Getting Your Life Back Through Recovery

The feeling of contention during reflection is a solid indicator that you have made a change from your past. Achieving sobriety and getting your life back is one of the best rewards you can experience during recovery. It’s surreal to some having your family and friends in your life again and for many, a job to work, a car to drive, a relationship with a loved one or maybe all of the above!  But now what? You got your life back, does the hype just fade off?

Stay Positive

Embracing sobriety with excitement can be easy at first. Holding on to that excitement can prove to be difficult at times. Surrounding yourself with a new environment, geared around protecting your sobriety will only benefit your efforts. Many of us become a product of your environment. We are what we eat, take after who we hang around and experience on the inside what we put out to the world around us. Stay positive, remember where you came from and try not to fall into complacency. There are many ways to stay focused on your life goals while enjoying it along the way.

Stay Mindful

Prayer and meditation are extremely important, even if you aren’t religious. Having developed a trust in something outside of yourself and greater than yourself is part of the process. Finding the beliefs you are comfortable and what works for you and running with that, can provide the values you seek while offering the proper guidance when making decisions and taking action.

Stay Healthy

Eating right is vital as well. Don’t let yourself get into a rut of uneasiness by not properly providing for your body. Exploring new foods or getting to enjoy some of your old favorites with your new frame of mind can be delicious while getting your life back through recovery.

Stay Informed

Staying educated on your past problems, the disease or addictions you may have experience, can keep you teachable and prevent you from getting into old behaviors. Being aware of your actions with honest insight is also an important part of the process. Being able to trust in yourself is one of the rewards of getting your life in order as you are now experiencing what you may have thought you lost. Remaining emotionally sober and preventing your spirit from wreaking havoc on the inside and out will be beneficial to all. Keeping track of how all of the actions you take affect yourself and everyone around you, can help to ensure that you are doing the right things for the right reasons.

Stay Away From Triggers

A common mistake is getting back into life but not being aware of the potential triggers that life may have presented. Take caution when getting into things that you may have enjoyed in the past. Avoid triggers as there may be places that recall a time for you that seemed to be fun or interesting but for some, they were only holding those emotions & feelings due to being in the wrong state of mind.

Stay Plugged In

Go to meetings. Stay plugged into what has provided you the comforts or excitements you are currently experiencing. Whether it is a familiar location or somewhere new to keep the positive feelings flowing, it is a good idea to keep yourself involved in the rooms or places that got you back on track after getting your life back through recovery.

Stay Happy

Be sure to pat yourself on the back along the way. Making time to take in the sights and sounds of the revitalization of self can help you soak in the good times and maybe even provide some new perspectives of having some of the life you once lost back at your fingertips. Sobriety doesn’t have to exist without joy. When you take some time, just for yourself, to engage in some positive hobby or activity that makes you happy, that is just another piece of protection that you can put in place that keeps you away from a relapse. Boredom is a killer to sobriety for some, so engaging in things that you enjoy are critical to maintaining the success of sobriety when getting your life back.

Stay Connected

Give back! Now is the time to provide to others what has so freely been given to you. With your recent changes, you may be able to share your experience for others with confidence and conviction potentially lighting the fire for another. Being available to others and helping people who are going through what you may have already overcome can provide so many benefits. Once you get connected, stay connected.

To our readers: If there is any other advice you have for getting your life back through recovery, we’d love to hear from you!