Finding success in addiction recovery, particularly during those crucial early stages, truly calls for dedication, support, and some effective strategies. Together, these elements create a foundation for a brighter, successful journey!
It can be quite a challenging phase as individuals begin to adjust to a new way of living without substances. A new life strategy must be at the forefront, leaving behind those old habits that can lead to setbacks.
What Is Early Recovery?
Early recovery spans from 6 to 12 months after someone has made the brave decision to stop using substances.
It’s a time of significant growth, change and vulnerabilities!
As the individual starts living without drugs or alcohol, they need to establish habits that support long-term sobriety. Falling back into old routines can only make life harder and endanger their sobriety.
Five Key Challenges in Early Recovery
Each challenge is deeply interconnected, often influencing and reinforcing one another.
For instance, lingering emotional pain can really amplify cravings. Plus, having unsupportive or fractured relationships might make it even tougher to handle emotions.
The complexity of early recovery lies in the fact that progress in one area often depends on stability in the others.
Navigating these challenges is rarely a solo journey. It often calls for a warm, multi-layered support system to help along the way.
First are the Cravings and the Triggers
Cravings and triggers are two of the most significant—and often challenging—aspects of addiction recovery to understand and manage. They are deeply connected to the brain’s reward system and the learned habits formed during active addiction.
Physical and psychological cravings can surface, especially during stressful life situations or when exposed to old stomping grounds or old acquaintances. Anything that is associated with using mind-altering substances can cause emotions to appear and trigger cravings.
However, one can manage cravings and triggers, and over time, they lose much of their intensity.
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The Second is Emotional Volatility
It’s quite normal that one experiences mood swings, anxiety, and depression while adjusting to life without substances. Remember that many people use substances to self-medicate, so early recovery can feel emotionally raw and unstable.
Post-Acute Withdrawal Syndrome (PAWS) can contribute to this. This refers to a set of ongoing withdrawal symptoms that persist after the initial withdrawal. It can affect individuals recovering from addiction to substances such as alcohol, opioids, benzodiazepines, stimulants, and other drugs.
The Third Building New Habits and Identity
Many people in recovery realize that their substance use was tied to specific habits or routines, often unconsciously. For example:
- Waking up and using immediately to “get going” or feel normal.
- Using after work or school as a way to relax or reward oneself.
- Drinking alcohol while watching a game
- Using in the car while driving or parking in specific spots.
- Using with a particular group of friends or partners who also use.
- Using to manage stress, anxiety, boredom, loneliness, or anger.
- Using after arguments or conflicts (with family, partner, etc.).
- Substance use as a response to negative thoughts or shame.
Identifying these habits is key to relapse prevention. Once you’re aware of them, you can disrupt the pattern by changing the routine. You can replace the behaviour with healthier alternatives (e.g., walking, hiking, calling a support person, participating in sports).
Social Identity:
Before addiction, you often find people who either had a strong social identity and lost it during addiction or were living in social isolation despite family, friends and coworkers. One aspect of rehabilitation and recovery is building or rebuilding social identity.
An important aspect of recovery is discovering purpose, creating a sense of structure, and looking for and accepting the meaningful experiences of a sober life. It’s important to move beyond the drug-using identity. Developing a new social identity and making lifestyle changes, you can help prevent slipping back into old habits and environments. **
The Fourth Relationship Challenges
With addiction one can often lie, be secrecitive, and manipulate, to hide their substance use and other reasons. These lead to a sense of unreliability and untrustworthiness. Making loved ones feel betrayed or hurt, which is completely understandable, even as the recovery journey begins. Therefore, regaining trust is challenging and requires consistent, honest behaviour and patience.
Adding to this, someone in recovery might carry feelings of guilt or shame about their past behaviours. Emotional barriers can stay up and deter growth when there isn’t open communication and mutual forgiveness.
Navigating social situations without substances should involve setting healthy boundaries and choosing to steer clear of certain individuals who don’t align with your goals.
The Fifth Risk of Relapse
The risk of relapse in addiction recovery is very real and common, especially in the early stage. Viewing relapse not as a setback but as a possible aspect of the recovery process permits individuals and families to react with compassion, strategy, and support.
Studies show that 40–60% of people in recovery relapse at some point. The highest risk is within the first 90 days, but it remains significant for up to one year or more.
If you should relapse, don’t spiral into shame or secrecy. Reach out immediately to a sponsor, therapist, loved one or trusted friend. Assess what led to the relapse, learn from it, and continue and grow. Get treatment (outpatient, inpatient, or recovery meetings) if necessary. Relapse is not a failure; it signals that something in your plan (or life) needs attention.
Strategies for Success in Early Recovery
Here are steps you can take during recovery to promote sobriety and achieve success.
- Set a Routine by structuring your day with healthy activities like work, exercise, and hobbies to fill the time previously spent using substances.
- Attend Support Groups like Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), Narcotics Anonymous (NA), or SMART Recovery, which provide accountability and community. Meeting others with similar struggles can help you feel less isolated.
- Practice Self-Care by prioritizing sleep, nutrition, and exercise to rebuild physical and mental health. Mindfulness exercises can help manage stress and reduce cravings.
- Identify and Manage Triggers by recognizing situations, people, or emotions that make you want to use substances. Develop healthy coping mechanisms like deep breathing or calling a trusted friend.
- Seek professional help through therapy, especially cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), which can help address underlying issues and equip you with tools to handle challenges.
The Importance of Ongoing Support
Ongoing support is absolutely essential in early addiction recovery, as it is in the long run. Recovery isn’t just about stopping substance use. It’s about learning to live a healthier, more balanced, and connected life over the long term. That process takes time, vulnerability, and, most importantly, community and consistent support.
In early recovery, having a support network is crucial. This includes:
- Sponsors or mentors who can guide you through challenges.
- Therapists who help process emotional struggles.
- Friends and family who encourage healthy choices.
Recovery doesn’t happen in isolation. Long-term success depends on willpower, structure, connection, and community. Ongoing support provides strength when you’re weak, guidance when you’re lost, and celebration when you grow.
It’s also important to remember that relapse is a possibility, but it doesn’t mean failure. If relapse occurs, treat it as a learning experience and recommit to recovery.
** Ref: recoveryanswers.org
Carole Pelland
Substance Abuse
Digital Marketing Administrator
& Author
