8 Tips for How to Stay Sober: A Comprehensive Guide on How to Keep Your Sobriety

When it comes to the question, ‘how to stay sober‘, there are many factors that need to be taken into account. If you’re struggling with controlling your drinking or other substance use, there’s a good chance you might feel discouraged and hopeless about ever achieving sobriety. Staying sober is not an overnight process; it requires a plan of action from the very beginning in order to succeed eventually. 

It can be challenging to stay sober when the world seems so eager to tempt you with alcohol and drugs; however, there are ways to stay sober and remain clean if you’re determined enough and have the right support system behind you. If you’d like to get sober and stay sober, or if you’re already living a sober lifestyle but want to make sure you don’t slip back into substance use, keep reading below for 8 practical tips on how you can keep your sobriety for good.

1. Be Honest with Yourself

Humans are social creatures and we need to interact with others in order to feel fulfillment and happiness, however; healthy social interaction includes a healthy balance between spending time with family, friends, and your community, while also taking personal time for yourself. If you put all your time, energy, and affection into booze or drugs, you’ll soon find yourself with nothing left for anyone else.

It’s important to take the time to reflect on your relationship with alcohol and other substances. How much time do you spend thinking about drinking? Do you often feel restless or anxious if you realize you haven’t had any alcohol for a while? Is drinking a habit that you find yourself falling into even when you don’t really want to? If you’re not honest with yourself, you’re likely to find yourself in a cycle of failure.

2. Make a Plan for How To Stay Sober

Making a plan that includes set goals is one of the most important steps you can take to stay sober. As the saying goes, “If you don’t know where you’re going, you’ll end up where you are.” So, first and foremost you need to figure out what goals you would like to set for yourself. Having a concrete plan to work toward is a great way to stay on track.

For example, you might want to set a goal for yourself to go to a weekly AA meeting, or perhaps you have a goal to visit a rehabilitation center. Having a plan will help you to stay focused on the goal you have set for yourself. You can also use apps, books, and online resources to help you set goals and plan for your sobriety.

There are a range of different ways to set goals and plan for sobriety. Setting goals that are both challenging and attainable can help you stay sober long term. Don’t set unrealistic goals for yourself that you know you are not capable of reaching. Finally, when you have a set of goals and a plan to work toward achieving them, you’re going to live a much more purpose-driven life. Following a set plan and experiencing the joy of achieving goals you set for yourself will make you happier and more content with life as well as motivate you to stay sober.

3. Don’t Be Afraid to Ask for Help

When you’re first starting out on your path to sobriety, you might be scared to reach out for assistance. You may worry that you’ll look like a failure or a loser if you ask for help, or perhaps you just feel as though you shouldn’t need to. Whatever your reason for believing these things, this is a very unproductive way of thinking. While it’s true that many people have managed to stay sober without the help of a 12-step program or rehab support group, it’s important to remember that no one is perfect, especially when it comes to staying sober.

There is always room for improvement and if you’re in a place where you feel like you could use some support, there’s nothing shameful about asking for it. In fact, asking for help is a sign of real courage and strength. It shows that you care about your sobriety and that you want to make improvements to your lifestyle to remain sober. It’s important to realize that there are a lot of different kinds of help available to people in need. Whatever kind of help it is that you need, whether it’s professional or private, emotional or physical care, small or large, there is an option out there available that is right for you.

4. Build a Strong Support System

This might sound like common sense, but it’s amazing how many people don’t consider this aspect of staying sober. There are many ways that you can sustain your sobriety. One of the most important ways to do this is to have a good support system in place. Life is going to throw a lot of challenges your way, and staying sober is no exception.

You’re going to encounter situations and people that are going to try and tempt you back to drinking. So, the best way to deal with these situations is to have a support system in place to help you stay strong. You can build a support system around your 12-step program, your friends in AA, a counselor, or a teacher, for example. A support system can help you stay strong when you’re tempted to drink or do drugs and can be extremely helpful in maintaining your sobriety.

5. Exercise Often 

Many people who struggle with alcoholism and drug addiction struggle with poor fitness levels and poor nutrition. Poor fitness and nutrition levels can lead to many issues including but not limited to:

• poor mood
• fatigue
• decreased sex drive
• low confidence levels
• insomnia
• weight gain.

If there is one thing that you should get in the habit of doing to maintain your sobriety long-term, it’s to get yourself into a routine of at least 30 minutes of exercise a day. Not only will it help with some of the above issues, but it will also help with the risks of alcoholism and drug addiction. Staying fit can help decrease anxiety, and it can help you to stay focused when you’re trying to stay sober.

6. Eat Well

When it comes to nutrition, there are many benefits that come with eating a healthy diet, such as:

• feeling better about yourself
• a stronger sex drive
• more mental clarity
• a better mood.

There are many nutritional options out there such as shakes, bars, and powders that are designed to help with your cravings and detox. Some of these include:

• protein drinks 
• gels
• bars
• keto products
• supplements like L-Glutamine and B vitamins.

Getting into a good routine of nutritious, alkaline foods can be challenging initially when you’re trying to avoid triggers, but once developed, this habit will be beneficial for many other reasons as well.

7. Practice Mindfulness

This step can be especially challenging when you’re in a bad place, but mindfulness is something that you need to work on to increase your chance of reaching long-term sobriety. Mindfulness is the practice of staying present and paying attention to the current moment. When you’re in a bad place, you might tend to think negatively and dwell on the past, but mindfulness can help you to change your thinking and focus on the present.

There are many things that you can do to develop mindfulness. One of them is to keep a journal where you write down all of your bad thoughts and try to focus on the fact that you’re trying to stay sober. You can also keep a journal of what you’re doing on your mindfulness journey so that you can look back and see the progress you are making.

Another thing that you can do is to meditate. There are many types of meditation, and when you’re just starting out, you might want to try something really basic such as taking a few slow breaths or counting to ten.

8. Trust the Experts at Oasis Recovery

Addiction and mental health disorders can affect anyone. If you or a loved one are currently wondering how to stay sober, help is available! It is easy to believe that staying sober is easy and that anyone can do it if only they want to be sober badly enough; however, it is actually a lot harder than you may think to stay completely substance-free. It takes a lot of willpower and determination to stay sober. 

If you’re dealing with a lot of stress or with a difficult issue, it is essential to go to counseling, check in with a support group, or find another new healthy way to cope with your problems rather than using substances. Staying sober is a constant struggle, but it doesn’t have to be impossible. With a little effort and the right support, you can achieve long-term sobriety. Do not let your dependence on drugs and/or alcohol get the best of you, there is a sober lifestyle waiting for you out there that will show you wonderful life can be.

We encourage you to reach out to the professionals at Oasis Recovery to learn more about our personalized treatment programs and mental health services. Oasis Recovery was founded from firsthand experience of addiction and recovery, with a mission of providing a space where people can heal from addiction in a compassionate, creative, open-minded, and heart-centered environment. We believe recovery is always possible. Our experts work with you to design a treatment plan that fits your needs. Common treatment programs include:

• Intensive Outpatient Programs (IOP)
• Full-time Addiction Treatment on campus
• Aftercare Services

Contact us today for more information about how our programs and services can help you get your life back on track. You no longer have to struggle with this on your own. We are here to help.