8 Recovery Milestones Worth Celebrating
Recovery is a life-long journey. When you are on this journey, it can be easy to lose sight of how far you’ve come. However, it’s so important to celebrate your own progress!
Acknowledging progress reinforces all of the changes you have made in your life to get to this point, spurring you on toward continued success, health, and joy in sobriety.
No longer physically dependent
Withdrawal symptoms are extremely difficult to manage and get through, often causing fever, chills, headaches, body aches, and more. However, once that phase has passed, it is important to realize that that was your body’s response to substances. No longer having physical dependence, cravings or withdrawal symptoms is one of the first, and often most important, milestones. It is important in showing how substances were negatively impacting your body and how healthy your body can feel without substances.
Able to help or support someone else in recovery
At some point in your recovery, you may be in a position where you can support others in their own journey. This may be done by being someone’s official sponsor, or by providing support to a friend or housemate. Whatever the case may be, being in a position to provide support to another individual in recovery is a huge milestone! This means that you have put in the work on your own sobriety, have learned tools and resources to support your own sobriety, and can pass this information and experience on to others. Helping others in any capacity can make a difference in their lives, make you feel good about your own recovery journey and reinforce why you chose sobriety in the first place.
Saying no
Being able to and allowing yourself to say no, not only to using substances, but to taking on too many responsibilities, to invitations for events that may affect your sobriety, and to anything else that may put you in a difficult position is empowering! By allowing yourself to say no, you take charge of your own life and choices.
Although it can be difficult at first, for fear of letting others down or not meeting others expectations, saying no is a great way to ensure you are meeting your own needs first. It is important to know that your own expectations of yourself are important, above others expectations of you.
Significant dates: weeks, months, and years
Many individuals and groups choose to recognize dates as milestones throughout recovery. These milestones often include tokens stating the length of time an individual has remained in recovery. As each day passes, you are one step closer to managing your sobriety long term.
These milestones are important and reinforce your recovery journey as they show you that you can do it! You can keep on course and make it through each day – leading to weeks, months and years – while maintaining sobriety and living your life to the fullest.
Reconciling broken relationships
Repairing relationships that were broken due to substance use is important. This not only allows you the opportunity to forgive yourself and others for any wrongdoings, but it also allows others the opportunity forgive themselves and you for any wrongdoings. Having a clean slate and conscious can allow you to move forward and continue to make positive choices for yourself and those around you, often creating a stronger and more trusting bond.
Returning to old hobbies or discovering new ones
Returning to old hobbies that you once enjoyed before struggling with substance use can be very rewarding! You may be able to see these hobbies with a new perspective or even enjoy them more. You may also have the time, resources, and opportunities to explore new hobbies and activities that you may not have had before. Discovering new and productive hobbies and activities is both fun and rewarding, allowing for a new opportunity to grow and learn more about yourself and the things you like to do. It may also lead to meeting new people and forming new friendships!
Setting and achieving personal goals
Achieving personal goals is also a highly rewarding aspect of recovery. It may be to obtain a new job, get a promotion, live independently, go to school, travel somewhere new, learn a new hobby/skill or anything in between! Whatever it may be, it is something that you can look forward to, work towards and eventually achieve! Having the time and focus to achieve these goals can create personal happiness and growth.
Entering a new phase (i.e. sober living, re-entering society)
Everyone’s recovery journey is different. Some individuals may go through a detoxification program, incarceration, or sober living. Whatever the case may be, re-entering society can be stressful at times, and it’s important to acknowledge each step of the journey that has gotten you there. Then, you will be able to rely on the tools you have developed, the positive support/people in your life, and on yourself to succeed. This is an amazing milestone as it means you have put in a lot of hard work and have gained the skills, knowledge, and network of people needed to succeed. This is also a good time to reflect on your journey, how far you have come, what goals you want to achieve in the future, and on how you have changed in a positive way.
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Every recovery journey is different. Each individual will meet different challenges and different milestones at different times. It is certainly not a race and it is important to understand that everyone’s journey looks different. There may be some milestones that not everyone meets and there may be some milestones that some people feel are less or more important than others.
Take your time, reflect, know why you have chosen sobriety, focus on your own journey, celebrate and recognize each milestone as you see fit, and above all, be proud of yourself for how far you have come!
