The Trick to Staying Motivated in Sobriety

Dr. Bhalavat’s background includes treatment of depression, anxiety disorders, schizophrenia spectrum disorders, bipolar disorder, substance abuse and dementia. Keeping a personal record of your thoughts and feelings can be inspiring in many ways. You can achieve a sense of relief by releasing events and emotions you may not yet be ready to discuss with your counselor. When practicing self-care, you will improve the way your body and mind feel, which can help you feel better about yourself overall. Dishonesty — Lies and secrets come with the territory of addiction. If you find yourself beginning to lie again to your family or friends, even about small things, you could be headed for a relapse.

Staying focused on the reasons sobriety is preferable to the alternative can help you reinvigorate your motivation to stay sober. Better yet, you’ll begin to see over time that even during the challenging times, there is always something to be thankful for during recovery. Pink cloud syndrome occurs when a person feels so euphoric due to entering recovery that they believe the difficult part is well behind them. While keeping a sense of joy in recovery is critical, this extreme feeling of euphoria and wellbeing can cause some individuals to neglect the demanding work necessary to maintain sobriety. When the pink cloud inevitably vanishes, the return to normality can be quite an unpleasant surprise, draining you of your inspiration and sapping motivation.

What factors can help your continued recovery? What puts your recovery at risk?

Many times people feel conflicted about giving up their addiction. They do this by carefully evaluating the pros and cons of change versus no change . As we will see in the treatment section, this is exactly what recovery motivation people do who recover on their own. They decide they will change because continuing simply isn’t worth the price. Deciding to enter recovery is a complex process driven by a variety of motivating factors.

In other words, “something” must cause them to move away from addiction and toward recovery. Talkspace Online Therapy & Psychiatry – Licensed therapists and psychiatrists are https://ecosoberhouse.com/ available for virtual sessions via Talkspace. From virtual counseling to medication management services, Talkspace online therapy may be covered by your insurance provider.

Your Recovery is About You: Maintaining Motivation in Eating Disorder Recovery

Where do we get the willpower to make a lasting life change when we’re struggling with substance abuse, depression, or other mental health issues? Finding and keeping the self-motivation to enter into and stay in recovery is vital to success. Carolina Center for Recovery is a state-licensed and CARF accredited substance abuse treatment facility. We are a dual-diagnosis facility with a primary focus on substance abuse, offering individualized, extended-term treatment in an intimate setting.

When you are drowning in doubt and darkness, you may lose sight of the good things present in your life. By making a conscious effort to name the things in your life that you have to be grateful for, you can remind yourself that good things are present and good things are coming. Consider practicing gratitude journaling or making a mental list at night before you go to sleep. Giving up will not solve the problem or bring you happiness.

Define (and remember) the reasons you personally want to recover.

Trusting the process of recovery and believing in the results of a happier, healthier life will often help sustain an individual’s commitment to their recovery from substance abuse. In other words, motivation can be externally developed through support systems, through sober living communities, through group therapy, and so on. You may have made the personal observation that you have a problem and want change, but have you thought about the difficulties involved in this process? In addition, you may lose social ties along the way and feel a loss of direction as you begin to build a whole new life, which on many occasions can lead to a loss of motivation and sometimes even relapse. Having been on both sides of active addition, both the person using, and the person affected by a loved one using drugs and alcohol, Lucas has been involved in recovery since 2009.

This does not mean they are “in denial.” It simply means they might benefit from some outside guidance. Motivational interviewing may be a beneficial tool to help these folks. These individuals will greatly benefit from professional and/or non-professional help. For example, addiction can be worsened by peer pressure or the need to pursue a pleasurable feeling . Meanwhile, your success during recovery can be strengthened by developing relationships with others and by the desire to live a healthier, more productive life .

The Male Friendship Crisis

Once you get past admitting you have a problem and getting help, the rest of your effort goes into maintaining your recovery. Work a 12-Step Program – Working the 12 steps with a sponsor can help you have a guide through recovery and it also gives you a program of action to keep you motivated and help you through tough situations. These programs also provide a reliable source of fellowship, spirituality, accountability, and support. It is sometimes said in a negative way that certain people lack motivation. This type of criticism is often not a true reflection of what is happening because even the person who sits around all day can be motivated.