5 Every Day Basics for Quality Addiction Recovery

The therapists and counselors at Milford Counseling work with teens and adults who are struggling with substance abuse and addiction.

There a times when people in recovery from alcohol or addiction feel stuck. People in recovery get caught up in their day to day responsibilities just like everyone else. It’s easy to get off track with our recovery program with work, school, family, children and everything else that needs attention daily. A recovery program can be easily put on the back burner. The old saying is that: “recovery must come first. Anything put in front of recovery we lose”. The reason this is such a powerful statement is that if we put other things head of our recovery, we are at risk of relapse. It’s a slippery slope. We stop doing the things that solved our addiction and alcohol problem and became too busy. You are in trouble if things are going really well for you and you don’t think you need it anymore. On the other hand, you are also in trouble if your life is becoming unhappy. Are you feeling irritable or unsatisfied with your life? Do you find that you are angrier than you used to be? Is fear and restlessness working its way into your thinking? These are common symptoms of an untreated person in recovery. People in recovery from substance abuse need to treat their disease just like a diabetic needs to treat theirs.

Getting back to the basics is a good place to start.

If your reading this it’s not too late to reclaim your serenity. After all, isn’t serenity what sobriety is all about? Getting back to the basics is a good place to start. There are 5 simple and basic actions that you take daily to keep your recovery more balanced. These basics are not new and the credit should be given to the wonderful people in 12-step recovery that organized these basics for people to follow daily. Doing the basics is a good start. Of course taking more action like going to see a therapist or counselor who specializes in substance abuse therapy, working the 12-steps, finding a service commitment at a meeting and helping others is the ultimate way to super fit recovery.

The first one is going to a sober support meeting today. Whether it be AA, NA or any other type of support meeting that you choose to go to, it is important that you go now and go regularly. Make a list of the meetings in your area that you can attend every week and put them in your schedule. If you’re new to sobriety, going to at least one meeting a day is important. I have provided links to some websites that can help you easily lookup meetings in your area.  

Use the basics as your plan and your foundation for better recovery.

Number two is to read two pages of recovery literature every day. It is highly recommended that you stick to reading from the big book which is the basic text of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), the AA 12 and 12, or the NA textbook everyday. Reading the two pages in the morning is the best so we can start our day off with recovery on our mind.

Number three and four is prayer and meditation in the morning and at night. Do these when you wake up and before you go to bed. A couple simple prayers, like the serenity prayer or asking your higher power to help keep you sober today is a good start. If you’re not familiar with meditation, just taking time to reflect on whatever it is that you’ve read in your daily reading or just taking time to be silent is a great way to begin.

Serenity Prayer

“God, grant me the serenity to accept things I can not change.

Courage to change things I can.

And Wisdom to know the difference”.

Number five, call your sponsor or a sober support everyday and check in with them. If you don’t have a sponsor don’t be discouraged, they are really easy to find. In step one of the basics you made a list of the meetings that you’re going to go to every week and started going. Finding a sponsor there will be easy for you if you’re willing to ask for help. Remember this: sponsors need you as much as you need them. Asking someone to sponsor you is helping them and doing them a favor for their recovery.

Do these five basics everyday! Use them as your plan and your foundation for better recovery. Remind yourself that these basics are nothing compared to the amount of time and work that your addiction demanded. These Basics will keep you grounded in your recovery program and help you to gain traction towards living a full, complete and healthy recovery lifestyle. There is no time like the present to get started on feeling better about yourself and what you can do to improve your sobriety.

We invite you to call us (248)529-6383 to schedule a session with a therapist. It would be an honor to work with you and help!