reach the point of sobriety, you may think of sober living as next to impossible. Achieving sobriety can seem even more difficult knowing that you have to go to rehab and leave behind your life for a time as you focus on your recovery and overall wellbeing. Therefore, the initial steps it takes to live a sober life can seem like a living nightmare rather than a positive experience.
Many of what you feel and experience, in the beginning, is normal. It also stems from the fact that you have not yet fully experienced how good sobriety feels. Sobriety is the opposite of boring, empty, and lifeless. In fact, sobriety will bring with it the following positive feelings:
- Feeling as though you are finally getting your life back on track
- Learning to enjoy hobbies and activities without drugs and alcohol
- Repairing relationships with friends and family and forming new, healthy relationships
Overall, sobriety can feel a lot better than you might think.
Makes you Feel Whole
When you use drugs and alcohol, you experience periods where you do not feel whole. The moments in between using drugs and alcohol as you start to temporarily sober up can make you feel like something is missing. To hide what is missing in your life, you continue to hide behind the euphoria that drugs and alcohol create. True sobriety, however, allows you to feel whole. You experience better sleep, better overall mental and emotional health, and a reason to feel better about yourself.
Keep in mind that finding that feeling of wholeness is not something you will achieve overnight. Receiving treatment from professionals provides you with the help and daily support you need to commit to your sobriety and find that level of wholeness you desire. Eventually, you will find that you are more at peace and content enough to enjoy a life without drugs and alcohol.
Makes You Feel More Successful
If you are still wondering how it feels to be sober, take into consideration the fact that you will start to feel more successful. Sobriety means setting goals for yourself and taking pride in the goals that you achieve. Eventually, you learn to value your self-worth. As you achieve each of your sobriety goals, you will start to feel more successful. A life of sobriety will also make you more successful at forming and maintaining healthy relationships with the people you love and care about.
Another aspect of sobriety that will make you feel more successful is employment. When you use drugs and alcohol, you run the risk of facing legal troubles and losing your job. When you are sober, however, you can fulfill the duties of your job more adequately, which improves your chances of success. Promotions are easier to achieve as is maintaining your professional life, all which alcohol and drugs can take from you.
Learning to Like You
Many people feel as though they won’t like who they are if they are sober. It is not uncommon to feel that way. People will often abuse drugs and alcohol because they do not like something about themselves. Therefore, they try to mask their lack of self-esteem and self-loathing by using drugs and alcohol. When you live a life of sobriety, you learn more about yourself, and with the help of a professional, you learn to like yourself more. Eventually, you learn to love yourself.
Within the safe and trusted walls of a treatment center, you will find professionals that can help and support you, a community that can help you oversee your flaws and find what makes you a great person. Therefore, you have to look at sobriety as though you are dating yourself. You are carefully navigating the waters, learning things about yourself that you might not have known before, and you are slowly falling in love with who you really are without the drugs and alcohol.
If you have never experienced sobriety, just remember that it is entirely within your reach. There is no better time to work on your sobriety so you can experience healthier living than now. Grab hold of a brighter, happier life that is free of drugs and alcohol by seeking out professional help. There are various options available to you and a professional can help you figure out which option works best for you based on your situation. Call us at 954-523-1167.