Your 2021 New Year's Resolution: Get Sober

Your New Year's Resolution

Everybody wants to improve various parts of their lives. Whether you are trying to change physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually, or in some other regard, chances are you created a new year’s resolution to help usher in this lifestyle alteration. 

 Some of the most common new year’s resolutions include: 

• Exercising more 
• Losing weight 
• Save more money and more 

On the long list of new year’s resolutions made each year, there is one that stands out more to some people: cutting down or quitting drinking.  

Getting sober is a challenging thing to do. Many people who are already in difficult situations will likely need professional help if they truly want to succeed. Because of this, there are rehabs in place to help those who are dealing with problems related to alcoholism, or other addiction-related issues such as opioid abuse.  

That said, some who are looking to make this change in their life don’t have a full-blown addiction issue just yet. Recognizing that they may be on the verge is a great first step though and will help in the long run. 

Let’s look at some tips for achieving your 2023 New Year’s goal of sobriety. 

Starting Your New Year’s Resolution

When it comes to following through with a new year’s resolution, the most important part is starting.  

Many people will come up with a resolution, have a general, vague idea of what they want to do and how they want to go about accomplishing it but the idea just collects dust on their mental mantle.  

It is vital that you follow through with your plan to make this change in your life, but how do you go about this? 

There are two pretty great ways to get yourself started on your goal of getting sober or cutting down on drinking this new year: 

1. Pick a Specific Start Date – One way you can play a psychological trick on yourself is to pick a specific day, preferably early in the year in January, and decide that this is the starting point for your journey. This will relieve some of the tension that you may have had previously about not knowing when to start or everything happening too abruptly.  
2. Tell Your Friends and Family – If you are truly committed to make this change in your life, it may be best to involve your loved ones. Telling your friends and family that you are going to get sober or that you are going to cut down on using drugs or alcohol will not only put a bit of helpful pressure on you to stay on the wagon, but it may even lead assistance from these people. They may begin the journey with you or help you find an inpatient rehab if that is what is needed. 

These two tips will go a long way toward helping you begin, and ultimately achieve, your goal. But consistency is the name of the game. Let’s take a look at how you can fully commit to your new year’s resolution of getting sober. 

Understanding Your Situation

To give yourself the best chance at accomplishing your new year’s goal of getting sober or cutting back on using substances, you need to take an objective evaluation of your situation to determine what the best course of action is.  

Some people challenging themselves to do this will not need advanced or professional help as their problem may not be classified as an addiction while others may be fully in the downward spiral. 

To get a better sense of where you stand on this problem, let’s take a closer look at what classifies as an addiction. 

Addiction is an illness similar to heart disease or cancer and it is important to understand that these problems are not illnesses or weaknesses and that anyone from all different types of backgrounds can deal with this. 

When someone first starts drinking or using drugs they will likely do it because of the way it makes them feel but these substances can soon change the way the brain functions – soon someone will have to use more of the substance in order to get the feeling they want, the first step to developing an addiction. 

The problem will soon take over your life – it becomes more important than eating or sleeping and soon you will do almost anything to keep the high going. 

If these characteristics describe your situation or your loved one’s situation, it may be best to find professional addiction treatment. 

Seek Out Treatment for your New Year’s Resolution

New year’s resolutions are already difficult to follow through and complete but when you make your sobriety your goal, it becomes even more arduous. That said, there are programs and institutions in place to help. 

If you are looking for treatment for yourself or your loved one, there are a number of options around the nation to help – everything from detox centers to halfway houses to luxury inpatient rehabs. 

Looking for treatment centers can hard, especially if you are unsure where to look or what to look for. 

One of the best places to start is just by looking at the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s treatment locator tool. Along with this tool, you do want to do some vetting on your own. Here are a few things that you should look for when searching for an addiction treatment facility: 

• Evidence-based treatment 
• Licensed addiction professionals 
• Accredited facility from the Joint Commission 

Along with these, you need to decide if you are going to look locally, regionally, or nationally for a treatment center. This is all based on personal preference but there is some merit to traveling for treatment as it allows clients to escape a potentially toxic environment. 

The Hope House

One rehab in Arizona dedicated that is available to help anyone around the world is The Hope House. The Hope House is a luxury rehab specializing in evidence-based treatment modalities to give patients the tools and knowledge they need to give them the best chance at overcoming addiction and committing to sobriety, including medication-assisted treatment (MAT), behavioral therapy, and more. 

If you are looking to get sober this New Year, give our admissions team a call to learn about your personal treatment plan.