30 Days Without Alcohol: Timeline & What to Expect
“I called my sister and I lied and said, ‘I don’t feel good, can you come and get the kids?’ And she did,” she added. “I had stepped over the line.” From that day on, she never touched the drug again and “never wanted to, which is good.” The best-selling country star has been sober for more than seven years now, but it was a hard-fought road getting there. His addiction to booze and pain pills began soon after graduating from high school and didn’t abate when his career began to take off.
Long term goals are usually broken up into a bunch of short term goals. This way, you’re able to feed your more immediate gratification, but also see how it plays into the bigger picture. https://ecosoberhouse.com/ However, the longer you stay sober, the more clarity you have to make good life choices. Not just life choices that enable an addiction, but that are objectively right for you.
Day 2
Neurotransmitters can rebound beyond their usual activity levels, which can leave you feeling anxious and irritable. Volpicelli explains that this volleying can also lead to low motivation or anxiety and depression. Because I was a mental and emotional wreck with no sense of self-worth, it was easy to take advantage of me. These days I do not “really” have more money because I quit my job and added another human to our family. I LOVE not having to feel bad about something stupid or mean I said when drunk. There are zero alcohol-related regrets plaguing my life right now.
Celebrating your sobriety is a crucial (and fun!) part of nurturing it, and milestones can be especially motivating. There are many different ways to celebrate one year of sobriety. Often, people choose to celebrate with a quiet day of reflection where they reasons to stay sober can think about their lessons and experiences over the past year. If you keep a journal, you might want to devote some time to reading it and seeing how far you’ve come. Some other people choose to make their anniversary a day of service to the community.
Balance Your Life
“People also tend to develop longer-term strategies at this point,” notes Dr. Kennedy. You might find the motivation to make other healthy lifestyle changes, such as getting more exercise or cutting out excess sugar. Some may wonder if quitting drinking is even worth it—especially if they’ve never experienced a serious consequence from drinking—such as a DUI, a major health crisis, or the breakdown of a personal relationship.
The ability to engage fully in meaningful activities, pursue passions, and build a positive future is enhanced without the limitations of addiction. Life continues to get better as we heal and move along our paths of recovery, whatever that looks like to you. All of life’s problems don’t go away, but we are much better equipped to handle them.
Find the Right Program for You
Milestones can help motivate a person to remain sober to reach the next milestone. Dasgupta said the best people to avoid alcohol always are those under 21 years old, and not just for legal reasons. For anyone concerned about heart health, Dasgupta recommended decreasing alcohol intake and increasing physical activity, which also raises good cholesterol. “[The bottom line] is, protect the heart with [a] low amount of alcohol, but increase the risk of cardiovascular disease with high amount of alcohol,” Dasgupta said.
