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People look to a new year as a chance to start fresh, achieve goals, and change their lives for the better. If you struggle with addiction, you may want to make this the year that you seek treatment and move forward on a path to sobriety and lasting recovery. Deciding to get sober is the first step. Here are four tips for beginning treatment and moving forward with a positive 2017.

1. Explore Your Treatment Options

Once you’ve made the difficult decision to seek help, it’s important that you carefully consider your treatment options. If you are going to follow through with your commitment to sobriety, you are going to need a treatment program that is tailored to your unique needs and addresses your addiction with a holistic approach.

The most successful treatment programs consider the underlying causes of your addiction and address the behaviors and challenges that stand in the way of your sobriety. Top treatment programs also use treatment methods and interventions that are backed by research and then determine your best course of treatment after a clinical assessment to meet your specific needs.

If you have a mental health issue or medical issue, your treatment program should address these dual diagnoses to meet your mental and physical health needs rather than treating one and not the other. Holistic treatment programs improve your chances for recovery because they take a multi-pronged approach to your addiction.

2. Understand That It Will Not Be Easy

Addicts who begin treatment and are in the early stages of sobriety often set ambitious goals for themselves because they think about everything they want to accomplish once they get sober. It does help to set goals and think about all the reasons that you want to get sober; however, it also is important to be realistic and make getting and staying sober your first and foremost goal.

Getting sober really means recovering from an illness. Detoxing will take a toll on you. You will be tired, you will experience a flood of new emotions, and your body will feel different in the early stages of sobriety. You need to be prepared for the hard work of becoming sober and meeting your challenges and issues head-on.

3. Find a Way to Quiet Your Mind

You may struggle with undergoing treatment and getting sober in the early stages because your mind works overtime or you feel too many negative emotions. Or, you may struggle with cravings and willpower. No matter what makes your mind race, you will need to find a way to quiet your mind and learn to self-soothe as you progress through your treatment and sobriety.

For some addicts, meditation is the answer. Meditation helps people control their negative mind, beat depression, control their reactivity, and repair the parts of themselves damaged by their addiction. Your treatment program may offer guided meditation, or you can get started with meditation on your own. You may succeed with simply sitting still in a quiet room, practicing yoga, or going for a walk and focusing on your breathing. The key is to do what makes you comfortable and helps you quiet your mind.

4. Create a Good Support System

The power of support systems in sobriety cannot be overlooked. Of course, you need to get sober and deal with your issues as an individual and nobody can achieve sobriety for you. That being said, you need a good support system to help you through the recovery process.

Your support system should be comprised of healthy individuals who are positive about your path to sobriety and who will not enable you. Associate with other sober people to avoid triggers and stay focused on achieving sobriety. Your support system also should help you talk through setbacks and stop you from becoming isolated. They should provide healthy peer pressure and help you stay clean, especially during difficult times.

You can make this year the year that you seek treatment and take steps on the path to sobriety and lasting recovery. With the right treatment program, attitude, and support system, you can face the new year knowing that you can make positive changes in your life and stop struggling with addiction. 

Constance Ray


Recoverywell.org | information@recoverywell.org