If you are in recovery or just starting out in your sober journey, learning how to get sober fast takes a few steps at first. It is important to know that there is no one way to find a path to recovery. Each person will go through different triggers, cravings, and circumstances that may create roadblocks along the way.
Sobriety has the power to help every aspect of your life. From communicating in friendships to knowing how to add nutrition to your meals to help you recover, there is a wide variety of methods that people choose to implement in their daily life for long-term recovery.
As a guide to getting started, here are 12 tips for your recovery, and how each tip can help you throughout your sober journey.
1. Know Your Triggers
Knowing your triggers is not always straightforward. Some circumstances may trigger you that feel normalized over time. One way to prevent a potential relapse is to understand the people, places, and situations that can trigger thoughts or cravings.
Triggers can also be caused by internal stress, emotions, or thoughts. By recognizing how you interact with your feelings, you can better understand how to break old habits in order to establish new routines.
How to get sober begins when you are able to evaluate the stress you experiencing. Research shows how increased cravings are often caused by stress. While there are many ways to manage stress, there are a few effective strategies that many people consider to be more helpful while in the moment. Mindfulness or relaxation training can help you recognize a negative emotion and move through it before it can trigger a potential relapse.
Mindfulness takes practice at first, but over time it will become easier to recognize a trigger and move past it without having it hinder your day. If you need help with identifying triggers and cravings, talk to a healthcare professional or counselor who has the expertise to guide you through how to manage daily or circumstantial stressors.
2. Get Adequate Sleep
For many people who have been diagnosed with substance or alcohol use disorders, sleep may come as a challenge. Sleep and addiction are issues that are intertwined with one another. If you are struggling with managing your sobriety, you may also be experiencing poor sleep quality or having trouble falling asleep on a regular basis.
Those who struggle with insomnia or other sleep problems are at a higher risk for developing a drug or alcohol addiction, and consequently have issues during recovery. Getting uninterrupted sleep each night is important for the recovery process and can contribute to fewer triggers in the long run.
While the withdrawal process can be difficult with side effects, over time good recovery habits can help you find a balance in regulating your sleep patterns. As a way to assist with sleep deprivation, you can download a sober app to help with relaxation techniques to ease your mind at night. Many sober apps offer audio programs to help you understand your thought patterns and move your focus away from negative thoughts for a restful night of sleep.
If you continue to struggle with finding a better sleep pattern, talk with a healthcare professional about how you can better regulate your sleep schedule.
3. Include Healthy Meal Plans
Substance and alcohol addiction often leads to poor eating habits or overall malnourishment over time. Drugs and alcohol hinder your body from receiving the proper nutrients that aid your immune system, organs, and stomach.
In learning how to get sober, it is important to consider what healthy meal plans can be added to your daily schedule. Nutrition can positively contribute to your body by repairing damage to organs, tissues, and improving your immune defenses that were previously broken down by alcohol or substances.
Proper nutrition can also increase your energy, mood, and reduce the likelihood of a relapse caused by fatigue or a depressed mood. To improve your nutrition, here are a few ideas to consider in a healthy meal plan.
- Utilize more complex carbs
- Take vitamins to restore deficiencies
- Reduce your caffeine intake
- Lower your sugar intake
- Eat more protein and fiber to help build up muscles
- Find time to eat regular small meals and snack in between with healthy alternatives
Talk with your healthcare provider to discuss meal plan options and ingredients you can use in meals to help with your recovery. The more your body is able to supplement its natural processes, the faster it can recover from substance or alcohol use disorder.
4. Keep Hydrating
People who are recovering from addiction often experience dehydration. Dehydration can cause irritable moods, irregular emotions, and cause your body to result to cravings. By keeping your body hydrated, you are giving your body the chance to release toxins through your urinary system, digestive system, and through sweating and respiration.
If you are experiencing dehydration, you may have issues with increased thirst, a dry mouth, dizziness, heart palpitations, confusion, or sluggishness. Not all of your hydration intake has to come from water. You can consume popsicles, soups, broths, juices, and vegetables that can positively contribute to your hydration levels.
To increase your likelihood of staying hydrated, you can carry around a reusable water bottle or set timers to remember to drink a glass of water. It may take time to create the habit of drinking water, but over time it will become a natural instinct to stay hydrated throughout the day.
5. Find an Exercise Routine
Your body and your mind are affected during the recovery process, which is why exercise can play a pivotal role in learning how to get sober fast. Exercise does not come naturally to all people, but luckily there are a variety of exercise styles and programs that can help you build strength and continue in long-term recovery.
