Why Being Sober Beats Addiction

Many people worry that when you are sober, you can’t have fun anymore. That’s because there’s a popular myth that being sober means never going to a party again or being closed off from socialization. However, this is far from the truth. 

When you work toward long-term sobriety, your entire life opens up in ways that you never thought it could. There are countless reasons as to why being sober is amazing. But before we get into the benefits of sober living, we must recognize the ways that substance abuse can bring significant challenges to your life.

Signs and Side Effects of Addiction

Addiction is a mental illness that you cannot control when you are drinking and using. Anybody can develop an addiction to alcohol or drugs, but some people are at an increased risk as a result of family history, environmental factors, and the possibility of co-occurring mental health conditions.

Research shows that substance abuse causes physiological changes to the brain, which results in changed behavior, mood swings, and poor decision-making abilities. Though addiction can be hard to spot in a loved one as much as it is hard to detect in yourself, some common symptoms of addiction to watch out for include:

• Turning to drugs or alcohol in times of emotional distress
• Being unable to stop drinking after one drink
• Constantly thinking about the next time you can use
• Feeling withdrawal symptoms when you aren’t using
• Changes in personality and behaviors
• Lying to others and yourself about how much/how often you are using
• Worsening mental health symptoms

These are just some of the glaring signs that you or a loved one may have a substance use disorder that requires addiction treatment. And there are other serious side effects as well. Addiction to drugs and alcohol comes with serious physical health risks. In the United States, approximately 70,000 people lost their lives from drug overdoses in 2019. Unfortunately, with the strain of the COVID-19 pandemic and barriers to mental health treatment, these numbers continue to climb.

If your addiction goes untreated, you may find that you struggle with daily tasks. Keeping healthy relationships becomes much more of a challenge, for instance. You might even find that you cannot keep up with your career responsibilities. For those who struggle with substance abuse, addiction will always come first. Your mind and body begin to depend on the substance, which leaves you vulnerable to serious consequences in all areas of your life. 

If you are hoping to improve your mental health and wellness over the course of this new year and beyond, being sober might be the most important step you take toward this goal.

How Being Sober Changes Your Life

Perhaps the most important and urgent factor to consider when becoming sober is that you are saving yourself from further mental and physical harm. Not only will being sober help you to find happiness again, but being sober can also help you to feel healthier and stronger.

There is, of course, a social component to addiction. The idea of using alcohol and/or drugs in social situations might make it seem as though you need to drink or use to have (and be) fun. You might even have drinking buddies or friends who you only see in this type of scene. Thus, the thought of becoming sober leaves you worried that you will lose your good friends and your social life.

In a sense, becoming sober changes the way that you socialize—but this is far from a negative thing. One of the biggest reasons why being sober is amazing is because this lifestyle change allows you to build stronger relationships and spend time with the people you love. Having sober people around you will also help you to foster friendships and deeper connections because you will be able to have meaningful, clear-headed interactions.

When you are sober from alcohol and drugs, you might also experience:

• Renewed interest in hobbies
• New life goals
• Career achievements
• Healthier ways to deal with stress
• Less stress

Overall, being sober is amazing because it gets you back on track to being the person you want to be: healthy, happy, and thriving.

How to Become Sober

Becoming sober is not an easy decision to make and it is not an overnight process. That being said, you can find long-term sobriety by starting your recovery journey through treatment facilities for substance abuse.

At treatment centers for addiction like the one at Baton Rouge Behavioral Hospital, you will have the opportunity to safely detox from alcohol and drugs. Moreover, treatment here will help you get to the root of your addiction in order to heal from it with services such as:

• Mental health assessments
• Cognitive behavioral therapy
• Group therapy
• Family therapy
• Recreational therapy
• Dual diagnosis treatment
• Medication management

Additionally, you have the option to work on your behavioral health needs with professionals who can help you heal from a variety of different mental health disorders, including anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder, dissociative disorders, phobias, PTSD, and more. On top of this, our mental health experts at Baton Rouge Behavioral Hospital are here to help keep you safe in times of acute crisis.

Here, we believe that healing is something that needs to happen on all levels: physical, mental, and emotional. This is why we also assist patients who struggle with chronic pain and adults with multiple mental health conditions. Your journey toward being sober is not one that you have to take alone.

If you are looking for more reasons as to why being sober is awesome and can truly change your life, reach out to us by phone at 225-300-8470 or ask your questions online. We are here to listen to your story and get you on the path toward being sober.