In life in general, but even more so in early sobriety, we are faced with a cacophony of stressors that are sometimes so loud that we can barely manage to block them out in order to simply function at a baseline level. A large portion of this stress comes at us in the form of responsibilities that we put to the side during our addiction such as paying bills, working a steady job, and maintaining healthy connections with our loved ones. In early sobriety we often feel as though we need to scramble as quickly as possible in order to reestablish ourselves in the world. The fact of the matter is that early sobriety can be a time of anxiety and stress and this state, although uncomfortable, can actually help facilitate movement on our parts. Sometimes it doesn’t matter in which direction we move, but simply that we begin to move in a direction. The adoption of faith, or the assumption that if we take the indicated steps and put one foot in front of the other we will begin to make progress, is essential in the fight to combat stress. When we engage in actions, we help bolster our self-esteem by proving to ourselves that we have some control and agency over our lives. This faith allows us to continue taking actions even when we aren’t sure that the conclusion of our acts will work out for us.
To reiterate, taking action towards things that are causing our stress in the first place such as paying bills, making an effort to reconnect with loved ones, and finding a job, is one of the best ways to relieve the stress. This is due to the fact that stress and anxiety are basically messages from our brains that are saying, “there is a problem and I need you to fix it.” Once we begin the process of ameliorating the problematic areas in our lives, our brains will not need to send these messages with the same intensity and severity that it once did. Some other ways of managing our stress come in the form of self-care; taking a walk down the beach, setting aside an hour a day to read a good book, meditating for 10 minutes, or simply hanging out with positive friends are all ways in which we can combat our levels of stress in early sobriety. Not only are these good ways to manage stress in early sobriety, but they can be applied during any and all stressful times that we encounter in our lives.
If you or someone you love is struggling with addiction, don’t hesitate to contact Treehouse Recovery so that their staff of addiction professionals can help facilitate the adventure of a new life in sobriety today.
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