Sobriety Toolbox Tips

Adding these tips to your everyday toolbox will enable you to deal with the craziness that life throws at you, without reaching for the bottle.

It’s too easy to lose focus of what’s important. We have to remember that looking after our own wellbeing is crucial to achieving a happy sober you.

Treat yourself.

Getting sober is about compassion and self-love. You are allowed to reward yourself for this difficult thing you are doing. Whether that’s a daily, weekly or monthly treat or a special treat for hitting a major (or minor) sober milestone. Just think how much money you are saving by not drinking. Here’s some ideas for a sober treat.

Cake (my favourite)
Buying a sober keepsake
Clean sheets
Fresh flowers
Nice mocktail ingredients
Meeting friends for coffee
Buying a new scarf or stationery
Haircut

Make some ‘You’ time

It’s important to take some ‘you’ time. And before you start, I don’t believe for a minute you don’t have time for this. How many hours did you wasted getting drunk or dealing with a hangover? Make sure you find a small amount of time, for just you. Everyone will benefit from a less stressed version of you.• Take a relaxing bath

Reading a good book
Go for a walk
Have an early night
Book a spa
Play video games
Join a yoga class
Delegate some chores
Listen to some sober podcasts

Avoid Overwhelm

Remember that your goal is to be sober. Don’t try to do too much in early sobriety. Prioritise your sobriety above everything else. This is not the time to start a diet and lose weight or commit to a new exercise regime or join the school PTA. If you think things are getting on top of you, I recommend doing less for a while.

Go outside, fresh air helps
Don’t cook, get a take away
Take a nap
Leave the house work
Say ‘no’ to new commitments
Ask for help from a friend or love one
Don’t think too far ahead. Just deal with today
Cancel that party. There will be others

Reach out

If you can, lean on loved ones and your sober friends. Tell them how you are feeling, even if it seems trivial. Getting out of our head is vital. Talking to someone really helps reduce the noise in our head. Especially the noise that tells us to drink.

In the beginning I had no sober friends. Over my drinking career I had managed to surround myself with drinking friends only. However, there is still a whole load of support out there. There are people who get it, you just have to reach out.

Go for coffee with a sympathetic friend
Join an online sober group
Read some sober blogs on WordPress or Blogger. Reach out and contact someone you can relate too
Go to an AA meeting, SMART Recovery Meeting or join a sober meet up group
Talk to your doctor
Write your own anonymous sober blog

If you are struggling or starting to think, drinking might be a good idea, try adding more support to your toolbox.

If your brain is saying joining an online sober group is dumb and won’t work for you. Tell yourself you are going to join anyway then make your mind up after 3 months.

Remember, it’s not just one thing that will help, it’s a culmination of lots of things. There is no right or wrong tool here. If you are not sure which ones are working, keep doing them all for now. x

Mrs Mac

Photo Credit: Photo by Maxim Selyuk on Unsplash