7 Rules You Don’t Want to Break in Recovery

Sobriety is a unique journey for everyone. Just because you’ve made the decision to stop using doesn’t mean life is suddenly going to be easy.

Take a look at the following seven rules – they’ll help you avoid adding unnecessary hardship to the recovery process.

Stick to Your Guns

• #1 Change Your Life:   A major factor of being successful is creating a new, positive life. This means changing negative thinking patterns and avoiding people, places and things. If you don’t change, then all the factors that contributed to your addiction will eventually catch up with you.



• #2 Take Time for Yourself:   This one’s so important because sobriety is about discovering who you really are without drugs or alcohol, as well as learning who you can become. Focus on developing your talents or learning new ones. This is a time when your relationship with yourself should come first – not with somebody else.
• #3 Be Completely Honest:   Lying is second nature for anyone struggling with chemical dependency, which is why being completely truthful is so important in recovery – not only to others, but also with yourself. Failure to establish honesty as a personal quality means you’re at risk of relapse down the road.
• #4 Identify Triggers:   A trigger is any form of stimuli that initiates a desire to engage in addictive behavior. By identifying these ahead of time, you recognize the early warning signs of relapse and develop the necessary coping skills.
• #5 Ask for Help:   Most people start recovery by trying to do it on their own, only to realize they’re going to need some outside help. Joining a self-help group is a great option to assist you in your journey and significantly increases the chance of long-term recovery.
• #6 Practice Self-Care:   Self-care is difficult. Try to take small steps each day, whether it’s eating right, exercising or getting enough sleep. Making these changes leads to increased self esteem, which helps you to feel comfortable in your own skin and get out of the “stinking thinking” trap.
• #7 Put in the Work:   Many times, recovering addicts self-sabotage by cutting corners or looking for loopholes in the recovery process. To be successful at maintaining your sobriety, you have to be willing to roll up your sleeves and put in the work.