sobriety Archives - Page 8 of 9

Are you at risk for a relapse?

March 5, 2015 By Denise Leave a Comment

Happy March! While Spring doesn’t officially start this year until March 20^th, it can be nice to know now that we are only days away from warmer weather and longer days.

This week I would like to focus on relapse and what we can do to prevent one. Relapse is very common but if you can absolutely prevent one by recognizing the early triggers and you must be committed to do something about it.

Here are some internal signs that you might be thinking about a relapse:

Not being able to think clearly (brain fog, sleepiness, etc.)
Not being able to manage your emotions
Difficulty remembering things
Buckling too easily under pressure or stress
Difficulty sleeping or sleeping too much
Feeling especially clumsy
Feeling guilty

If you are experiencing any of these signs you may be headed for a relapse. The good news is, is that you can prevent this. Start today by making a list of things you can do to get past these feelings. How can you distract yourself or work through them?

Unconditional Forgiveness

February 26, 2015 By Denise Leave a Comment

A critical part of recovery is forgiveness. Forgiveness must not be mistaken for acceptance. And, forgiveness does not mean you have to allow that person into your life again which is a very common misconception.

But, how do you forgive someone that truly hurt you? It’s complicated right? Think about forgiveness like this. When you forgive someone you are focusing on yourself. It’s not about them. You are not giving them permission to do it again or saying that what they did was okay. You are forgiving them so that you can move on and not live in the past. When you let go of old resentments you will be amazed at how free you will feel.

Once you start the forgiveness journey understand that it’s a process. You won’t just one day suddenly forgive someone and then feel free. The process will take time and you will need to allow your mind to work through all of the old feelings associated with that person. A good place to start is to recognize that everyone in this world has been hurt at some point in their life. Once you identify this important fact you will be able to put yourself in their shoes and try to know that what they did to you or how they made you feel may not have been their true intentions.

Good luck with this as we know this may be one of the hardest things you have to do.

Share your forgiveness story with us at liverehab@liverehab.com We will anonymously publish it on our Facebook page so that your story can inspire others who are struggling with this.

Finding Balance

February 3, 2015 By Denise Leave a Comment

Finding the right balance in life is hard regardless of your situation or circumstances. It’s much harder when you are struggling with an addiction and trying to figure out your plan for sobriety.

You see, traditional treatment programs oftentimes fail to recognize that a balance is essential to staying sober. When you give 200% to something because society tells you that it is the only way to achieve that goal, burnout is going to happen. It may not happen right away but it is bound to happen sooner or later.

Think of recovery as a spectrum. Some people need to immerse themselves all day, every day, to only recovery related activities in order to keep their mind off of using. And, that’s okay. But really, this method isn’t for everybody. Some people work full time, have families, go to school, go to church, etc. The key to staying sober is finding the right balance that works for you.

My challenge for you is this. Write down all the areas in your life where your presence is needed. Do you have pets, children, parents, siblings, friends? Do you need to take care of your home or maybe your career needs to stay a priority. Then try to figure out how you can find a balance. Instead of using drugs or alcohol, of course, replace that time with recovery related activities. But, what about everything else? You don’t have to stop being who you are in order to stay sober.

Taking Action

January 15, 2015 By Denise Leave a Comment

We have been discussing the five stages of change which essentially include:

Pre-contemplation

Contemplation

Preparation

Action

Maintenance

Termination

Let’s talk today about how to go from preparation to action. We find this is one of the most difficult transitions to make. During the contemplation stage a person may start to see negative effects that their substance use is having on their mind, body, or people around them yet making a change has not really crossed their mind or if it has, it may be very brief considerations. The preparation stage on the other hand, is when a person fully acknowledges to themselves that a change must occur and must occur soon. However, what is one have to do to change? There may be many circumstances that prevent such a life change or conditions that keep a person from accessing the tools they need to be successful. While, it may be an “ah ha” moment when this recognition occurs it’s not enough sometimes.

Taking action is hard work. Think about the action stage like this. What is one thing I can do today to move me forward on this path of sobriety? It’s also important to know that the action stage includes not using substances or on a very aggressive taper down. For some people, especially those who have been using alcohol or benzodiazepines, a small amount of use may be necessary to avoid deadly withdrawals. Action means that you have made the commitment to participate in a plan. This plan can be a specific treatment program but it doesn’t have to be. While professional help may be ideal it is not always an option. Have you committed? Are you substance free today? Congratulations! You are taking action!

Is it Possible to Terminate your Recovery?

January 13, 2015 By Denise Leave a Comment

Yesterday we talked about the stages of change. The six stages of change are:

Pre-contemplation

Contemplation

Preparation

Action

Maintenance

Termination

When talking about addiction and drug abuse do you think it is possible for one to achieve termination? To achieve termination the user must be absolutely confident that they will never relapse, under any circumstance. This last stage involves some controversy. Some critics believe that a user can only ever make it to the maintenance stage and will have to always be aware of the risks, forever. Others believe that after long term sobriety, the risk of relapsing is completely gone.

Want to know what our opinion is?

We believe that every single individual is different. While most users follow the same pattern, not every user will follow the same timeline. Therefore, we do believe that for some people, the termination stage may be possible. The only person that can know for absolute certainty is the user and that often comes after years of deep self-reflection and determination.

Are you at risk for a relapse?

Unconditional Forgiveness

Finding Balance

Taking Action

Is it Possible to Terminate your Recovery?

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