03/01/2024
It's hard to imagine the gifts of sobriety when we feel hopelessly addicted to alcohol or other drugs. The broken relationships, the financial ruin, the loss of self-esteem: addiction is terribly painful. And the pain provokes us to numb it away with alcohol or other drugs. And so we become caught in the cycle of addiction, where we lose all hope for a happy, stable life.
It's not our fault, of course. Addiction is a disease. But many of us are unfamiliar with that concept, or we struggle to internalize it until we get into recovery. On top of that, society still misunderstands addiction: it looks (and even feels) like we simply choose not to stay sober, like we choose to hurt ourselves or our loved ones. Like we choose to lose all hope.
It's not a choice. We don't have much free will in addiction. Our addicted brains have rewired themselves to treat alcohol or other drugs as a matter of survival. Our brains believe—above food, shelter, love and everything else—that we will die if we fail to drink or use other drugs. For some withdrawals, that might prove true. So where's our choice in that? Should we fault ourselves for surviving? Never.
Addiction is not final. It is the rising action that climaxes with recovery, the storm before the calm, the painful lens through which we come to truly understand ourselves. And it will all be worth it. Once we leave behind alcohol and other drugs, we will be stronger for the journey.
Whether you have yet to enter recovery or are already in recovery, you have more to look forward to. Once sober, you can focus strictly on the good inside you and nurture that budding hope that life can be so much better. Farther down, we outline five of the most important gifts of sobriety. Rest assured: you can quit, you can stay sober and you can make for yourself a new life in recovery that is full of gifts.
Please read more to learn about the 5 biggest gifts of sobriety in this great article from Hazelden:
Addiction is not final. The gifts of sobriety are within your reach, no matter how many times you've given up. Read one woman's take on the greatest gifts of recovery.
