Learning to celebrate your recovery and your sobriety can be a learning process for a lot of people. When we focus on our recovery from addiction, we tend to focus more on the mistakes that we made, the poor choices, and the regrets. It can be easy to overlook all of the great accomplishments that we have achieved. Even the smallest of milestones should be acknowledged and celebrated. It was hard getting sober, and you did it. Now it is time to celebrate you and everything you have accomplished.
Celebrate the Small Stuff
Every day that you continue on with your life of sobriety is a day to celebrate. Learning to celebrate the small moments is an important part of acknowledging your success. Maybe you used to sleep all day when you were actively using substances. Now you sleep at night and are up every morning ready for a productive day. That is worth celebrating. You made a positive change, one that has an impact on your mental well-being. Maybe you used to drink nothing but caffeinated beverages, and now you are working on getting the right amount of daily water in. Celebrate that! When you look at everything separately, everything can seem small and insignificant, but when you look at everything combined, you will really see how much change you have made.
Celebrate the Milestones
It might feel like you are clapping for yourself, or patting yourself on the back. For a lot of people this can feel awkward, like you are bragging about your achievements. You are, and you should! Feel proud and brag out loud to anyone in your life. If someone has never experienced addiction, they probably have no clue what you have gone through and what you have achieved. Whether you are celebrating one week, one month, or twenty years of sobriety, it is still amazing and an achievement. Clap for yourself! You do not need acknowledgment or congratulations from others. Knowing and understanding your transformation and being proud of what you have achieved is the most important thing. Do not downplay what you went through, or the hard work it took. Do not wait for others to celebrate your achievements. Whether you celebrate by having a small get-together with close family and friends, or just go out for some ice cream, make sure you recognize your achievement.
Re-explore Yourself
What do you like to do? What makes you happy? What gets you excited? For so long our identities, wants, and focus has been on our addiction. We lost parts of ourselves, forgot what we like, and stopped exploring. Now that we are living a life of sobriety, we can take the time to relearn who we are, what we like, or what gets us excited. What we hated during our addiction might turn out to be something we absolutely love as a sober person. Discovering more about ourselves is something to celebrate and be thankful for. It is a great reminder as to why all of our hard work getting sober and staying sober is worth it. You do not need to wait for a specific milestone or moment to celebrate. Celebrate discovering your love of a new sport, activity, or hobby.
Why We May Not Celebrate
When we had an active addiction, we probably associated celebrating with partying and partying with using substances. We probably had a group of people that we could always count on to party with us for any sort of reason. So, as an individual living a now-sober lifestyle, we might even be afraid to celebrate. We might be worried that we would fall back into old patterns or habits. We even might be scared that temptation may arise. Having faith that you did the work and that you have the ability to live a life of sobriety is powerful. If you are concerned, make sure you are celebrating in an environment that you are comfortable with. Making sure you are only surrounded by those who respect your progress and respect any boundaries that you have set in place for your protection. For some, it takes time to be comfortable around different situations. A large gathering may be fine for some, whereas for others, this would cause a lot of anxiety. This is where you need to do the work and really determine what you are comfortable with. It is not worth getting into a situation that you later regret. Plan your celebrations out so that you can fully enjoy them. You worked hard, now is the time to celebrate it.
Celebrating your sobriety is an important part of recovery. You have worked hard, gone through challenging and tough times, and you deserve to give yourself a clap on the back each step of the way. You should celebrate the big milestones, the tiny moments, and everything in between. Maybe you discovered a new hobby, changed an old pattern, or stepped outside of your comfort zone. Those are all things to celebrate and applaud. Celebrations will be unique for everyone. Some people will want a large gathering, others will want to celebrate by going on a remote hike. Learning what works best for you is a key theme of recovery. Here at The Guest House, we are ready to help you through any challenges or struggles you may face as you journey through sobriety. We are here for every stage and every challenge. Give us a call today to learn more about our treatment options at (855) 483-7800.