Sobriety Strategies: 13 Tips for Staying Sober

How To Face Your Fears Of Being Sober

Understanding the root of your fear is crucial. Once identified, you can start addressing these concerns one by one. I’ve mentioned the importance of therapy in sobriety before, but I want to talk about it again. There will be days when the feelings are overwhelming like it’s all too much. The only way to really work through your fear is to sit with the feelings, let them come and notice what happens to your thoughts and the physical sensations in your body.

Sobriety Fear #1: Never Drinking Again.

This can include moving in a new social circle, taking up new activities and leading a healthier lifestyle. Maybe you’re afraid you won’t be able to make new friends. If you gained many friendships as a result of getting high or drunk with others, you may worry that you won’t be able to form close bonds with others as a sober person.

  • It’s important to take time to check in yourself and how you’re feeling early on.
  • When you take that away, even when you know it is for the best, you are opening the door to all types of risks.
  • I remember when I first got sober, I was concerned about giving up drugs and alcohol forever.
  • By Buddy TBuddy T is a writer and founding member of the Online Al-Anon Outreach Committee with decades of experience writing about alcoholism.
  • Research shows that if you maintain these types of toxic relationships, your chances of relapsing are greater.

When the Fear of Being Sober Means Facing Emotion

What you do NOT want to do is let your fear about what MIGHT happen with your friends in the future dictate what you do to take care of yourself in the present. In some cases, it’s more complicated than that. Maybe these people have been in your life since childhood, and you’ve all fallen into the same trap. You’ve got history, but you’ve also got baggage.

How To Face Your Fears Of Being Sober

Focus on Personal Growth and Goal Setting

  • Starting a new life can feel scary and overwhelming.
  • If this is the case for you, you may want to dig deeper.
  • But you do need patience, empathy for yourself, and a firm commitment to meeting your goal.
  • Celebrating these achievements can boost your morale and reinforce the value of your efforts toward sobriety.
  • You’ll find your way, and you’ll be even more you without substances controlling your mind.

That includes talking about these fears, learning to understand what sobriety will mean to you, and facing what’s underneath it all. As anyone who has crossed the threshold from substance abuse into active addiction knows, this becomes a vicious cycle. The increased fear and need to suppress—“fight or flight” again—becomes the catalyst for active addiction. As such, when an emotion or past experience is the Boogie Man, there is no tangible element to run from.

  • You recognize what you’ve put them through, you’re ashamed of it and you wish you could take it back.
  • Nifaliophobia, or the fear of being sober, manifests as a significant and persistent fear related to the absence of alcohol or drugs from your life.
  • People new to recovery can find themselves approaching their new diet, exercise program, job, and even participation in support groups with a compulsion that echoes addiction.

How To Face Your Fears Of Being Sober

In fact, that particular reality often gives active addicts a convenient excuse to refuse help and provides recovering individuals detrimental levels of anxiety. Everyone is scared when they start something new, it is normal and natural. But, I was more scared of staying stuck in the same old life, feeling guilt and shame, not doing anything and letting my dreams slip away with every drink I poured. They are scared of not being able to relax or have fun without alcohol. But most of all they are scared of living life in the raw, fear of being sober being their true selves without numbing or hiding. Sobriety is a process, and setbacks are common.

How To Face Your Fears Of Being Sober

I didn’t need a Xanax next Tuesday, I needed one yesterday! A therapist can help you learn new coping skills, develop new thinking patterns, and address any co-occurring mental health conditions that may make recovery more difficult. It’s better to practice for a few minutes daily than to have long, infrequent sessions. As you build these habits into your routine, you’ll find it easier to manage stress and cravings, supporting your long-term sobriety journey.

Read books, listen to podcasts, and follow blogs that focus on recovery and sober living. This knowledge of benefits and challenges can empower you and reduce anxiety and alleviating fear by framing sobriety as a positive lifestyle change. The fear of being sober usually has a mixture of root causes, including the discomfort of facing underlying emotional or psychological issues without the numbing effect of substances. It may also encompass concerns about how to cope with stress and social situations soberly if one does not feel they have the proper emotional tools to regulate the nervous system. It is very normal in the early days to feel like you’ve resigned yourself to a life of misery by quitting alcohol.

It’s not just your drinking buddies and drug dealers who can get you into trouble—sometimes those who are closest to you can contribute to a relapse. Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT) combines behavioral therapy with medications to treat substance use disorders. It’s particularly effective for opioid and alcohol use disorders. The World Health Organization recognizes MAT as an essential component of comprehensive addiction treatment. Yes, meditation and mindfulness can be beneficial in managing the fear of being sober.

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