3 Reasons to Love Sobriety

While in active addiction, my life was a constant cycle of traumatic experiences and self-destructive behavior. Every day started the same; waking up, trying to find substances to abuse, and attempting to blot out my entire existence.

All I craved was to numb the memories of childhood trauma. I was a shell of the person I used to be and despite all of my efforts, I still hated myself. I can recall the mental torture that I subjected myself to upon countless attempts to get sober without help. I was too afraid to let anyone know who I had become.

My life began the day I decided to go to treatment. I started to feel like I was worth something again. Being sober allowed me to get to know myself. Now, I don’t feel lost in the world.

I can make meaningful connections with other people, which is something I struggled with for my whole life prior. Sobriety has taken me places that I never even dreamed to be possible.

I was granted the chance to change my life for the better and do all of the things that I never thought possible. I have family back in my life, have found a career that I am passionate about, and found a purpose that makes my life worth living.

1) Building Social Skills & Making Connections

When you get sober, you have the ability to learn how to build better social skills.

Communication was an area that I had always been lacking in, as well as knowing what kind of people I should surround myself with.

In sobriety, I learned valuable social skills by interacting with other recovered addicts. Seeing the way that everyone interacted with each other during fellowship meetings really inspired me to build better relationships with my loved ones.

After making connections with other recovering addicts, I started to be able to differentiate between my toxic friendships and the healthy ones. As a sober individual, it is imperative to remove people, places, and things that may trigger a relapse. I learned how to make healthy boundaries to protect myself from negative influences. As a result, I have made room for positive, healthy, and intimate friendships that will last me a life-time.

2) New Opportunities

After you recover from the physical and mental effects associated with addiction, you have the opportunity to begin rebuilding your life. I was blessed with many opportunities that I would have never had access to - had I not gotten sober. Recovering opens up new career opportunities and helps you to create a balance between your home and work life.

Like many of my peers in sobriety, I have been granted the ability to go back to college and find a career I am passionate about. Prior to recovery, finding a career was never a priority for me. Also, I didn’t have any of the skills needed to be a responsible, fully-functioning adult. Making the decision to get sober allowed me to change my outlook in order to fully reap all on the benefits life has to offer.

3) Finding Purpose In Our Pain

While I was using, I always wondered what the point of life was. I saw other people leading normal lives filled with purpose and love, while I was stuck in a dangerous and depressing cycle of addiction.  I had no sense of self, as well as a lack of purpose that began to eat me alive. I laid awake many nights wondering why I was even still trying because I felt as if I had nothing to live for. All of that changed once I got sober.

In recovery, I found purpose through sharing my experience, strength and hope with fellow addicts. Many addicts suffer from childhood trauma, which can cause an array of strange emotions and behaviors.

Personally, the most beneficial thing I did while recovering from trauma was using it to help others. When one of my friends is going through a tough situation that I have previously experienced, I can help guide them through their own healing process.

As a result, some of the pain from my past trauma behind to subside. Finding a purpose in our hardships can promote a better outlook and help us to heal.

Read this also : Beat stress and boost happiness

Author Bio:
Kailey Fitzgerald is a young writer in the recovery community of South Florida. Her passion in life is to help break the stigmas related to mental health, substance abuse, and trauma.