ArtFriend

A list of important goals for your first year of recovery. Use it as a reminder and to help you stay on track in the days and months ahead.

• Accept that you have an addiction.
• Practice honesty in your life.
• Learn to avoid high-risk situations.
• Learn to ask for help.
• There are many paths to recovery. The most difficult doing it alone.
• Practice calling friends before you have cravings.
• Become actively involved in self-help recovery groups.
• Go to discussion meetings and begin to share. You are not alone.
• Get a sponsor and do step work.
• Get rid of using friends.
• Make time for you and your recovery.
• Celebrate your small victories. Recovery is about progress not perfection.
• Practice saying no.
• Take better care of yourself.
• Develop healthy eating and sleeping habits.
• Learn how to relax and let go of stress.
• Discover how to have fun clean and sober.
• Make new recovery friends and bring them into your life.
• Reevaluate your lifestyle periodically to make sure you remain on track.
• Deal with cravings by “playing the tape forward” What will happen if you start?
• Find ways to distract yourself when you have cravings.
• Physical activity helps many aspects of recovery.
• Deal with post-acute withdrawal symptoms.
• Develop strategies for social environments where drinking is involved.
• Keep a gratitude list of your recovery, your life, and the people in it.
• Say goodbye to your addiction.
• Develop tolerance and compassion for others and for yourself.
• Begin to give back and help others once you have a solid recovery.
• See yourself as a non-user.

waywardson8260

Wow, this is quite a list and these are great goals. Do you have a set of priorities for these? Which ones do you want to tackle first? What steps are you going to achieve today? This would help you focus on achieving them.

strategery

This is awesome! Thank you Artfriend!

IOAA2

Hi.
That’s a worthy list of positive things that help alcoholics.
A major one missing is staying sober AND HELPING ANOTHER ALCOHOLIC achieve sobriety. Unfortunately we in general don’t realize how important that is. In fact it’s a huge item for many with content sobriety.

BE WELL

ArtFriend

IOAA2 - second from last on the list

Begin to give back and help others once you have a solid recovery.

twal

Thank you for the list, Artfriend!

ArtFriend

I think the priority to prevent relapse is to make recovery #1 in your life and to take care of yourself. That means attending to your physical, mental and emotional needs. Even spiritual if you are so inclined. Delicate balance. Like 4 wheels on a car. One goes and the car is disabled. I am working on all these aspects and it is a challenge no doubt. There are times when I feel defeated and just want to say screw it. But, like people here have reminded me, play the tape through to the end.

In terms of priority of goals, I would say to attend to emotional self-care first, because from there it is a slippery slope into full blown relapse. It is hard when you are being buffeted around by your emotions, but you have to get a handle on them. I tend to isolate when I feel down and that is the worse thing to do. So I come on SR which helps a lot.

Soberwolf

Exellent list Artfriend

PurpleKnight

Great list Art!!