Our experienced team of professionals is dedicated to helping you create a personalized plan that sets you on the path to lasting sobriety and mental well-being. Contact us today to get started on your journey to recovery. Your journey to lasting sobriety is a powerful and transformative process. By creating a comprehensive relapse prevention plan and using the tools and strategies weā€™ve discussed in this article, you are taking major steps toward a healthier, substance-free life. Identifying and understanding your relapse triggers and cravings is a key initial step in creating an effective relapse prevention plan.

Communication Skills Worksheet

Just keep in mind that your improvements won’t happen overnight. You may also need to change your route to work or home in order to avoid any triggers, or people, places, or things that make you want to use drugs or drink again. Some of the immediate changes you will need to make will be obviousā€”like not hanging around the people that you used with or obtained drugs from. https://yourhealthmagazine.net/article/addiction/sober-houses-rules-that-you-should-follow/ After all, you can’t hang around your drug dealer or old drinking buddies and expect to remain sober for very long.

  • If these emotions become excessive, they can hold you back from recovery.
  • Effective communication involves active listening, expressing your needs assertively, and resolving conflicts constructively.
  • Acknowledging and celebrating the hard work of recovery is helpful for keeping you motivated and reminding you why you took this brave step toward sobriety in the first place.
  • Likely candidates will include friends, family, co-workers, healthcare professionals, peer supporters, faith leaders, and support group members or sponsors.
  • To avoid relapse and remainĀ sober, it’s important to develop healthy relationships.
  • Ask yourself who in your network would be an advocate for your recovery, and who might tempt you to return to substance use.

How to Develop a Successful Personal Recovery Plan

sobriety plan

There are a lot of emotions that sometimes keep us from asking for help, including pride, shame, guilt, anxiety, and fear of rejection. Help is available, but you will need to ask others directly to help you. Making a sobriety plan not only helps you understand what your next steps can be, but helps you keep your motivation for recovery and prepare for when challenges come your way. The brain, that wonderfully complex machine, has been riding on the soothing waves of chemicals ā€“ dopamine, serotonin, you name it ā€“ that substances create. The system needs time to recalibrate and figure out how to produce these happy chemicals again. Itā€™s like a factory shutdown, and the foremanā€™s scrambling to get everything Sober Houses Rules That You Should Follow back online.

Also, the specific plan for each goal will look very different. It doesnā€™t change along with your emotions, but it accounts for them in the process. It gives you a plan of action for when you donā€™t know what to do. It can even show you that recovery is possible, through your own lived experiences and successes along the way. There are strategies ā€“ practical steps you can take for managing anxiety during sobriety. You donā€™t have to sit there, hands gripping the tableā€™s edge, white-knuckling your way through.

Develop Coping Strategies

Sobriety, when it has settled in, brings a kind of peace you didnā€™t know was possible. Itā€™s like your mental health finally goes from driving in a storm to cruising under a clear sky. Ah, yes, anxiety ā€“ the familiar, jittery monster under your bed. Youā€™d think the noise in your head would quiet when you quit. The body has grown fond of its substances ā€“ alcohol, drugs, nicotine, whatever else ā€“ so when you take them away, it reacts. Not in a dramatic ā€œscreaming for helpā€ way but more of a ā€œlost puppy whimperingā€ kind of thing.

Staying Sober: 13 Strategies

Professional help and resources play a crucial role in addiction recovery. Involving mental health professionals and utilizing various treatment options can significantly enhance your recovery process. These experts provide specialized support and tools tailored to your unique needs, helping you build a strong foundation for long-term sobriety. Relapse is an unfortunately common part of addiction recovery, but a solid relapse prevention plan can help you maintain long-term sobriety. This article provides practical worksheets, actionable tips, and a free template to help you create an effective plan. Coping skills are essential for maintaining sobriety and managing the challenges of recovery.

  • Each step must pass the test of being realistic, important to you, and measurable, which means that you (and others) will be able to know when the step is completed.
  • Feeling guilty or ashamed of past behavior or actions during active addiction is natural and healthy.
  • Find answers to common questions and learn how to get the most out of your membership.
  • Because of this worksheets open-ended nature, we suggest using it as a prompt for conversation in groups.
  • Strictly speaking, sobriety is the state of being soberā€”not being under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
  • Healthy relationships can provide a stable foundation for your recovery.

However, they do dance together in a way that feels, well, counterintuitive. You quit, expecting relief, clarity, an escape from the chaos that substances have spun into your life. Like an unwelcome guest, anxiety decides itā€™s time to crash the party.

How we can help you on your journey

If youā€™re involved in a 12-step program, you likely already know the importance of milestones. In these programs, itā€™s customary to receive plastic chips as you progress to the one-year mark, at which time you receive a bronze coin. 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. Hosted by therapist Amy Morin, LCSW, this episode of The Verywell Mind Podcast shares how to avoid repeating mistakes and build better habits. Depending on the type of dependency, PAWS can last from six months to two years after you stop using drugs or alcohol.

A well-crafted relapse prevention plan is a vital tool in maintaining sobriety. It helps you identify triggers, develop coping strategies, and set actionable goals to stay on track. In this section, we provide a step-by-step guide to creating your own relapse prevention plan, complete with a printable template. Creating a long-term recovery plan is a significant step towards achieving a healthier, happier future. At 12 South Recovery, weā€™re here to support you every step of the way.

Related Tools

Beautifully illustrated stories teaching mental health topics. A regular gratitude practice can shift your focus from what you donā€™t have to what you do, fostering a positive mindset. Regularly acknowledging the good in your life can enhance your overall well-being and resilience.

Understand the things that could put you at risk of relapse. Surround yourself with people that you can turn to during difficult times and that will encourage your sobriety. This can include attending AA groups, finding a sponsor, and even something as simple as forming healthy relationships with other sober individuals.