Bob Dylan, who’s stressed about doing a solo, gets support from Stevie Wonder, who demonstrates a Dylanesque take on his line. Dylan tries it, succeeds, looks truly happy, and hugs abound. Once you do return to work, it’s important to create a budget and take steps to safeguard yourself as work stress can be a relapse trigger. Having a chaotic or disorganized lifestyle can also hinder your recovery.

Sometimes a person in recovery from a substance use disorder can find themselves spending lots of time alone. GrieveGrieving may seem counter intuitive, but it’s vital to recognize the loss of a lifestyle that had been home to you. It’s common to have a bit of an identity crisis after getting sober because you’ve also had to say goodbye to the person you were while using.

How to Stay Sober

This tore apart the relationships with my wife and kids, co-workers, and long-time friends – anyone who loved or cared about me at all. The only time I was able to get out of my head was when I was good-n-drunk. But, I sure didn’t expect these feelings of loneliness to continue on in sobriety. Recovery can be an incredibly difficult and lonely journey. All too often, people working towards sobriety find themselves working hard to fight off heavy feelings of loneliness. While everyone’s journey and struggle is unique, loneliness is a uniting factor most people in recovery can share.

This is true, especially when dealing with a unique combination of mental health and substance use disorders. If a newborn does not get enough love and affection, the newborn can suffer from “failure to thrive” syndrome. But we do need each other, all the way to the end of our lives. Socialization plays an important part of our mental and physical health. Just as infants and children may suffer from a lack of human contact, adults and seniors can suffer, too.

Looking at Loneliness and the Ways It Can Undermine Sobriety

You don’t have to eliminate social media completely, but maybe try going a few days without it to see how you feel. Avoid Excess Time Spent on Social MediaThis is a tough one, because we like to think that social media is allowing us to connect with more people—even its name implies socialization. There are many things you can do to combat loneliness and create a life worth living. As discussed in a previous post, relapse has three stages, the first of which is emotional relapse. loneliness in sobriety often stems from remaining stagnant and not being active. This could be a fantastic opportunity to break out of your shell and change your routine.

• Maybe they just need some time to themselves to clear their heads and prepare to return to their daily routine.
• Or, you’re living alone after rehab, and you don’t have a community of friends, family, or sober individuals to support you.
• Rushing into a romantic entanglement can add complications to an already challenging situation and is often not the best strategy for maintaining your hard-won sobriety.
• Be honest about the fact you don’t drink anymore (you don’t have to go into detail) and suggest things you enjoy doing instead.
• Some studies find that this structure, along with a start date for sobriety and milestones, is important to some people in recovery.