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If you’re deciding whether you may have a substance abuse problem or if recovery is right for you, you’ve probably read stories from others who have sought treatment to get sober and the challenges they faced. Common themes include what happens when you hit rock bottom, how they sought help overcoming addiction and stigma, and how life has improved since they got sober. However, this doesn’t always tell the whole story. Keep reading to find out what common addiction recovery challenges you may face and the sober lifestyle realities that aren’t often talked about.
1. Withdrawal Can Affect Your Mental and Emotional Health
It’s common for those considering recovery to focus on the physical withdrawal symptoms they may experience because those are often what drives them to keep using. However, withdrawal also affects your mental and emotional health. You may experience mood swings, anxiety, depression, and obsessive thoughts. Some people also deal with brain fog and issues with memory and concentration as their brains adjust.
There can also be a misconception that once you’re through the initial detox phase, getting sober and clean means you feel great. The truth is that everyone experiences highs and lows, and while going through recovery is an incredibly positive change for your life, it doesn’t make you immune to the struggles of everyday living.
2. You May Experience Cravings for Other Substances
When you’re addicted to a substance, it changes your brain chemistry. Specifically, it alters the reward system in the brain and how dopamine is handled. When you get sober, it can take your brain several months to adjust, and in the meantime, you may experience intense cravings for other substances. If you currently smoke or vape, you may find that you start smoking more frequently or need higher concentrations of nicotine to get the same effect. It’s also common to experience cravings for sugar and/or caffeine.
Cravings can also be a reaction to stressful situations or certain behavioral patterns that are now disrupted by the lack of substance use. For example, if you used to drink heavily after dinner, you may find that you now spend that time eating ice cream because your brain is trying to find something to replace that behavior.
3. Some People May Not Be Supportive
When you make the choice to get sober and enter recovery, you probably expect those around you to be happy about it and celebrate your decision. And many will! But it’s also common for some people to be less than supportive. Friends who are also battling addiction may be resentful of your progress, and sobriety often highlights toxic and codependent relationships you may need to cut off or enforce boundaries around. Substance abuse also commonly runs in families, and one person choosing to enter recovery may be viewed as a threat to the family dynamic and dysfunctional patterns created over the generations.
It’s important to surround yourself with those who are invested in your success and can encourage you on your journey — even if this means letting go of some old relationships and starting new ones.
4. You’ll Probably Need to Have Some Hard Conversations
Breaking free from addiction means changing a lot of things in your life, from how you respond to challenges to how you allow people to treat you. It can be difficult for friends and family — even those truly invested in your well-being — to understand these changes and know how to react. It’s likely that you’ll need to have some tough conversations with loved ones about addressing boundaries, letting go of codependent behaviors, or acknowledging traumas or dysfunctional family patterns that may have contributed to your addiction.
If you’re not sure how to handle these conversations, it can help to work with a counselor or therapist who has experience in this area. They can provide tips on how to approach these topics, and some therapists are even able to have group family sessions where they can help facilitate the discussion.
5. You Might Miss Using
Before entering recovery, substance use was probably a big part of your life. From figuring out how you’re going to get your next fix to dealing with withdrawal symptoms in between, addiction takes a huge amount of mental and physical energy. It’s also often how people seek comfort when they are stressed or upset or escape difficult situations or emotions. It’s normal to miss this coping mechanism when you’re facing challenges, even if you realize it wasn’t actually helping anything.
6. You May Not Recognize Yourself
Getting sober is a big change, and it affects nearly every aspect of your life. It’s normal to feel a sense of loss or like you don’t know who you are anymore. Your goals and dreams may have changed, and your personality can even be different in sobriety than it was in addiction. It’s normal for all of these changes to be overwhelming, and it’s important to give yourself plenty of time and grace. You might try some new hobbies or activities to find out what you enjoy or go back to things you may have abandoned in your addiction. As time passes, you’ll start to feel more normal and at ease with yourself.
7. Accountability Is Forever
Accountability is an important part of any addiction treatment. Each program may approach this slightly differently, whether that’s using a sponsor/mentor system or putting people into peer groups. Having accountability partners gives you someone to reach out to when you’re struggling and feeling the urge to use. Many people going through these treatment programs lean heavily on their accountability partners in the beginning and find that they may need less support as time goes on. However, accountability isn’t something that ever fully goes away in recovery. There will still be challenging times ahead because that’s just how life works, and you’re going to need a strong support system for the rest of your life.
8. Sobriety Can Uncover Deeper Issues
It’s common for people to believe that once they are no longer using, all of their programs will be fixed, but getting sober is just the first step in recovery. You may find that once you’re not using substances to deal with problems or as a way to self-medicate, you have to face some difficult things. Those may be overwhelming feelings and emotions, traumatic memories, or consequences of past choices. Attending therapy as part of an ongoing treatment plan can increase your self-awareness, help you understand why you think and act the way you do, and give you the tools you need to do the deeper, long-term work of recovery.
9. Tackle Major Life Changes One at a Time
When you get sober, you may feel like you’re ready for an entire life change. It’s not uncommon for people to change jobs, go back to school, end relationships, or relocate. These things can all be helpful and even necessary as you move forward with your new life, but it’s important to take things slow to avoid getting overwhelmed, which can increase your chances of relapse. Choosing to get and stay sober is already a major life change, so try to put off anything else you can until you feel settled and ready for the next challenge. Tackling each life change one at a time ensures you have the space to evaluate what’s working and what’s not and pivot as necessary.
10. Recovery Doesn’t Have an End Point
There is no final milestone where you no longer have to think about recovery or use the skills and tools you’ve learned on your journey to stay sober. The physical, mental, and emotional parts of recovery are ongoing, and you will continue to grow and learn new things about yourself. There is no “cure” for addiction, and a relapse rate of 40 to 60 percent is considered normal for substance use. If you do stumble, use it as a learning experience and reach out to a treatment program that can help you get back on track.
