How You Can Stay Positive Through Addiction Recovery

When you hit bottom and realized what drugs or alcohol were doing to your life, you knew something had to change. After a lot of effort and pain, you managed to get sober. That’s when you officially started your addiction recovery journey.

But as you live your new life, it’s not hard to feel guilty about what happened in the past. Plus, addiction recovery isn’t always easy. Read on for some tips on how you can stay positive while you stay sober.

 

Staying Positive

When you look back at your life under addiction, you might focus too much on the embarrassing and shameful details. Doing that will just sap your willpower and make you feel depressed. To combat that, Entrepreneur recommends that you express gratitude for what you have. This focuses your mind on happy events, which helps you stay positive. Take time every day to write down what you’re thankful for — but keep it short and sweet. Too much time spent on writing things down can turn the act of writing into a stressful experience.

As you focus on gratitude, you’ll probably find your mind resisting. You’ll start to find negatives in positive situations. Psychology Today explains you need to challenge this thinking by asking yourself how to view things more positively. For example, don’t just accept that your day was bad and full of stress. Ask if there is a way to view that day positively, such as seeing challenges as opportunities. Some events really are bad, but you’d be surprised to see how often a positive outlook can help when you’re trying to stay sober.

Coping With Addiction Recovery

Being thankful and positive will both help, but addiction recovery is not always easy. There will be days when you feel like giving up and relapsing even though you know that’s a very bad idea.

National Geographic explains that you have to take this one day at a time. That means focusing on getting through each day. Of course, you can make plans for the future. Just don’t start panicking because there’s a party in a few weeks. Focus on getting through the here and now first, and worry about that party when it gets close. The same is true for feelings of guilt and shame. The past is the past, so focus on something positive in the present.

You will also need to depend on your support network. You can often fight the stress and anxiety that happens from time to time by relying on friends and family. Of course, you’ll need to have friends that support your sobriety, so you may need to keep some people at a distance. That said, having people in your life that are there when you feel weak can make a huge difference in your addiction recovery.

How Working Helps

As you cope with negative emotions, you may be surprised to learn that going to work can help. One enemy of sobriety is boredom. You can feel listless and purposeless when you sit at home too much. Going to work regularly can give you a sense of purpose that helps maintain your sobriety.

Many businesses also have Employee Assistance Programs that offer help to those in addiction recovery. They can provide counselors that can help you navigate through your journey, especially if you find problems that interfere with your work. Staying employed can really help you financially and emotionally.

Stay Positive

Addiction recovery is not over quickly. It’s a journey that can be difficult at times. To help stay positive through it, write down things to be thankful for, build your support network, and look to see if your business offers an Employee Assistance Program. Getting sober was the hard part, but staying sober still takes some work.

Sources:

How to Train Your Brain to Stay Positive; Nadia Goodman; Entrepreneur

7 Tips for Staying Positive; Erin Olivo Ph.D.; Psychology Today

10 Tips For Recovering From Addiction; Dr. Urschel and Enterhealth, LLC; National Geographic

6 Sober Coping Strategies for Handling the Demands of the Professional World; ADrugRehab.org

FAQ; US Department of Personnel Management; OPM.gov

 

Michelle Peterson believes the journey to sobriety should not be one of shame but of pride.

Her mission is aligned with that of Recovery Pride, which is to celebrate sobriety and those who achieve it.