Ten Tips on Getting and Staying Sober

If you’ve read the previous installments, you know that sobriety has been a challenge for me. It’s taken me five or six years to achieve one year of sobriety. In this post, I’ll try to focus on what has been working for me.

Going to Alcoholics Anonymous meetings: I’ve been doing this for a while now, but it’s still a big part of my sobriety. I usually make five to six meetings a week. I started out working with Narcotics Anonymous but I’ve found a good AA home group that fits my schedule better.
Working the steps: The fellowship is great and I genuinely enjoy seeing the people I’ve met in the rooms. Without working a program, though, I’d be lost. The twelve steps have helped me to gain a better perspective on who I am and why I did what I did. I’m content inside my own skin today and I can credit most of that to the steps.
Doing service work: I try to go to detox meetings two to three times a month. It’s a great way to remember where I came from and to try and help others out that are struggling. It’s very easy to forget the pain of my last drink/drug and this keeps it in the forefront of my mind.
Calling another alcoholic daily: I struggled with this one for a long time. I hated picking up the phone and calling my sponsor or another person in the program. It does, however, get easier with time. I have a pretty long list of names I can call if I need to reach out for help.
Sponsorship: Getting and using a sponsor has also been a struggle. I’ve always had one, but I haven’t always been open or honest with one. Finding someone that I respect and look up to has helped me immensely.
Therapy: I still see a counselor and psychiatrist to help with my sobriety. It’s nice to have a professional to process things with and find solutions.
Medication: You’ll occasionally find some resistance to this in the rooms, but it’s been a big part of my recovery. I still take an anti-depressant. I also take Vivitrol which blocks my opiate receptors so that I couldn’t get high off of heroin even if I wanted to. I tried suboxone, but found that it didn’t work for me. I would just go off of it long enough to get high again. Vivitrol is a monthly shot. Don’t be afraid to use medicine to help you in your journey.
Persistence: Like I mentioned, I’ve been at this for some time. Persevering has been a huge part of my sobriety. Although I relapsed a lot, I always got back up (with the support of others) and tried again.
Relationships: Besides having the support of people in the rooms, I’ve always had a supportive family and girlfriend (now wife). This isn’t always possible, but it definitely makes things easier in sobriety.
Prayer: Every morning I get on my knees and recite the third step prayer. I’ve found that I need the assistance of a higher power to help me stay sober. I have not been able to do it alone. I’ve had to admit that a power greater than myself, ‘could restore me to sanity.’

So those are some tips off of the top of my head. They’ve been key in my sobriety and I wish anyone looking to make that journey the best of luck. Thanks for reading and please feel free to comment/follow!