Why Can’t I Stay Sober?

Are you thinking of entering an alcohol rehab center, but unsure if it’s the right thing for you? Do you constantly think that life without addiction will be better than what you’re going through now, but can’t seem to stay sober?

This happens to many people who are struggling with substance abuse. You desire sobriety, but can’t seem to stick to the lifestyle no matter how hard you try.

Why?

Why is it hard to stay sober?

When you find yourself struggling with sobriety – and often losing the battle – it’s important to ask yourself why, and be open and honest with the answers you find.

You’re unable to be honest with yourself

Being truthful with yourself is the first step toward complete recovery. If you can’t admit to yourself that overcoming an addiction is more than you can handle on your own, you won’t be able to get the help it takes to make a full recovery. Being honest with yourself and admitting to needing help isn’t shameful – it’s the first step towards recovery.

You can’t be honest with family and friends

Even if you haven’t told them, your loved ones likely know you are struggling. Physical signs, such as lifestyle and personality changes, will indicate something to them. However, until you are honest and open, they won’t be able to support and help you during this time.

You fear the effort it takes to recover

Working toward being drug or alcohol-free is hard. There’s no way around it. It takes time, dedication, and motivation, but if you find yourself lacking in the desire to put in the effort, you won’t get far in recovery.

To stay sober, you need to make a commitment to go to meetings, stay away from triggering environments and friends and face the truth that recovery is challenging. But the reward of a life of freedom is far greater than the difficulties of treatment.

You are intimidated by the change

Addiction is a way of life that consumes everything you ever knew and turns it into something else. Your relationships are affected, work is different and most everything in life has changed.

Recovery is a new way of life, but this drastic change can be frightening. Letting this fear control your actions, such as maintaining sobriety, gives power to your emotions and keeps you from achieving that new, beautiful life.

You’re worried it won’t be worth it

Addiction plays tricks on the mind and makes false promises that get you thinking that the struggle of recovery won’t be worth it. You might convince yourself that addiction isn’t that bad and that the withdrawal symptoms would be way worse. And while withdrawal isn’t fun for anyone, the freedom and relief it offers, in the long run, is well worth it no matter what the addiction tries to tell you.

You’re worried you’re missing out

The people you participate in drinking or drug use with may continue to do so long after you’ve recovered. Perhaps you feel that if you choose sobriety you might miss out on things, or even lose those people entirely. The hard truth, however, is that anyone enabling or encouraging addiction does not have your best interests at heart. Those who support your recovery are the friends and family who want what’s best for you and are the people you should seek the company of during this time.

You don’t trust rehab

Perhaps you’ve heard stories from others, or have preconceived notions about treatment centers. Consider working on softening those opinions – while there are rehab centers that do not look out for the people in their care, there are many good, accredited and reputable rehabilitation centers with personalized treatment plans and professional staff trained to meet your needs.

Even by looking into treatment center options, you might begin to open your mind up to these as an option to finding sobriety.

Need more reasons to stay sober?

Staying sober won’t just benefit your physical and mental health: it will completely change your life for the better. If you are looking for support with sobriety, consider reaching out to Freedom Detox. We will work with you, no matter where you are at in the recovery journey, to help you achieve a sustained life of sobriety. Contact us anytime by visiting our website or by calling our offices at 800-475-2312.