Everybody is a little scared when they first get sober. Your job is to recognize the fears for what they are – little lies we tell ourselves to keep from changing. Sometimes our fears are logical, but mostly they are not. Besides, judging someone for not drinking alcohol is stupid, and you don’t need to be cool with that person anyway. In fact, this fear personally led to a dozen failures in my own sobriety journey. Many of us drink because we need something to turn down the volume of the toxic shame parade running through our brains.

• Create a structured daily routine, but plan for days you may experience sickness or chronic illness flare-ups that could require adjusting your routine.
• It’s understandable that you might feel fear of withdrawal.
• Most people dont consciously self-sabotage, but they have a deeply held belief that they dont deserve to succeed and, in so believing, never really put forth their best effort.
• For some, alcohol and drug use creates issues itself.
• While you are in treatment, you will learn about accepting responsibility, and you will learn ways to ensure that you follow through on your commitments.
• I truly thought I was just the fun party girl who only socialized and drank alcohol.

Plus, being in recovery typically involves maintaining sobriety, so the two are somewhat intertwined. If you or a loved one are suffering from substance abuse or addiction, it is important to seek professional help as soon as possible – before the problem gets worse. A month ago, there were seven reports in three days about coyotes approaching humans. Last week, there was a human interaction where the coyote wasn’t aggressive, but it wasn’t fearful, either, Borde said. Officials believe the animals are being fed because they are “habituating” to humans and starting to approach without fear.

You’re Afraid of What Other People Will Think.

Getting sober will remove some chaos and stress, but staying sober will require finding a balance between self-care and external responsibilities. Shame is having negative beliefs about yourself fear of being sober and your self-worth. Guilt is having negative feelings about your past behavior. People in recovery can experience a lot of shame simply for having become addicted in the first place.

• By exploring healthy living during rehab, you will find it much easier to carry on with these positive habits in your regular life.
• Being afraid to improve your own life because you don’t want people to think bad of you is a common, but silly, fear.
• This is why you and your friends go out at 2 am, dance at tables, spend all of your money on more alcohol or drugs, sleep with strangers, or drive drunk.
• It’s OK if a person returns to this step many times on their journey toward sobriety.
• Let us take this opportunity to refute these fears and show you why getting sober is better than you realised.

Learning to live in a drug and alcohol-free manner involves making a genuine commitment to a new and permanent lifestyle. This is scary to a lot of people and deters many from seeking or completing treatment. You can live a life without drugs or alcohol, and you owe it to yourself to try. For the time being, try to envision a life full of promise, where there are no limits to what you can achieve. The cravings and the urge to drink do not suddenly disappear after 30 days of abstinence. Quitting drinking, even without making other changes, can help you return to better physical health, but regaining emotional and psychological balance can be challenging.

Suicide and Sobriety – A Podcast

So here’s a deep dive into the many reasons people struggle on their unique paths to sobriety as well as insights on how to overcome the fears and challenges they’ll likely meet along the way. Being afraid to better your own life for fear of what others will say about you is a common yet inane fear. You are living your life for you, not other people.

• “I am much calmer, anxiety has subsided, stomach better, have an appetite, and sleeping eight hours without waking up at 4 a.m.”
• Worried that they may be abandoned by the people they love or judged by others, some people refuse to admit that they have a drug problem or reach out to others for support.
• You cannot get better if you do not recognize and learn to overcome the reasons that have kept you from being the self-actualized person you are meant to be.
• Many of us drink because we need something to turn down the volume of the toxic shame parade running through our brains.
• You should embrace the possibility of again being able to feel strong emotions like love, joy, pride in yourself, hope for the future, and belief in your inner goodness.

“I am in my first hours of sobriety. I just took the quiz for withdrawal symptoms and scored 60% moderate to severe. Funny, because my average hangover is usually worse than this.” 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. If you don’t buy drugs or alcohol, the money you save can quickly add up to pay for a trip or put down money on a house! These are thoughts that run through every addict’s mind.

Dual Diagnosis 101: How Mental Health Disorders and Substance Use Disorder Often go Hand in Hand

I didn’t want to admit that I might not have this drinking thing under control like I thought I did for so long. My life was a juggling act and alcohol was the boss. But it was hard for me to see that while I was in https://ecosoberhouse.com/ the thick of my addiction. Looking back, I know that all of my actions during that time were based on fear. It shouldn’t be surprising then that fear is why many people don’t get sober or take a long time to do so.

When you’re sober, you’ll be able to form more meaningful, long-term friendships that aren’t based on alcohol-based interactions. You will notice the difference between the fair-weather friends–the ones who have been there for the drugs or alcohol and the people who are your true friends. They will leave to keep taking drugs or alcohol (who will stay with you and support you through your decision to get sober). Learning sober coping strategies to deal with stress can help you stay calm and avoid triggering explosive emotional reactions or relapse.

It sounds like a weird thing to be afraid of, but it’s very real. If all of your friends abuse alcohol and/or your spouse abuses alcohol, it makes a lot of sense to fear what will happen next. I don’t think it’s change that you’re so afraid of.

• The best way to overcome fear is to walk through it.
• Officials believe the animals are being fed because they are “habituating” to humans and starting to approach without fear.
• At the same time, come to grips with the fact that this is the reality you are living with and there’s no way to turn back the clock.

Eventually you will not be afraid of the feelings but see them as a positive step towards growth, something to embrace and yes, get excited about. Each and every one of them have said that yes, it was difficult, yes it was painful at times, but actually it wasn’t half as bad as they thought. Now you have pinpointed what is causing your fear of sobriety, it is time to examine those fears.