Steps You Should Take to Help You Achieve This Goal

Addiction is a problem that may affect anyone. There are no distinctions when it comes to age, race, social status, religion, ethnicity, or any other demographic. If you wish to become sober in 2020 and stay that way, there are certain steps you can take to help you achieve this goal. The one thing to keep in mind is recovery doesn’t happen overnight. When you continue to work at the process, however, you can reach the end goal of being sober for life. Implement the following steps in your life to start on the path to a better future.

Set Small Goals

A person may set a goal to become sober and remain sober for life. However, it’s better to set small goals and celebrate each success. For example, start by setting a goal to remain sober for 24 hours. Once this goal has been achieved, set a new one where you will remain sober for one week. When that goal has been reached, set a new one. Each accomplishment fills you with pride and encourages you to push forward. It’s like a person who needs to lose 100 pounds. Setting a goal to do so will become discouraging because it takes time to lose this much weight. It also takes time to become sober and remain that way. Small goals help to keep you motivated as you move forward with the process.

Identify All Issues That Play a Role in the Addiction

Many men and women who suffer from addiction also have a mental disorder. Unless both problems are treated, overcoming the addiction will be difficult. While the person may be sober for a short period of time, when the mental health issue rears its head, the addict may choose to turn to the substance of choice as a way to self-medicate and reduce the symptoms that accompany the mental health disorder. This needs to be considered when an addict gets sober multiple times but seems to relapse regularly. There may be something else going on that must also be addressed.

Be Accountable

It becomes easier to set and reach goals when you are held accountable for your actions. This is why twelve-step programs provide a mentor for the addict. The mentor is there if the addict feels he or she is backsliding and can talk him or her through the cravings or other urges to use. Furthermore, the mentor helps to keep the patient accountable when the cravings or other urges hit. The need to use is reduced if the addict has a support system in place and people who will hold him or her accountable for their actions.

Seek Help

Overcoming an addiction without assistance is difficult. In fact, at times it can be dangerous. Suddenly stopping certain drugs can lead to negative physical effects that may even be deadly. Speak to a medical professional before embarking on this process to ensure getting sober doesn’t lead to other health issues. Furthermore, the treatment can be of help in ensuring all aspects of the recovery process are covered. This might involve family therapy if loved ones are contributing to the problem or it might be skills training so the addict learns to cope with difficult situations that often led to the use of drugs. The treatment program needs to be customized for the individual, as each person is unique and what works for one may not be appropriate for another. Keep this in mind in choosing where to obtain this help. Canadian Addiction Rehab programs are tailored to each individual.

Discard the All-or-Nothing Mindset

Recovery is an ongoing process. A person is never truly cured of their addiction. They simply learn to manage the cravings to avoid the use of their substance of choice. Setbacks can and likely will happen. When a person recognizes this, it becomes easier to handle these setbacks without giving up on the process of getting sober completely. While at times it may feel like you are going one step forward and two steps back, remember you are one step closer to getting sober for good. You aren’t constantly going back any longer. Don’t let one slip derail the whole process.

Getting sober and staying that way is possible. It’s not something that will happen overnight and the addict will likely relapse at least once. However, once a commitment to get off drugs and stay off of them has been made, a person needs to know where to turn for assistance in achieving this goal. Fortunately, there are numerous places a person can obtain this type of help. Don’t give up until you find the ones that work for you. Once you do and you are moving forward on the path to sobriety, you’ll feel much better about your future and life in general.