Fear Of Being Sober? How to Cope with a Fear of Sobriety
Support can also look like joining in-person and online support groups. One 2020 study found potential benefits of combining in-person and online support methods. Depending on the severity of the addiction or substance being used, a medically supervised detox may be necessary to safely help you. Any general advice posted on our blog, website, or app is for informational purposes only and is not intended to replace or substitute for any medical or other advice.
Refer a loved one
I don’t have that much sex, and that’s more like me saying, I no longer lower my standards and sleep with just anyone because of beer goggles. There’s no easy pass for me anymore, no more getting drunk and slipping past the part where you get to know each other. There’s no more not caring if they see your cellulite or whatever you’re hiding under there; and you will, once and for all, discover that sex is never like in the movies. It is an awkward, vulnerable dance between two awkward, vulnerable humans. In other words, success is the blissful absence of all of the devastating consequences of a previous drug or alcohol habit. Getting support doesn’t have to mean going to rehab, although that is an option.
Dual Diagnosis 101: How Mental Health Disorders and Substance Use Disorder Often go Hand in Hand
I was raised in the 1950s and early 1960s to understand that women take care of everybody else and that your value comes from being a flight attendant to everybody in the world. I imagine I will be surrounded by my husband and son and two friends. And they will have called hospice because we all do now. They will come in with their syringes full of morphine, so I know I won’t have any pain and I won’t have any fear. Then I got sober when I was 32 – almost 38 years ago – and I thought, oh, I’ve reached the mountaintop.
- Additionally, you may fear relapsing after all the hard work you put in during treatment.
- Then I got sober when I was 32 – almost 38 years ago – and I thought, oh, I’ve reached the mountaintop.
- Sobriety means having to face uncomfortable truths about ourselves and others and having to stand up and be who we are.
- These groups can give you the support and encouragement needed to overcome your fears.
- You only fear that you will lose your sex appeal because you think that you will become inhibited and closed-off if you do not drink or do drugs.
- There are other people just like you that are meeting their fears head-on and are coming out on the other side with a bright and limitless future.
Addiction Treatment Programs
She said anyone can have the same experience being sober. The hitch is you have to do it—as in get sober. For help getting started, we’re here 5 expert tips to quit benzos for good fhe health 24/7. When you’re addicted to drugs or alcohol, the notion of getting clean and then staying sober over the long haul can be frightening.
Many people drink and do drugs precisely because they don’t like who they are and want to dull the sensation of their shame, self-loathing—even self-hatred. The prospect of being without the one thing that relieves their sense of low self-esteem and lack of self-love can be very scary. Developing a structured routine can help a person stick to their sobriety goals, make healthy decisions, and reduce the likelihood of triggers and relapse.
Your addiction rehab team will always endeavor to treat you with respect and without judgment. The most effective addiction treatment requires compassion, warmth and empathy. And this is the approach that your rehab team sobriety strategies will take. Drug addiction specialists will always try to instill your recovery process with optimism and hope. They will help you to build self-confidence and allow you to realize the power you have to maintain sobriety.
Detox can occur in a hospital setting or as the first part of inpatient or outpatient rehabilitation. Getting sober may seem difficult, but there are strategies you can use to get and maintain sobriety. Some are structured in programs, such as the 12-step approach used by Alcoholics Anonymous and similar addiction recovery programs. The FHE Health team is committed to providing accurate information that adheres to the highest standards of writing. This is part of our ongoing commitment to ensure FHE Health is trusted as a leader in mental health and addiction care. Most fears that we faced were about our relationships and how they’d change, how we’d cope, fear of failure, and the fear of change itself.
You only fear that you will lose your sex appeal because you think that you will become inhibited and closed-off if you do not drink or do drugs. Real sexiness comes from within, from who you are and how you display your real self to others. You should look forward to discovering the real you that you have buried deep inside.
Sobriety is kind of like the fast-pass line at Disneyland, except the ride is growing up. While making the decision to be sober was the best thing I’ve ever done, it’s also one of the hardest. Not only because not drinking is hard, but also because we live in a society where most everyone around us drinks. In treatment, you will have individual and group counseling and learn that you are not alone in your struggle. There are other people just like you that are meeting their fears head-on and are coming out on the other side with a bright and limitless future.
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.
That includes talking about these fears, learning to understand what sobriety will mean to you, and facing what’s underneath it all. It’s important to remember that addiction can be treated but is rarely truly cured. You’ll face a variety of long-term struggles. You can expect to sometimes feel afraid, worried, unable to move forward, and downright unwilling to face what’s coming. This is an opportunity to assert for your needs, and therefore assert your worth.
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. Yet without taking these steps, there can be no recovery. You’ll have some tough days, but they are temporary. You will eventually reach a point when sobriety is easy, when you can’t remember the last time you had a serious hankering for a drink. Depending on the severity of your drinking problem and resulting behavior, some bridges may be forever burned.
Maybe these people have been in your life since childhood, and you’ve all fallen into the same trap. You’ve got history, but you’ve also got baggage. If a booked social calendar is important to you, you’ll find ways to be proactive and realign what you do to fit your new lifestyle. Sober movements are redefining what it means to have fun and challenging alcohol’s role in our social lives.
Look what I’ve done to my life.” This is a very common thought process. After detox, your brain begins to piece together the problems you now have with relationships, work, school or other important 100 most inspiring addiction recovery quotes aspects of your life. It’s disheartening to realize what you’ve lost. With all of this chaos surrounding you at that moment, you’re just starting to acknowledge what’s happening to you.
