In early sobriety we struggle just to get another day clean. We might struggle to stay sober for a 24 hour period and in order to make it through this tough time we might have to focus on networking and getting help from the fellowship. Now this is alright but as we move into long term sobriety, those who are successful in staying sober will notice that they start to focus more on personal growth. This is not to say that you are eventually cured or that you do not need other people to stay sober, but only that there is a shift in focus on these priorities. Recovery is fueled by passion and purpose and the striving for personal growth, whereas early recovery is more about learning and networking with others. Both stages have all of these attributes in them, but the focus is a bit different for those who are successful in living a sober life.

So how can you stop drinking? My first suggestion is that you do so in a medically supervised facility. This is important because stopping drinking can literally kill you if you are not careful. There is also the added bonus that if you go to a treatment center to detox then you will also receive a ton of support from doing so. The networking that you get from your peers in early recovery is of vital importance, and going to a treatment center will automatically introduce you to these types of connections. Due to these 2 things I strongly urge attending a rehab facility if your really want to stop drinking.

Now at this point many people think that their job is done when they walk out of the treatment center but in fact it has not even started yet. The real challenge in recovery is in living your life sober without resorting back to resentment and anger and eventually relapsing. It is not always the drinking that got us in trouble but also the lifestyle itself. If you leave rehab and try to stay sober but go back to the same old lifestyle then you are going to have problems. We need to make big, structural changes in our lives if we are to maintain long term sobriety. This is not super difficult but it requires you to take some action.

So many people who leave treatment do not follow up with the action required to stay sober. If you want to make recovery work for you then you need to approach it with overwhelming force. We put a lot of effort into our drinking and we need to put just as much, if not more, into our recovery. Nearly everyone overestimates their ability to stay sober at first. The secret is to go way above and beyond what you think is necessary to keep you clean.

And that is the bottom line right there: If you want to stop drinking then you have to take action. At first your actions will be very specific and focus on getting you detoxed and learning how to live a sober life. But as time goes on in recovery your actions must shift towards those of personal growth and development. In early recovery your networking and support from others is critical. In long term sobriety your drive for personal growth and holistic health is what is key.