Early recovery is a time of transition and transformation. There are so many changes going on that it is not abnormal to experience some anxiety. Painful memories, shame, guilt, and remorse all may pop up once the fog of the drugs and the alcohol is lifted, and you can see your addiction for what it really is.
Trying to navigate life sober, can create stress and anxiety that may give addicts the delusion that their old lifestyle is better suited for them even though the addiction continued to chew them up and spit them out. The most important thing to learn first in early recovery is that you need new coping skills to keep you from picking up where you left off in your addiction.
Join a 12-Step Program.
Your best bet is to get involved in a support group, like a 12-Step program, with people that have experienced many of the same things that you have while in the throes of addiction. There is relief that you can encounter while working the steps with the sponsor in hopes of finding a Higher Power to guide you through the anxiety that early sobriety brings out. Go to as many meetings that you need to go to get connected to the group. While you are there, it will benefit you to learn everything about your addiction and how it has manipulated you repeatedly.
Find some support.
Consider finding people that you can trust to talk to you about your anxiety. Getting the support that you need can come from a therapist, a sponsor, a recovery friend, or someone in your church. Anxiety can leave you to feel helpless and hopeless, but leaning on people can help influence you to lessen your anxiety.
Acquire new productive activities.
Staying busy with healthy activities can help to relieve the symptoms of anxiety. Isolating can make you withdraw and feel loneliness that can lead you back to thinking that your addiction is the only solution and your only “friend”. Learning to discover the things that you enjoy can also take your mind off the obsession that your addiction tries to trick you with.
Stopping an addiction all together takes some significant change from someone willing to stay sober. It may be difficult at first, but the rewards that can be benefited from by continuing to prevent relapse through early recovery can help you to build a sober foundation that can minimize your anxiety you one day at time.
If you, or someone you know, has a problem with dependency to drugs and alcohol, Serenity Oaks Wellness Center can instruct them on how to stay on the beaten path of recovery. Our holistic therapy along with our 12-Step aspects can help alleviate the symptoms of anxiety. Call us today: 844-720-6847
