For those of you who have been sober for a while (a year or more) is it always a struggle to stay sober?
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Hi Stacie, it does get easier, at about the 90 day mark many people have breakthrough, but for some it is closer to the 6 month mark. I have been sober for a little over 3 years and things are much easier than they were the first year. I rarely get cravings, and all the work I have done on myself has equipped me to handle them. The longer you stay sober the easier life gets. Of course shit hits the fan sometimes, but now I have the tools to deal with it.
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Hi Stacie! The beginning is the most difficult time. Many need to go into treatment centers to get away from alcohol and… life. If you can’t go inpatient, there are outpatient treatment centers as well. If neither of that is an option, there are a few programs that have proven to be successful. These programs are essential to “staying” sober whether you do a treatment center or not. So, if you don’t go the treatment center route, hook into one of these ASAP. The ones you I’m referring to are AA, The Luckiest Club, and Smart Recovery. There are probably more, but these seem to be the most popular. Google will help you connect to any/all of these.
I didn’t see where you said this was for you or for a loved one. If you have a loved one that is struggling, you can point them in this direction, and you may want to look at a program for loved ones…like Al- Anon.
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I just saw your post about your son. It’s hard enough being a parent today, let alone the parent of an addict. I have a 22 and 20 year old. I can understand how badly you want to help him. I don’t how you can be a parent or a spouse without being somewhat codependent, so don’t look at codependency as necessarily a bad thing. It’s just a reality. You can provide a safe environment for him at your home. You can be supportive in many ways, but ultimately you have to let go of some of the fear so that you can function and have some peace. He best thing you can do for yourself and for him is for you to find a loving and caring support group for yourself. This doesn’t just go away. There’s no cure at this point in time. It’s going to a life long journey for the family as well as for your son. Recovery has its ups and downs. You are going to need help too. Wishing you and your family a long and peaceful recovery 
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Like others have said the beginning is the toughest. For me I’m reminded every once in awhile by my disease that maybe I could drink like a gentleman. Or question like I could just have one. These days or moments are tough. I’m getting better at seeing the false thoughts and calling my Sponsor/sober friend or going to a meeting when this happens
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Hi Stacie! It does get easier. Everyone's journey is different. I relapsed many times before I was finally ready to be done...but that was the ticket! I was finally ready and I chased my recovery as hard as I chased getting drunk!!
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No .it gets so much better.it would of calm down a little by now. Aa meetings or any kind of meetings.
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I just had my two year anniversary yesterday and spent a lot of time reflecting on this. For me like the first 90 kinda sucked. Just getting out of rehab was like an indoor cat getting put outdoors if you know what I mean. By month nine, I had worked through the steps with my sponsor, so things were starting to settle out. Month 10-12 all I wanted was my fucking coin, so I had a hard time living 24 hours. This second year has been delightful. So much easier. My obsession is ALMOST gone. Because it has been my second time through all the typical events (without alcohol), the ties between alcohol and the activities and events were beginning to break. More and more opportunities for service presented themselves. I could go on and on. It has gotten exponentially easier for me to stay sober. I think that is going to continue as long as I keep working my program.
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Hi Stacie. The whole point of being in a Recovery Program is so it eventually does NOT become a struggle. Left to my own devices I will certainly drink and use again but because I have built a support system and attend meetings and have sober friends i will certainly not. I hardly ever think about it. Im glad to be happy joyous and free. And so can you.
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Aa . Org. 90 meetings in 90 days.meet lots of people.
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Las Vegas intergroup webs-it. On line zoom meetings.a lot of meetings there.
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Good question. From my experience, understanding that there is no need to go it alone makes it so much easier. Congratulations to your son!
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I consider my sobriety to be a superpower. I started with getting out of my comfort zone and reaching out to other sober people for help to learn how to be sober and how to have fun in sobriety. I found genuine connections with amazing, compassionate people in the program. Then I rebuilt my life in a way that alcohol and drugs just didn’t fit into it. I sought out new passions and found meaning in my life. This journey is what you make it…and you never have to be in it alone. Sobriety teaches us so much about ourselves. It is definitely my superpower.
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