If you have struggled with alcohol or drugs, then getting sober isn’t easy. It might be the most challenging thing you’ve ever faced. You can do it, though, if you’re mindful of the pillars that influence whether you stay sober or experience a relapse.
We’ll discuss those pillars right now so you can put them in place if this is where you are in your life.
Make Use of an Inpatient or Outpatient Program
Finding a treatment center or program that can help you is one of the crucial pillars associated with getting clean and staying that way. You might utilize an inpatient facility or an outpatient one. You must also select a program that you feel makes the most sense to you and whose steps you can readily follow.
Often, going through one of these programs doesn’t just involve moving through the steps and then being finished. You might feel the urge to use your substance of choice at any time, and during those moments, you’ll need to be able to attend a meeting so you can have a supportive environment.
Have the Right People Around You
You will also need a strong support system composed of people who genuinely care about you. Maybe those include the people in your treatment program, but it’s even better if your family members, friends, and coworkers can also support you.
If you don’t have the support of your friends, family members, and others, you might still be able to succeed and stay sober, but it’s probably going to be much more challenging.
Replace Addiction with Healthy Activities
Using drugs or alcohol can be a full-time commitment. You’ll spend time generating the money to purchase the drugs or alcohol. You’ll spend more time going and obtaining them and still more time using them.
You must replace all of that time and energy with some other healthy behavior if you’re going to stay clean. You can’t just sit there twiddling your thumbs, or your mind will naturally start going back to using alcohol or your drug of choice.
Try to replace using drugs or alcohol with something like gardening, meditating, bike riding, bowling, reading books, walking around in public parks, or anything else that appeals. If you can do that, then you’ll successfully distract yourself. It’s even better if you can find people to do these healthy activities with you.
Stay Away from the People or Situations that Could Trigger a Relapse
The final pillar is staying away from anyone from your previous life who might convince you to use drugs or alcohol again. You may need to get away from former friends who are still caught up in that lifestyle.
You might miss them, but if being around them is going to trigger a potential relapse, you can’t be near them. That may be painful, but for the sake of your health, you might have little choice. You may lose some relationships this way, but you must regard your health as more important. You should also avoid any trigger to your addiction.
