Underestimated Coping Skills in Sobriety

In this giant rat race called life, we’re constantly breaking our backs for financial gain. However, all the gold and silver on this planet couldn’t teach you how to be a better person. Patience is of so much more value in this world because, let’s face it, things never go the exact way we have them panned out in our minds. But how could they? Life is the one calling the shots – not us. Let’s be honest here. We all have our patience and sobriety tested from time to time. It has happened before and will happen again whether invited or not. That’s why coping with sobriety is so important.

The most telling part of a test of your sobriety is how you end up reacting to it. Coping with sobriety is important because it helps you to not burn your fuse out. That way you don’t go postal like Michal Douglas in Falling Down. Being prepared and having just a couple of coping skills in sobriety available on your tool belt will help push alcoholic thinking back.  

Sometimes we can withstand the largest pains and hardly flinch at the damage done. Then other times it’s the simplest thing that throws us over the edge and back into the pits of addiction. For many, having coping with sobriety skills is the key difference between comfortably maintaining sobriety and white-knuckling your way through the abstinence of alcohol. With endless possibilities, some of those coping with sobriety skills range from:

Express Yourself Through Writing

Some of the best free therapy that one can find is in a pen and some notebook paper. It may be hard for some to get into it at first, but scribbling down thoughts onto paper is an extremely beneficial thing for those of us who have wandered over to the sobriety side of the road. In fact, journaling is a good hobby for everyone to pick up. This is because it gives you an opportunity to both express yourself and reflect on your thoughts and emotions.  

For many of us, there are often things that we want to say but just aren’t articulate enough to say them in the way that we feel. Some of us may even struggle processing dialect as we talk. If you’re one of these people, writing down the thoughts that circle your mind is a great way to improve your communication, not only with others, but with yourself as well. Journaling is a great way to communicate with yourself because it allows you to visually view the things that you’ve been romanticizing, or stressing, over in your mind.

Drawing a Line

Then there’s the aspect of taking that pen and paper and turning some of your thought out words into doodles. For many people in addiction recovery, art is a hobby that you can pick up to ease your frustrations and help you relax. Creating art can even act as a form of meditation as you can lose yourself in the art process. By taking on the role of meditation and relaxation, you can easily create art as a way to cope with sobriety. 

You can also create art to unleash the creative right side of your brain. Once your creative side is unleashed, you can even use some colors and other random objects to create an artistic masterpiece. Not only will creating all of this artwork provide you with coping with sobriety skills, but it will also provide you with a recipe for serene entertainment.    

Alas, not all people can get their rocks off with a little bit of self-reflection expression—it just doesn’t do it for them. Some need a more introspective approach for coping with sobriety.

Coping With Others to Cope With Self

Just the act of becoming sober allows people to see things from a brighter and clearer perspective. Once you’ve started to look at things in a more optimistic manner, you should pay it forward—or at least that’s the idea. Everybody needs a little bit of help here and there, just as you did during rehab and recovery. After all, the coping skills in sobriety that saved us didn’t all appear in a dream.

A wise man once said that life is like a table filled with all sorts of different drinking glasses. Our job on this planet is to keep those glasses of water full so that others can be happy. Yet at the same time, we have to keep our pitcher full to do so. 

Therein lays a wonderful ingredient to the masterful recipe of life. Many people feel the warmest and most content when making somebody else happy. This is one of the underestimated coping with sobriety skills that can bring out a little sunshine in the cloudiest of days. The good makes you forget about the bad, a simple statement that stays true to the end.

It Feels Good to Feel Good

One favorable method used often to cope with the world’s teeth-gritting tribulations is exercise. I’m sure most who are reading this have heard of a “runner’s high”. This is not a figment of imagination or some extravagant myth. After you get your heart rate up and running for a little bit of time, your endorphins will release. 

This is the point where we start obtaining that feeling like when we used to get while getting high. It’s a rush in its own sense, but much healthier of a rush due to the fact that the body’s natural production of endorphins is creating it.  

Exercise has always been a huge stress reliever. It’s also a way to let loose from the reigns of life for a little bit. Go ahead, pick the right tunes to play while exercising, and try to give it a shot. Most would be surprised at how much weight these things will take off your shoulders if you can master just a few of these coping skills in sobriety. 

Creating a Strong Network of Close People

Coping with sobriety can also come as a result of your support system. We all need people that we can vent to and lean on in life. Without such people, there would be no way that we could all get through this storm we call life. 

Alcoholics especially need a support system filled with close family members and friends surrounding them. With such a support system, coping skills for alcoholics can be utilized. For example, alcoholics can lean on their support system whenever they need someone to go with them to a celebratory party or event where the temptation of alcohol will be there. That way, the close family members or friends can help hold the alcoholics accountable for their sobriety. Going to such an event with alcoholic family members or friends can also prevent alcoholics from feeling alone. 

Having close people around to support you is also beneficial for alcoholics whenever they’re feeling down or overwhelmed. This is because alcoholics will feel comfortable enough to go to their support systems for help if it’s filled with their closest family members and friends. Having a support system could be the difference between an alcoholic coping with sobriety in times of stress or relapsing in times of stress.

Setting Boundaries

To make things easier on yourself when you’re coping with sobriety, you need to set boundaries. These boundaries need to be between you and harmful people and situations. To do this, you need to first be honest with yourself and know what you can and cannot handle. For example, if you very much still struggle to attend parties without grabbing a drink for yourself, you should avoid attending unnecessary parties where you know everyone is going to be drunk at. 

Another example of setting a boundary for yourself based on what you know you can or cannot handle is not allowing yourself to spend too much time with family members or friends that often stress you out to the point of drinking. If this means that you cannot attend your family reunion this year because of this boundary, then so be it. 

Putting you and your sobriety first is not selfish. In fact, it’s the opposite of selfish. It’s being selfless enough to stay away from people or situations that, in another circumstance, you would love to be around. That way, you can continue coping with your sobriety and the people in your life can avoid having to deal with your addiction.

Struggling to Cope With Life Itself?

No more white-knuckling it. No more grinding your teeth. And no more clenching your fist. Now is the time to only use coping with sobriety skills to help you get through life as an alcoholic. 

There are healthy ways to cope with life out there if we take the time to recognize them. Getting high or drunk off of a handful of chemicals never solves any of our problems in the end. 

If you or a loved one has been struggling with getting a firm grasp on sobriety and need detoxification, contact us today. At Coastal Detox, we provide alcohol and drug detox for a wide variety of substance use disorders. Our team of specialists is standing by to help you find the treatment options that are best for you. That way, you can maintain sobriety and your life can go in the right direction. 

Here at Coastal Detox, we work to help our clients find the peace and freedom they need. We understand that addiction is a challenge and overcoming it can sometimes feel overwhelming. So our team strives to walk alongside patients as they pursue an addiction-free life through detoxification.

You are not alone in your struggle. And you don’t have to be alone as you recover. We are willing and ready to stand beside you on this journey to recovery from substance dependence and abuse. You can learn more about addiction recovery by contacting us here at our professional facility. Allow our team to help you develop the coping skills you need as you gain liberty from alcoholism or drug abuse. We look forward to hearing from you and being a part of your successful recovery journey.