When you're sober, you'll have more time to focus on yourself and your well-being. You can engage in physically and mentally healthy activities, such as regular exercise, eating nutritious meals, and taking care of your mental health. You'll also be able to regulate your emotions better without drugs or alcohol.
When you're sober, your life doesn't end. In fact, many people feel that it's just beginning. Life after addiction allows you to feel more in control of your activities and your relationships. Everything in your life can feel more manageable without the effects of alcohol and drugs.
Recovery doesn't disqualify you from going to a party, game or concert, if those are activities you enjoy. However, it's important to create a new definition of what's fun for you when substance use isn't involved. “People need to remember that we can still have fun even though we're sober,” Campbell said.
Having fun regularly can help get the brain back on the right track, reducing negative feelings and reducing the urge to self-medicate. Re-learning how to have a fun recovery is a critical component of building long-term, sustainable sobriety.
For many people, the first few weeks of sobriety are the hardest. You may have withdrawal symptoms that are physically and emotionally uncomfortable. Cravings are also common during this time, which can tempt you to relapse. Treatment can help you get through this challenging period.
The great thing about deciding to quit drugs and alcohol is that it can completely transform your physical and mental health. Once you're sober, you'll sleep better, have better mental clarity, regulate blood sugar, balanced blood pressure, and more.
quiet or sedate in demeanor, as persons. marked by seriousness, gravity, solemnity, etc., as of demeanor, speech, etc.: a sober occasion. subdued in tone, as color; not colorful or showy, as clothes.
The truth, however, is that sobriety can actually cause us to be more creative because we remove the chemical barriers keeping us disconnected from our own emotions and inspiration. Many creative people fall into the traps of addiction because they think drugs will make them more creative.
Loneliness and Sobriety
This emotion can make you feel like an outcast with no companions. In recovery, feelings of loneliness are not a sign that there's something wrong with you. Instead, these emotions are often a natural outcome of walking away from the people and places associated with your addiction.
Being in control of yourself is way more appealing than being inebriated on a first date, but learning how to date while sober is a challenge of its own. It can be extremely nerve-wracking to show up and meet someone new without the crutch of substances to open you up or calm you down.
Even though the initial phase can be hard, most people who stay sober for the long haul will tell you that they feel more joy and fulfillment than they ever felt when they were drinking. People get their health back, and have the time and energy to pursue careers and relationships that fulfill them.
After Six Months: After half a year without drinking, you will really start to reap the rewards. Your risk of developing cancer will decrease, and your liver function will have greatly improved. 2 You'll also have more energy and stamina,1 and you may notice that your skin looks healthier.
Going sober for 7 months (235 days) comes with a lot of great benefits for myself including: Less anxiety, more energy, less brain fog, lower blood pressure, more productivity, more money and better social skills.
Summary. Across the month, your body is likely to have benefitted greatly from giving up alcohol. Better hydration and improved sleep will have increased your productivity and daily wellbeing. Your liver, stomach and skin will also have benefitted from not dealing with alcohol.
You look younger.
When your skin dries out, it becomes less elastic. As a result, you might look older and more wrinkled after just one night of heavy drinking. If you drink often, the effect is compounded. However, once you quit drinking, you start looking younger pretty quickly.
Most people who give up alcohol notice that their skin is dewy, and healthier looking after just one week. By the end of Dry January, you're likely to see less swelling, clearer skin, and an overall healthy glow.
It's no secret that being sober has many benefits over living in active addiction. They include stable neurology, increased energy, ease of falling and staying asleep, improved skin, and, of course, saving both time and money.
However, despite the nearly 40% of U.S. adults (21+) who abstain from drinking alcohol and the rising interest in drinking less or going alcohol-free altogether, interest in consuming these kinds of beverages is relatively low.
Without alcohol in your life, you'll get better sleep, and wake up without a hangover. This can lead to more energy and productivity. You'll also experience long-term improvements in your health and reduced risk of alcohol-related conditions, like heart and liver complications.
After a year of sobriety, you might graduate from a sober living facility and go on to build a happy, healthy life with your family and friends. In addition, you'll have built a support system through counseling, 12-step meetings or other recovery groups.
Mental Focus and Clarity
Better mental health, in general, is one of the most obvious benefits of being sober. The less you fill your body with chemicals and toxins that aren't supposed to be there–especially in excess, as it would be with addiction–the more you'll notice your mental focus and mental clarity.