Taking care of your health is not easy, especially if you struggle with codependency issues. This is because addictive substances tend to take control of your life and make it hard for you to do everyday tasks without getting your daily dose.
If you try quitting on your own, you may be hit with cravings, experience intense withdrawals, and find it challenging to maintain your composure. This is why, as you try to get sober, ensure you get all the help you need to prevent yourself from slipping into old habits.
Embracing sobriety is no less than running a marathon. It is physically and mentally strenuous, and you must keep motivating yourself to reach the finish line without giving up halfway. But how do you continue staying sober and ensure that no matter what happens, you don’t revert to your old ways? Here’s what you need to know:
Table of Contents
Visit a rehab center
The first step in your journey toward sobriety is to get professional help. Codependency issues are a type of mental health disorder. It would help if you had the proper support, guidance, and advice to understand why and how to escape this situation. Hence, to safely untangle yourself from the clutches of these substances, you need to look into rehab centers. If you feel uncertain about which establishment you should join, go online and browse all the available facilities.
A well-maintained rehab center will have a comprehensive website, such as pbinstitute.com, that can provide you with all the necessary information you need. This includes walking you through the facilities you can access, the services offer, and how the staff member support you, especially when you hit a roadblock.
Likewise, once you achieve sobriety, don’t think you can ever return to these establishments. The purpose of a rehab center is to help you maintain your sobriety. So if you feel like you may be relapsing or find it hard to continue this new life, you can always discuss your situation with their inbuilt counseling unit.
Develop coping mechanisms
You need to identify your triggers and how they push you back into substance abuse. These can be anything from a place to a person to a scent that reminds you of a time when alcohol or drugs were your best companions.
The power of nostalgia and the emotional distress a trigger inflicts is enough to destroy your momentum. Therefore, you need to break the cycle when you feel distressed, emotionally suffering, develop an intense craving, or feel yourself overthinking about substances.
Coping mechanisms are temporary solutions that allow you to dim these triggers. For instance, anytime you feel yourself straying towards substance abuse, you can try humming a song, meditating, listening to music, or jogging. Anything can be a coping mechanism if it allows you to prevent yourself from becoming distressed.
Join a support group
Turning a new leaf and giving up old habits can be incredibly isolating. You may feel ashamed of yourself and your choices, which can add to your anxiety and stress. It may also be hard for you to express your emotions and feelings with your loved ones, especially when they haven’t been through the same turmoil. When feelings of loneliness, guilt, shame, and anxiety start settling in, you need a healthy outlet to eliminate them. Hence, it would help if you considered joining a support group. The purpose of these groups is to help you connect with a community who have been through the same route as you.
Support groups are safe places to discuss your thoughts, experience, and any worries you may harbor. You may meet people who echo your sentiments and agree with your feelings. This helps you form meaningful connections, get a sense of belonging, and find solace in a community that understands the inner conflict you carry with you.
If you have never been to a support group before, don’t panic. No one will force you to talk or put words in your mouth. You are at complete liberty to dictate how your conversation should go and what you want to share with the people around you. Initially, you may not know the words to use or how to express yourself. But soon, the more frequent you become with your sessions, the better you will communicate and share.
Develop a new routine
A new well-structured schedule is an excellent way to deal with your codependency issues. It gives you the discipline to maintain your lifestyle and continue sticking to the path you choose for yourself.
When you design a new routine for yourself, ensure it is realistic and easy to follow. If you burden yourself with too many goals and milestones to achieve in a day, you may cause your progress to backfire. Take it one day at a time and slowly carry out the tasks you have listed for yourself. This can include spending at least thirty minutes meditating, eating a healthy breakfast, walking, and visiting family once a week. You can also hunt new jobs or go back to school as part of your routine. Anything that gives you structure and leaves behind old habits should make up your schedule.
Conclusion
Coming out of codependency issues and embracing a sober life is like switching on a light after you have been in a pitch-black room for a long time. Initially, being in a new environment may feel foreign and strange, but the more you adjust to this lifestyle, the better it is for your well-being. Codependency is a mental health issue. It seeps into your life, destroys your peace, and entraps you in a vicious cycle. This is why if you try to attempt your way into sobriety, you may struggle with every step and even find it hard to maintain balance. Hence, to ensure you continue staying sober and don’t give power to your codependency issues, you need to work on yourself actively. This involves going into rehab, having healthy coping mechanisms, joining a support group, or taking up a routine that allows you to enjoy new activities and gives you the space to forget your old vices.