Sometimes, it’s difficult to know if your effort to overcome alcohol use disorder is bearing fruits or not. Relapse is common and can be discouraging if you have no support. Living with family and friends who are alcohol users can also be very tempting.
However, if you stay focused on the primary goal of gaining your sobriety, you will get over it successfully. You can do a self-assessment test to check if you are on the right track to alcohol recovery or you need to change some habits. Also, you can look to the experts from The Forge Recovery Center for the best support
Follow this self-evaluation guide to help you master your progress during alcohol recovery.
Evaluating Personal Strengths & Weaknesses
Most relapses in alcohol recovery result from peer influence, inability to avoid one’s old ways, fear of discrimination, emotional state, and attitude towards alcohol. Once you take the path to alcohol recovery, it is vital to evaluate your strength and weakness when drinking alcohol.
For example, have you been able to leave or avoid your old ways, friends, or family that drag you back to alcohol, can you go out with your drinking peers and stand your ground that you no longer drink, or do you crave alcohol out of nowhere? If you find the answers to these questions are not on the recovery side, you need to put more effort where needed.
What Triggers Your Desire to Drink Alcohol
If you are planning to abstain from alcohol, you must deal with the triggers first. The triggers can be external factors like people, places, things, or even the time of the day. The internal motivation is rethinking over and over about drinking.
Once you know what makes you go back to drinking, the best solution is to avoid it as much as you can. Avoid going to places like clubs or parties where people are drinking, and find activities that can keep you distracted from thinking about alcohol all the time.
Focus on Your Future Goals
Setting goals during alcohol recovery is vital in many ways. First, it requires self-examination; you must reflect on what is important to you or how you would love to live your life. Setting future goals also requires positive thinking, which helps you change your mindset and focus on these goals.
Since no one would love to have a terrible future, thinking positively about your tomorrow will help you overcome your drinking habits no matter what it takes. This desire to get better is enough drive to keep you moving forward.
Think of Your Health
Alcohol, whether you drink responsibly or are an addict, the bottom line is that it is harmful to your health. Alcohol use disorder is a life-threatening condition, and one primary reason that makes many addicts opt for medication is to have a healthy life. It is associated with several diseases like liver and mental illness.
When you think of all the harm alcohol has brought your way, the potential dangers still ahead, and the trouble you have caused to your loved ones since you became an addict, you would not like to look back. It will give you all the reasons to recover from alcohol use disorder.
To Sum Up
Giving up is not an option when battling alcohol use disorder; every time you feel like going back, take a moment of self-evaluation, think of all the good things that await you on the other side of sobriety, and keep moving. Every effort that you will put toward your recovery counts.
