Once you have decided to obtain sobriety, you might begin to go down a path you never intended. A sober life can provide so many benefits you may never have imagined. Why choose sobriety? These are some of the biggest gifts of sobriety and how it can change your life.
1. Rebuild and repair relationships while creating new relationships
When you embrace sobriety, you are given a chance to amend the damage caused by your addiction. Although your relationship may never be fully restored to its pre-addiction state, you can substantially improve and mend your loving and professional relationships alike. Sobriety gives you the opportunity to reach out and make the necessary amends with the people who you love.
However, it’s virtually impossible to achieve sobriety when your closest friends are alcoholics. Distancing yourself from negative influences is crucial in achieving sobriety. If there are friends that you only see when there is booze around, it’s time for a new social life.
This is the time to evaluate your life, where you want it to go, and who you want to come with you. Rebuild the relationships that will foster the most positive changes in your future.
2. (Re)discover your personality
When taking the time to evaluate your life in sobriety you have the exciting task of deciding who you want to be. You have the chance to build positive character traits that will help in all areas of your life. Many times an addicting person gets sober, they realize they don’t really know who they are. Spending years hiding behind alcohol or drugs, trying to please others is in the past. This is the time to rediscover your personality.
It can be helpful to keep a journal that no one else will see. In it, write down your darkest fears, your greatest hopes, the best and worst days you can remember, and the things you want to accomplish most. It can also be helpful to list all the things you have already accomplished. Seeing them brought out onto paper can make them easier to accept, which can boost your self-esteem.
3. Better Sleep & More Energy
Have you realized a night of drinking robs you of precious time the next day? How many hours of sleep would you get on a good night? Sobriety gets your body back into a more normal rhythm. Instead of staying out drinking and partying until the early morning hours, we give ourselves a chance to rest and get quality sleep. Not only that but the peace of mind being sober offers makes for a very soft pillow.
When you are not putting unnecessary toxins in your body and you are sleeping better, you’re naturally going to have increased energy levels. Drugs and alcohol are depressants and toxins, so in their absence, you’ll find that you can get more done without tiring.
4. More Cash
It’s a painful thought, but how much do you think you’ve spent on drugs or alcohol in your life? In the last year? In the last week? Drug and alcohol abuse, as you know, is expensive. Alcohol costs money, prescription pills cost money, and drugs, in general, cost money. Especially when you build up a tolerance to drugs (increasing your dosage and continuously needing more of them), all those dollars add up. When battling an addiction, you tend to focus your energy working to acquire your substance of choice. In turn, you put less time and focus into your career and saving for the future.
Here’s an optimistic thought. If you were sober how much would you save in a week? In a year? In 10 years?
5. Long-term goal setting and rewards
Once you obtain your sobriety, you will be given the opportunity to realign your priorities so that your true best interests are being served. Hard work pays off. If you put in the work to be sober and happy, you will be sober and happy. You will be able to go to class and study for school in order to further your education. You will be capable of holding a job, allowing you to move up in your career. You will develop a profound appreciation for people, places, and things.
The best part about all of these things is that you are the one who is in control. You are choosing what is important to you every day. And your goals require you to show up sober every day.
6. You will be healthier
When you stop polluting your body with toxins from drugs and alcohol, your body begins to detox and cleanse itself. You are no longer putting those chemicals in your body and this allows your internal systems to reset, offering our bodies the chance to work more efficiently and with less strain.
You can expect to see your skin appearance improve, blemishes clear, wrinkles lose some of their definition, and dark circles are minimized. But it is not a superficial benefit. When we look better, we inevitably feel better about ourselves. Sobriety can give you improved mental clarity, better eating habits and overall happiness.
7. You get to embark on new adventures in life
Before your addiction, it’s likely you held honorable life goals that now seem like a distant memory. Sobriety gives you a second chance to pursue these goals. Sobriety means the sky literally is the limit.
When you choose sobriety, you have the ability to try new things, travel to new places, and develop a passion for life after addiction. Since you will no longer rely on substances to survive each day, you will finally have the opportunity to thrive in life. There is nothing holding you back. Go climb that mountain, go snorkeling at a coral reef, go visit a foreign country! You can open your own business, learn new skills and take up new sports! The possibilities are endless.
8. You gain respect.
When you are sober, you gain respect from others as they acknowledge your commitment to change. You leave a positive impression on people around you through volunteering and helping others. People look up to you and admire your sobriety. When you are sober you are able to follow through with commitments and people will begin to trust you again.
Becoming sober is a great display of self-respect as you commit to discontinuing the abuse of your body and mind — and when you respect yourself, people are more likely to respect you as well.
9. You feel good about yourself.
Feeling good about yourself is one of the best gifts sobriety will give you. First of all you can free yourself from the shame and guilt tied to your addictive behaviour. Each day you can be proud of yourself for making it another day in recovery.
Of the many benefits of sobriety, perhaps the most momentous and priceless one is this: you can build a meaningful life while living sober, a life full of great memories, experiences, and utmost potential. Sobriety allows you to access your life and take advantage of all it has to offer.
10. You can become a resource for others
There is somebody out there who is hopeless and feels like they cannot stay sober. You may not know it at the time, but your story is the only story they will hear. Your experience, strength, and hope, is going to help somebody stay sober. You have the ability to change the world. Consider taking on the responsibility of serving as a resource for others. You might be surprised at how much you can offer in terms of wisdom and experience.
Sober living allows you to regain the positive aspects of your life, to access and experience them wholeheartedly. Without drugs or alcohol, you will begin to understand feelings of appreciation, love, support, joy, and connection. You will create moments with loved ones, remember them, and hold them closely. You will shape a life that is worth living— a life that is mentally, psychologically, and physically positive.
Why Choose Sobriety? The Biggest Gifts of Sobriety are Up To You
While the biggest gifts of sobriety are entirely up to the person, there is no dispute the gifts are endless. Sobriety gives you a second chance to pursue your goals, change your life, and feel the best about yourself.
The jury is still out on whether or not staying sober gets easier with time, but acclimating to a life of sobriety doesn’t happen instantly. Many triggers start to become less sensitive, alcohol stops taking over your mindset, and mental discipline continues to strengthen as time goes one. Although it may feel impossible at first, there is a level of distance that time can create.
