You Can Stop Drinking Now

When you first get sober you will most likely have stressors coming from a few areas of your life.  Relationships, financial, work related stress, all of which can overwhelm you.

When you get sober you are going to go through withdrawal on some level and you will notice you have a tendency to overreact to situations and you have “economy sized” emotions, meaning your emotions are on overdrive.  Everything feels extreme.

Here are some tips to help you manage this ongoing stress that will help you get some relief:

-Exercise.  When you feel like picking up a drink, take a walk instead.  There are some limited studies that show that people who exercise when they get sober are less likely to relapse.  Exercise is a tension reliever too.

-Sleep. That can be a tall order when you are first getting sober, since one of the hallmark effects of getting sober is not being able to sleep. The inherent problem with lack of sleep is it will exhaust you physically and mentally and can add to your anxiety level which then can lead to depression or more acute depression.  A minimum of six to eight hours of sleep a night helps your body to heal from the damage alcohol inflicted on it.

-It sounds incredibly simple, but watching your nutrition and eating well will help your body and mind function better.  Take vitamins. Cutting down on caffeine will also help.

-Make an effort to set your priorities for the day.  Make a list of the things you want to accomplish every day in order of importance.  This can help your stress levels and increase your efficiency at the same time.

Set boundaries.  Being a people pleaser can cause you resentments and anger is probably the emotion most likely to get you to pick up a drink.  When you are struggling with sobriety, saying yes to the requests of other people can keep you from taking care of the things you need to address.  It’s important to learn to say no.

Getting sober is never easy, so incorporating anything that reduces stress into your life (outside of drinking) will give you a little more of an edge and help you succeed at getting and staying sober.