As we’re working towards recovery, many of us can at times feel disheartened, unmotivated and defeated when dealing with all of the many challenges that arise. We’re struggling to stay sober against what feels like insurmountable odds – pressure from family and friends, the expectations we hold for ourselves, the mental health issues we’re still struggling with, the addictive urges and temptation that make us vulnerable to relapse. One of the best things we can do for ourselves is to offset all of these difficulties and to keep our spirits high, is to celebrate our recovery every step of the way.
In addition to celebrating our sobriety anniversary, we can also celebrate the day-to-day things – every time we successfully withstand an urge or compulsion, every tough day we get through, every time we fear we might relapse but prevail. We can celebrate all the small changes we make in our daily lives, our new sober routines, habits, and lifestyles. We can celebrate every time we maintain a boundary we’ve established, especially with the people in our lives who might themselves still be struggling with addiction.
Every time we celebrate a success in our recovery, even if it feels like a small, insignificant thing not big enough to celebrate, we’re affirming to ourselves that we are worthy of celebration. We are strong, powerful and capable. We are doing what’s best for ourselves, every day, in every possible way. This is a lot to be proud of. We want to bolster our self-love and our sense of self-worth. We want to reclaim our power and autonomy over the addictions that have held us hostage for so long. When we celebrate ourselves, we give ourselves the support, encouragement and nurturing that we weren’t able to give ourselves before we achieved sobriety. We’re finally being good to ourselves.
Before sobriety, we associated celebration with using our drugs of choice. In recovery, we want to redefine what celebration means to us and how we go about it. Treating ourselves to a fun event, such as a festival or show, is a positive way to celebrate. Making time for self-care, taking a walk on a beautiful day, catching a gorgeous sunset, are all ways of celebrating that don’t involve the self-destructiveness and self-sabotage that used to be part of our celebrations. We can enlist the support of loved ones to help us celebrate – we can cook a special meal together, see a movie we’ve been meaning to see or listen to music we love. All the small things we do to celebrate our recovery add up to a new, redefined sense of self, a more joyful way of living, and a more positive outlook to help us maintain our sobriety.
Your new life starts today. Let Riverside Recovery be your support system as you do the work to heal. Call (800) 871-5440 for more information on our addiction recovery treatment programs.