6 Ways to Stay Sober When the Going Gets Rough: EXIS Recovery Inc : Substance Abuse and Trauma Treatment Facilities

When you’re drunk, alcohol has accumulated in your bloodstream because your liver hasn’t had time to process and break it down yet. Try drinking only beer for the night and avoiding mixed drinks. Shots of hard liquor get you drunk very fast, so avoid them. After alcohol enters the bloodstream, the liver breaks it down. It takes about 1 hour for your liver to break down the amount of alcohol in a standard alcoholic drink (one beer, one glass of wine, or one shot). Some alcoholic drinks are absorbed even faster than others.

• The idea of sobriety can feel boring or lame, and like it’s only an option for someone who’s hit rock bottom and had to become sober because they had no other choice.
• While certain techniques may help a person feel more awake, they will not eliminate alcohol from the blood more quickly and so will not lower the BAC level.
• It is an awkward, vulnerable dance between two awkward, vulnerable humans.
• Heck, you can’t achieve a month of sobriety without a full day.

Milestones in sobriety are celebrated to recognize the challenging work you are accomplishing. For example, 12-step programs often have milestones or “sober birthdays” starting x amount of hours sober (i.e., 24 hours sober) and onward from there (i.e., a week, one month, three months). For example, your friends can say they support your sober living journey and avoid offering substances to you. However, if they’re still opening and actively consuming substances in your presence, you may still need to separate yourself. Triggers for drug and alcohol use are typically defined as people, places, and things that remind you of your addictive behavior or encourage the use of substances you’re trying to avoid. They don’t have to be direct triggers, like someone offering you the substance.

Drink Coffee

Studies have shown that gratitude can improve your mental wellbeing and actually help you make better decisions. Being sober can be stressful, but it doesn’t need to be — and it certainly won’t be forever. You’re not punishing yourself for not drinking, you’re rewarding yourself, so go out and get a massage to work out some of that tension and feel proud while you’re pampered. There’s a variety of meetup groups online and plenty of free events. There’s no shortage of ways to get out and meet some new people with similar interests.

Although you’ll fall asleep easily enough when intoxicated, your sleep will probably be fragmented and disturbed. The NHS says “On average, it takes about one hour for your body to break down one unit of alcohol.”. Regardless of your religious affiliation, try praying. You’re putting your struggle into words and asking for help.

What Happens After 30 Days of Sobriety?

I would have classified myself as someone who loved to be around people and go out with them at night. Thinking back to before I was sober, I usually had to drink to be around people. I recharge when I’m by myself, and I deplete when I’m with others—especially big groups.

Sobriety doesn’t necessarily turn you into Liz Lemon, but it can give you the clarity to understand that you’ve been Liz Lemon your whole life. Personally, I always thought drunk people were fun, and I didn’t want my own poop relationship with alcohol to stand out. I wanted to blend in nicely with a crowd who understood that sometimes you just want to drink your face off, or one that didn’t think anything was weird about a glass of noon wine.

How to Get Sober

If you’re a heavy drinker, it’s important that you stop drinking under the care of your doctor or an addiction specialist. It’s likely that you’ll experience some withdrawal symptoms, especially if you’ve developed a dependency on alcohol. Being a sober person means you practice complete abstinence from drugs, alcohol, and other addictive substances. In the short term, it also means you aren’t intoxicated or under the influence of any of those substances. Maintaining sobriety is more than saying no to your drug of choice. A sober life involves a major change to the way you spend your time, and who you spend it with.

While peer support is vital to addiction recovery, you might find other ways to stay sober. You might have a slip, relapse, or strong urge to drink or use drugs. There is no shame in admitting 5 Tips to Consider When Choosing a Sober Living House that you need to go back in your recovery! Sometimes, you need to take a step back before moving forward. Being sober means not being intoxicated, whether from drugs or alcohol.

How to Get Sober from Alcohol

For anyone with a family history of alcohol use disorder, there is a higher risk of developing an addiction to alcohol. For those people, it may be wise to avoid consuming alcohol altogether. When people are drinking, it is easy to lose track of the amount of alcohol they have consumed. An individual can stay aware of how many drinks they have had by keeping a notepad and a pen handy and jotting each drink down. Most people who make their way into recovery have left a lot of pain and suffering in their wake. Feeling guilty or ashamed of past behavior or actions during active addiction is natural and healthy.

Since giving up alcohol, I’ve had numerous moments of true happiness. I’d imagined I was happy drinking, but I’d been kidding myself. My head was continually filled with guilt, shame and anxiety about how to get the next glass of wine without anyone thinking I was an old lush.