How to Stay Motivated During Alcoholism Recovery

When you’re recovering from alcohol abuse, you could say that it’s a marathon and not a sprint. It’s not something you can power through and be done. It’s a long game. And for any long game, you’re going to need endurance.

In this post, we’re going to cover a few of the best tips to stay motivated during alcoholism recovery.

Choose sober supports

If you want to stay motivated during recovery, you’re going to need some help. No one does this alone, so don’t try to be a hero. It’s likely to end in relapse. Instead, choose a few people you can trust to be your sober supports. In Alcoholics Anonymous, they refer to people like this as sponsors. And a sponsor is a great sober support. But you’ll have a better chance of survival if you choose more than one. A sober support can be a friend who has been through it or someone you’ve met through recovery. It can also be a family member if you trust that they will always be strong enough to support you in your weakest moments.

If a sober support is also a sponsor, they already know their role. But for anyone outside of that role, talk to them about what may happen. These are people you may call when you’re feeling weak. And it may be a simple phone conversation, or you may need someone to pick you up from the bar before you have a drink. The role of a sober support is to help you stay sober. And having more than one in your life can take the pressure off of one person. If your main support is busy, you can call the next on the list.

Take up a hobby

This may sound cliche or even naive, but if you spend time on a hobby you love, you will spend less time thinking about relapse. And when you do something you love, you’re ultimately feeding your soul. And this is something that’s been absent from your life for the duration of your alcoholism. Now is the perfect time to reconnect with yourself and find the things that spark joy naturally.

If you aren’t exactly sure what that is, try a few different things. You can have fun exploring different hobbies and taking different classes to see what strikes your fancy. And the best part about this is that you’ll meet new people while you’re out there finding your passion. Ultimately, it’s always best to stay busy when you feel like you’re fighting your demons.

Attend meetings

Not everyone is excited about group meetings. In fact, most people dread them in the beginning. But if you can power through the early days, it’s smooth sailing. In fact, you’ll really come to appreciate the support of the group through good times and bad.

When you have a rough day and need to rely on one of your sober supports, you’re going to feel even better when you can talk through that experience with your group. In those moments, you won’t be proud of the thoughts that got you there, but the group will certainly be cheering you on for staying the course. Because they all know what it’s like to have been in your shoes.

You may have moments where you feel invincible, but it’s important to remember that alcohol relapse can happen to anyone.

If you’ve had a moment of relapse or if you’ve only thought about it, remove shame from the equation. This is a natural part of recovery, and you’re handling it like a rockstar.

Call your sober supports, go to a meeting, and try to keep yourself busy. You’ll get through this.