Recovery is something to be proud of. Celebrating a sober birthday is extremely important. The idea is to ensure that you give yourself credit for the hard work that got you here. Whether it’s 1 year, 5 years, we discuss how to celebrate a sober birthday.
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Addiction affects a large majority of the United States population. The number of people suffering from addiction continues to increase. However, many are finding their way into recovery by going to rehab centers that provide the means and ways for people to recover.
When people recover, it’s something to celebrate. Sober birthdays exist to commemorate the day a person decided to leave behind drugs and/or alcohol for good. It’s beautiful thing!
Recovering from addiction is not an easy thing to do. It requires strength and commitment, no matter the substance (s) that are being abused or misused. Many people believe it is impossible. It is not. Do you know why? Hope.
Hope is the foundation for all recovery.
To celebrate sobriety, one must have first made the decision to the road less traveled and seek help.
A sobriety anniversary, also known as a sobriety or AA birthday, is typically the celebration of the day when someone decided to stop using drugs, drinking alcohol, or both. The celebrated occasion can also take place on other days. Such a day can be when someone last consumed the substance (s) they were abusing. It’s like a birthday. The day a person decides to choose life.
It can also be the day the individual joins a recovery program. The same program that helped them through the process of and learned how to live a life of sobriety. However, the decision of the actual day of the celebration is, ultimately, up to the said person.
There is always room to celebrate sobriety. Whether it is a day, a week, a month, or, better yet, a year that you have been sober. There are numerous reasons why one should celebrate sobriety.
As stated before, recovery is no walk in the park. However, when someone decides that they want or need to change their behavior, habits, and lifestyle, that is worth celebrating.
As Johann Hari put it, “Addiction is an adaptation. It’s not you—it’s the cage you live in.” And when someone decides to leave that cage, that is a milestone worth commemorating.
A person’s health plays a crucial role in their experience of happiness and well-being. Their health typically declines for a person who abuses substance (s). Overcoming and learning how to manage one’s health is always an achievement worth remembering.
It’s another example of choosing life over addiction.
When taking the time to reflect, you should be able to see a significant change and difference in the person you are. A good one, too. You are looking back at where one’s life was, where it was headed during the addiction, and where it is now.
Whether it is seeing the change in behavior, actions, the people they surround themselves with, finances, or the decisions they were making.
Upon thinking about those things and seeing where you are now, one should be proud of themselves.
“Addiction is an adaptation. It’s not you—it’s the cage you live in.”
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“You can’t achieve anything entirely by yourself. There’s a support system that is a basic requirement of human existence. To be happy and successful on earth, you just have to have people that you rely on.”
Thank them whether they were family, friends, neighbors, mentors, or people in your support group. Better yet, celebrate your sobriety anniversary with them. Take advantage of the occasion; if you have not already, tell them how grateful you are for them.
Their friendship, their love, their concern, and most of all, their support. Because without them, who else would listen to you when you needed someone? Who would prop you up when you were feeling low? Who would encourage your choice of sobriety instead of substance abuse?
After accomplishing living sober for one year, month, week, or day, one should make it a common goal. Yet, if things are becoming complex, reflect on what you have already gone through and experienced to live substance-free for that day, week, month, or year.
Remember the hard times you have already faced. The push and the determination that you maintained to keep saying “no,” whenever the temptation seemed too great to pass up. Think of those moments and remind yourself that you are fully capable of living a life substance-free. One should not let those moments pass by like dead leaves in Autumn’s wind.
Recall your strength, resolve, and above all, do not begin to belittle those moments. Do not demean yourself.
Again, recovering from substance abuse is not impossible as many think it is. On the contrary, it is achievable, and anyone is capable of accomplishing it. Still, do not think it is easy because you can do it.
As stated before, the road to recovery is not an easy one to trek. However, one should never give up hope when it comes to healing. Hope is the foundation for all recovery roads.
“Hope itself is like a star – not to be seen in the sunshine of prosperity, and only to be discovered in the night of adversity.” – Charles Haddon Spurgeon.
“Hope itself is like a star – not to be seen in the sunshine of prosperity, and only to be discovered in the night of adversity.”
Recovering from substance abuse is not impossible. However, the first step to taking the long journey requires a decision, and that decision is something only you can make.
If you’ve made that decision, you should be proud. And you should celebrate!
The ABTRS Content Team is a group of writers specializing in addiction and recovery topics.
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