Exercise has the ability to reduce stress levels by releasing endorphins and improving circulation to your brain and muscles. Good workouts can also lead to improved sleep quality that can positively contribute to a more routined schedule to help with overcoming addiction.
Circumstances surrounding recovery may not always be easy to manage, but exercise can serve as a way to release toxins and negative moods and channel them into a more positive outcome. Whether you like swimming, going for a run, or joining a gym class, there are a variety of options for exercising that can help you during every step of the recovery journey.
6. Say No When You Need To
Part of staying in active recovery is also saying no when you need to. Saying no does not always come easy, especially if you have friends or community members who pressure you to drink. By recognizing your sober date with a sobriety counter, you can see how much progress you have made while figuring out how to live in sobriety.
Saying no also means staying away from events that may cause a potential relapse. Sober apps like Loosid can help you find sober-friendly events where you can have an enjoyable time with friends without the pressure to drink while being out.
If you are having trouble saying no, make sure there is a friend, family member, or sponsor you can call for support. Finding a path to sobriety takes a community, and there are thousands of others like you who are looking for accountability partners and a sober community that advocates for them when circumstances become difficult.
If you need help finding a sober community or accountability partner, look on a sober app or consult local community centers to learn more about what groups may be available for you to join.
7. Be of Service to Others
Helping other people has proven to be a positive way to find your own steps in recovery. Whether it is supporting someone else who is in the recovery process, or it is a volunteer position with a local organization, there are a variety of ways to be involved in helping others.
If you are not sure how you can be helpful to others, talk to your local community center or get in touch with a cause you care about.
8. Make Time For Things You Enjoy
Establishing new hobbies can help you find balance while in recovery. In many cases, addictions take you away from the hobbies you loved in the past. By taking the time for the things you enjoy, you can claim back more time for yourself.
Concentrating on a new skill or relearning an old one can help you find meaning in the things you do. Whether you want to play an instrument for a group of friends or want to join a local social group, there is a multitude of skills you can learn online or in person at a local community or arts center.
Figuring out how to get sober is no easy task, but with the support of hobbies you love, you can ease your mind into a new schedule with positive reinforcement of healthy habits and new friendships you make along the way.
9. Find a Sober Community
Finding a sober community is a vital part of staying in active recovery and getting sober fast. It may feel challenging at first to find a solid group of friends who are ready to support your new sober journey, but there are thousands of people like you out there that are looking for the same thing.
Many sober apps include a sober online community that can connect you to local meetings or has the ability to create small groups outside of the general messaging boards. A sober app can be more than just a sobriety counter, it can also be a digital companion by creating opportunities for you to meet local people in your area, or discover meaningful friendships online.
10. Look For Professional Support
Professional support is an important aspect of the recovery process. There are local treatment centers, hotlines, counselors, and support groups who are ready to uplift and speed up your journey to sobriety.
You do not have to figure out how to get sober on your own, which is why it is vital to look for professional support when you are able. Many insurance plans will cover part of the treatment costs at centers, or there are scholarships available for you to find the help you need.
It is important to know that there are resources out there and a supportive community of professionals who are ready to create a recovery plan for the long term. Contact a local treatment center when you are ready or search for local locations through Loosid.
11. Celebrate Your Achievements
Sobriety is not just about recovery, it also is about celebrating your achievements. Each step towards sober living takes a lot of courage and strength. Even if you meet a few obstacles along the way, you are not alone in your journey.
To celebrate your achievements, consider downloading a sobriety counter. Many sobriety counters give rewards for milestones that can positively influence your progress. From tracking your maximum streak to keeping an eye on how much money you have saved in the process, sobriety trackers help you keep a clear visualization of your progress in recovery.
Beyond a digital visualization, you can set events with friends or family members about your progress. Your community wants to be included in your milestones, which is why it is important to communicate how far you have come and to appreciate those who have supported you in the process.
12. Download a Sober App
One of the fastest ways to get sober and stay in recovery is through downloading a digital companion to keep you on track. A sobriety app helps you see pathways in how to get sober, which can contribute to an increased chance of staying in recovery for the long term.
There is no easy route to full-tine recovery and every person reacts to getting sober differently, but it is possible to achieve sobriety with the right support. Download a sober app to discover direct access to recovery advice and hear from thousands of others who are on the same journey as you.
From talking on community topics to messaging a local group on how to navigate a tough circumstance, there is a community behind you ready to support the fastest route possible for recovery.
