Tips for Staying Sober During the Holidays

As explained in a study from the Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment, even something as simple as a motivational texting program can better your chances of avoiding relapse. Getting sober may seem difficult, but there are strategies you can use to get and maintain sobriety. Some are structured in programs, reasons to stay sober such as the 12-step approach used by Alcoholics Anonymous and similar addiction recovery programs. There are several limitations to the study that are important to consider. First, we could not directly compare which type of SLH was most effective because there were demographic and other individual characteristics that differed between the two types of houses.

Manage Your Urges

This is most likely to occur in programs that provide services and therapies based on research. Evidence-based addiction treatment uses the current and best research-based evidence to make informed decisions about your rehab care. Not everyone comes from an encouraging and supportive home environment. If your family and or friends aren’t motivating you to seek help for your substance misuse, make an appointment with a medical or addiction treatment professional. These individuals can direct you toward the resources you need for recovery, including the needed services and diagnosis of substance use and any co-occurring mental health disorders.

Social

They help fill the void left by substance use and create a fulfilling, sober life. By setting achievable goals and pursuing personal development, you’re not just staying sober—you’re thriving in sobriety. It provides a structured environment for individuals to address underlying issues, develop coping strategies, and navigate the challenges of recovery. 2007 research shows that continued therapy significantly improves long-term sobriety rates. Programs like sober living homes, motivational phone calls, alumni programs, and mutual-help groups provide a level of support that can continue in the short-term or as needed for the rest of your life.

Avoid Old Routines and Habits

Find more details about the campaign, including impaired driving enforcement plans, arrest totals and safety tips, at HeatIsOnColorado.com. More information about DUI laws in Colorado can be found at NoDUIColorado.org. Learn more about CDOT’s dedication to keeping Colorado roads safe, including impaired driving enforcement objectives, arrest data and safety information, at codot.gov/safety. Central to recovery in SLHs is involvement in 12-step mutual help groups (Polcin & Henderson, 2008). However, some houses will allow other types of activities that can substitute for 12 step groups, provided they constitute a strategy for maintaining ongoing abstinence. Personal growth and goal setting provide structure and purpose to your recovery journey.

Step 4: Get Through Withdrawal

Strictly speaking, sobriety is the state of being sober—not being under the influence of alcohol or drugs. However, the word is often used in different ways in different contexts. Many 12-step programs suggest that sobriety means total abstinence, which means never using the substance again. Other definitions, however, focus on the process of recovery and coping habits that support health and wellness over the long term.

Synonyms of sober

• Shared pleasures that once joined them together becomes less frequent.
• Drinking has a way of gradually undermining health and stamina, as well as “hollowing out” a relationship, including shared pleasures and intimacy, which gradually fall by the wayside in favour of regular drinking.
• I’ve had many alcoholic beverages since then and I probably drank that night but to this day I’m thankful that just those two weren’t.
• In these programs, it’s customary to receive plastic chips as you progress to the one-year mark, at which time you receive a bronze coin.
• Some may have had negative experiences in treatment and therefore seek out alternative paths to recovery.
• Some people who move from a controlled and protective setting find themselves awash in the environmental cues that lead to their drinking.

Some of the immediate changes you will need to make will be obvious—like not hanging around the people that you used with or obtained drugs from. After all, you can’t hang around your drug dealer or old drinking buddies and expect to remain sober for very long. Lasting recovery requires lasting effort, but relapse is not failure or weakness; it takes more than willpower to maintain sobriety. This article discusses the meaning of sobriety and arms you with information and strategies to smooth—and stay on—your path to wellness.

To help limit social isolation and reduce costs residents share bedrooms. Like other SLH models of recovery, residence are free to stay as long as they wish provide they comply with house rules (e.g., curfews, attendance at 12-step meetings) and fulfill their financial obligations. Also like other SLH models, each house has a house manager who is responsible for ensuring house rules and requirements are followed.