Embarking on the journey to sobriety can be a profound and life-altering decision, one that requires dedication, resilience, and a repertoire of strategies tailored to individual needs. As someone who has navigated this path, I’ve discovered various effective strategies that have not only supported my sobriety but have also empowered me to lead a fulfilling and enriched life. In sharing these strategies, my hope is to offer insights and inspiration to those seeking a similar path toward successful sobriety.
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- Do The Wim Hoff Method breathing exercises. This is a life changer! It helps with stress, anxiety and sleep along with many other benefits.
- Take a cold shower or plunge every day. This is excellent for stress relief and is a great way to get a dopamine boost! To get started, read about The Benefits of and How to do Tummo/Wim Hoff Breathing and Cold Water Therapy.
- Start doing affirmations. Keep them positive and end them with thriving in sobriety. For example, ‘I am healthy thriving in sobriety’. And don’t just mindlessly say the affirmations. While repeating the affirmation think about what it means to you, what barriers are in place that are stopping you from achieving that affirmation and what you have to do to overcome those barriers and realize that affirmation. To use the above example – what do you consider healthy and how would you like to be healthy, what is stopping you from being healthy and how do you overcome those barriers to become healthy. My personal affirmation is ‘I am happy, humorous and healthy, virile, wise and wealthy thriving in complete sobriety’. Feel free to use mine or parts of mine but also come up with some of your own.
- One of the most important things you must do is convince yourself that alcohol brings you pain, and not just pain but massive amounts of pain. The insidious and difficult thing about alcohol is that it does, in the short term, bring pleasure. The first few drinks of alcohol triggers a release of endorphins – chemicals that bring feelings of pleasure – and after years of drinking this is ingrained in your brain. To break this pattern you need to stop drinking for one, but you also need to think deeply about how alcohol has brought you pain and how abstaining will bring you pleasure. Affirmations are meant to be positive but you can turn this into an affirmation of sorts. Remind yourself daily of all the different ways alcohol brings you pain and how quitting will both stop that pain and bring you pleasure. As time goes by it is best to focus on your positive affirmations and how thriving in sobriety brings you pleasure. But, at the beginning you need to remind yourself why you are quitting on a daily, if not hourly, basis.
- Read The 30 Day Sobriety Solution: How to Cut Back or Quit Drinking in the Privacy of your Own Home and DO THE SOLUTIONS! This is a must read book for anyone trying to quit drinking on their own.
- Read the BIG BOOK from AA. This is a great resources even if you don’t want to go to AA. The Big Book has a great explanation of what alcoholism is and lots of good stories and strategies to help you with your sobriety journey.
- If you relapse and fall off the wagon, don’t be too hard on yourself. Refocus, regroup, identify what caused your relapse and try again. Do this as many times as it takes. I quit more than 30 times before quitting for good.
- Start a moving mindfulness meditation practice such as yoga or tai chi. You can find lots of free resources on the web or go to a class.
- Get a good nights rest. Follow these recommendations from Huberman labs Toolkit for Sleep.
- Eat a Whole Food Plant Based Diet. The key word here is WHOLE FOODS, try to eat as many actual foods as possible. To get started, you can find some free, useful information here.
- Take a probiotic supplement, eat probiotic foods such as sauerkraut, kimchee and yogurt and drink kombucha to re-establish a healthy gut biome.
- Take a good multivitamin and drink a high quality green nutrient drink to replace depleted vitamins and minerals that alcohol consumption causes.
- Make sure to get your Omega-3s by eating high quality fish and flax seeds and taking algae or fish oil.
- Find a fun, active, healthy hobby. Something you can pursue that you will do better at when you are sober and fit. As you may have guessed, I love stand up paddle boarding, surfing and yoga.
- Strive to become more mindful. Along with moving mindfulness practices do some research on the subject and try some different meditation strategies. The best book I have read on mindfulness is The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle.
- Keep vigilant and continue with your affirmations and sobriety strategies.
- Be forgiving, especially with yourself.
- Be compassionate, especially with yourself.
- Be grateful.
Embarking on the journey of sobriety is a courageous endeavor, one that demands continuous effort and self-discovery. Through my own experiences and the implementation of diverse strategies, I’ve come to realize that sobriety is not just about abstaining from substances; it’s a transformative lifestyle that fosters personal growth, resilience, and an unwavering commitment to well-being. As you navigate your own path, remember that there is no one-size-fits-all approach, but rather a collection of strategies waiting to be explored and tailored to suit your unique journey toward a successful, fulfilling life of sobriety.