10 Ways Sobriety Improves Your Life
The effect of drugs and alcohol on your mind, body, and life can be devastating for people living with substance abuse disorders. Sobriety can feel like a distant, impossible goal, but it’s not- making the choice to overcome addiction and lead a sober life will improve your life in ways you might not even suspect. Here are just a few ways sobriety changes your life for the better.
#10: Your Health
There are a myriad of health issues related to substance abuse, but with sobriety comes healing. Recovery can improve brain function, heart health, and heal damage to the liver, intestines, and other organs affected by drug or alcohol abuse. With enough time and effort your body can restore itself, increasing life expectancy and reinvigorating quality of life.
#9: Free Time
You have so much more free time to do the things you love when your mind is not preoccupied with getting your next fix! Enough time to dedicate to making your dreams a reality, reconnecting with friends and family, or finding new passions to explore.
#8: Appearance
Illicit substance use has a negative effect on appearance and consequentially your self-esteem. Drug and alcohol misuse damages your skin, hair, and teeth. It can cause extreme weight loss or weight gain. By learning to really take care of yourself through the recovery process, you’ll be able to put all of that behind you and come back to yourself.
#7: Fun
There’s nothing that boosts enjoyment like a healthy, peaceful, sober mind. You can have a nice trip to the beach with your family and friends, or take someone out to the movies without being preoccupied with drugs and alcohol. Explore some of the fun attractions around your city or take a day trip– there’s lots of fun to be had in recovery!
#6: Relationships
An addiction can be devastating on the social aspects of your life, but there’s always a chance to reconnect or forge new connections. After becoming sober, you might find that people you thought you had lost were just standing on the sidelines, waiting for you to come back to them.
#5: Respect
A major part of the recovery process is learning who you are beyond addiction. This newfound self-awareness brings an invaluable sense of self-respect and empowerment.
#4: Money
Sobriety eliminates the financial strains caused by drug and alcohol abuse. With your old money struggles a thing of the past, you can use that money to reduce your debt or build your savings. Maybe you’ve always wanted to travel or open your own business. Having a little extra money can help you reach your goals.
#3: Memory
Forgetfulness caused by illicit substance use is a thing of the past. With your mind clear and focused on recovery, you’ll retain more of what’s important, like birthdays, appointments, due dates, and cherished memories. You’ll never have to worry about losing another fun night to a black out again!
#2: Productivity
Recovery is all about self-improvement and striving toward your goals. Without the distractions of active addiction, proactively working toward the life you deserve is easier than ever. Set short-term and long-term goals and strive to do at least one thing every day that brings your closer to that reality.
#1: Lifespan
The substance abuse epidemic and resulting increase in fatal overdose has greatly impacted communities across America, causing the overall life expectancy of Americans to decrease. The only way to protect yourself from becoming part of that statistic is through recovery. As noted before, sobriety can help to reverse years physical damage caused by drug and alcohol abuse.
If you are, or know someone, who is struggling with substance then please contact us.
