Substance abuse has disintegrated the lives of many people. Every day millions of people suffer from drugs and alcohol abuse which affects not only their physical but their mental health as well. The worst part about addiction is that it doesn’t only affect the victim, rather it has an even adverse affect on the family and friends of addicts.
Even after recovery, you cannot expect to have these problems fixed immediately. The recovered addict might still experience moments of doubt and low self-esteem and they might have trouble going back to “normal”. Sober Living Facility like ours is built to make that transition smooth and help you perfect your sobriety by providing constant support, medical help and by making you emotionally strong.
The benefits of living sober have a substantial effect on the life of the drug addict and his relationships, the journey of recovery may be long and tiring but once you are sober, everything will get better. Sobriety is life altering, you will once again feel like you are free and full of energy. The long term benefits of staying sober are even more, to your health, money, family members , friends and relationships.
If you’re unsure about starting recovery or you’re having trouble staying sober, here are some benefits of staying sober that might encourage you to continue your journey of recovery:
Regain Control Of Your Life
Many people lose control of their life when they start drinking. A new normal begins to take control of their life where without alcohol living becomes difficult. They’re not able to spend their days and nights normally without indulging in drinking or getting high. Being sober essentially allows you to change this, you no longer live for that party life where all you do is get high and do drugs. You start to make more conscious decisions and replace your drinking time with healthy activities. You stay more in your senses and therefore, you are aware of your surrounding and yourself.
Being sober is all about having control of your life and enjoying your time without drugs!
Reset Your Sleep Schedule
Alcohol consumes you!
The abuse of alcohol is disruptive to sleeping patterns. Substance abuse means that your sleep is suppressed and a good nights rest is just not for you! Alcohol disrupts REM sleep, the deep sleep we need to feel well rested. Even after recovery, someone who suffered from addiction will fail to get a good nights sleep . But things are going to change for you, and you will actually be able to get a good nights sleep and feel well rested the next day.
Have Fun Without Alcohol
When you’re addicted to drugs, your definition of having fun is altered. You star thinking that you cannot have fun unless you’re high or stoned.
As soon as you start your recovery and effectively try to get rid of your addiction, your life takes a new turn and you start enjoying the simpler things. More importantly staying sober allows you to regain energy and invest it in something better. You will have more time for things you love to do or try new things which allow you to be productive and have fun at the same time.
Sobriety benefits you in unimaginable ways, addiction makes you feel exhausted, drained and extremely emotionally unavailable.
Mend Your Relationships And Connect With Your Loved Ones
Many drugs and substances are known to be depressants , this becomes chaotic for relationships. Addiction makes you become a hostile person and hurt the people you love. Once you get sober you will feel much better and that is the only way to make amends with others. You will be able to rebuild your relationships in a healthy and productive way.
Enjoy Financial Freedom Once Again
Drinking takes away your financial freedom. The amount of money you spend on one night of drinks is often way too high than you expect. Under influence, losing control means that you’re not only spending uncontrollably but you could also be misplacing your money. As soon as you become sober the amount of surplus money you will have will amuse, invest it in a saving account and get set for your future.
Improved Focus, Appearance And General Health
Your body and mind will feel free and fresh because being sober means that no more toxic chemicals are going in your system. A healthier skin and complexion is seen amongst people in recovery. More importantly, it helps your brain improve memory and focus again with a sharper focus you’ll improve significantly both at work and at house chores. Improved focus is like a finding a new perspective in your life, stay sober and improve your life day by day!
These are just some of the benefits of going sober. A study conducted in 2018 of over 40,000 people says that sobriety has increased feelings of well-being especially amongst women. Another study in the British Medical journal provided information about the reduced risk of cancer in someone who’s abstained from alcohol use and drugs for more than a month. A study published in 2018 says that after a month of sobriety people showed lower levels of damaging liver enzymes as compared to when the study started. This is just one of the health benefits of staying sober in a long line of benefits of being sober from alcohol.
Health Benefits of Sobriety
Being sober is great. The benefits of getting sober are long term and short term both. A sober living environment can help you recover at a faster rate and the treatment will make you feel better inside out. It will help to make your body and mental state outstanding again and benefit you in the best possible way!
1. Better Weight Management
Alcohol is like a robber stealing all the vital nutrients of your body. The indirect effect this has is of malnutrition, first it affects your bone marrow , white blood cells and red blood cells and it causes anaemia and eventually an unhealthy amount of weight loss. Always feeling fatigued and having a consistent shortness of breath is common amongst addicts. Another impact it has is making you feel like you’re full, while its all just empty calories. A study says, that people with substance abuse problems have shown either a high weight gain tendency or loss, sobriety fixes this and allows you to stay a normal weight.
2. Better Liver Health
As you begin to leave alcohol and drugs you body starts it journey towards recovery automatically. One of the first affects of chronic alcohol abuse is destroying liver cells called cirrhosis. This means that the liver will no longer be able to flush out the toxins and you will be at the verge of a possible liver failure, liver cancer or alcoholic hepatitis. As soon as you drink less your liver regains energy and starts doing its job again. Initially, it may be difficult to quit your daily drink but slowly you will find a way to do it!
3. Better Immune System
You may not be aware, but alcohol prevents your body from making new white blood cells that fight off germs and bacteria. So, when you finally give up this one habit you’re going to be saving yourself from not one but a variety of common colds and flu, episodes of pneumonia and tuberculosis and a variety of other diseases your body failed to fight in the first place due to the substance abuse. Moreover, quitting means that you won’t be drinking your lunch, dinner or even breakfast away! So, a balanced and nutritious diet will also help to improve your immune system.
4. Better Mental Health
Ever think about all the times you felt sad and gloomy after a session of drugs and alcohol? Contrary to popular belief a variety of substances are actually depressants. Much of your depression will tend to fade away with sobriety. Anxiety is also known to be decreased in sober people because mostly heavy drinkers are suffering from alcoholic anxiety. The stress of trying to remember what happened last night and the regret of making bad decisions eats you up! Stay sober and save yourself from these situations of regrettable behavior.
5. Better Long-term Health
Sober benefits are often over looked as being short term, the best benefits of sobriety are actually long term! Sobriety is know to have decreased the risk of many long term diseases like cancer, cardiovascular problems and central nervous system problems. Alcohol and drugs are known carcinogens so, more drug and alcohol use means precious years of your life lost to several different types of cancer like mouth, throat, colon, rectum, liver and breast. Heavy drinkers are twice as likely to have a cardiovascular problem as compared to others, so your heart will for sure thank you. Years of drinking is known to damage brain tissue and cause serious cognitive issues, quitting can help revive the spark of your brain.
You may think that the journey of recovery is never going to end but even one step in the right direction is enough. Begin your treatment today, think about all that you are missing out on just because you can’t control yourself. Before you think of others, think about yourself and the harms that you are causing to yourself. Your friends and family should only be the second reason to embark upon on this journey to rediscover yourself, much of your motivation should come from yourself to make yourself and your living standards better! Find the true meaning of your life and just ignore others opinion of you for a while, sobriety will teach you a lot. Remember sober is better!
