When I sacrificed going to rehab for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New years, I knew that being Sober was going to be tough. I’ve went to rehab before for detoxing and soon after relapsed. I just wanted to be Sober but I didn’t understand my addiction.
When I went to rehab In November, the difference is I wanted to know how I could stay sober. My addiction which is a chronic illness has no cure. The truth is, it can only be treated. I didn’t like the fact that I would have to attend meetings, sponsor other addicts, and focus on my recovery to stay sober. When I accepted the fact that I will always be an addict and I have to treat this disease, I’ve come to realize that this is what I have to do if I really want to stay sober. Reaching 8 months of Sobriety, I can surely say that my recovery is a lifestyle I choose to live one day at a Time.
hey all - i wanted to resurrect this old post from 2022 because im curious about what some of you might understand and be able to articulate about recovery vs sobriety. thanks!
I’ve heard people use both “sobriety comes first, then recovery is what sustains it”, and “it’s possible to be in recovery and not be sober”, so I think the distinction between the two words is a little muddy in everyday conversations.
For me personally I think of it like “sobriety” means not engaging in my addiction (so, I don’t do my addiction behaviours; I am sober, which is like saying I am physically clean: being clean only lasts a relatively short time if I don’t develop clean habits in order to sustain my physical cleanliness). For me, “recovery” is about recovering my humanity, recovering my balance: for decades I lived completely without balance - and almost without humanity - in my addiction. To recover my balance and maintain my balance, I need to walk forward in a series of steps, and repeat them, to keep my balance, to keep clean, to keep sober.
It’s also kind of cool - metaphorically - that walking (physical walking) is about leaning forward, then recovering your balance, then leaning forward, then recovering your balance. Walking forward, step by step, is a process of ongoing recovery.
