Addiction Recovery Tips This New Year

The run-up to New Year’s Eve is an intoxicating, overindulgent time. Most people want to celebrate, involving high drug and alcohol consumption. Yet once the New Year enters, intentions, actions, and resolutions change.

Sobriety is one of the most common resolutions each January. For the average person, the New Year provides a fresh start, motivation, and a time for a change. Also strived for by like-minded people, it’s the easiest transition to make. Yet, for someone with alcohol/drug problems, change can be a tough commitment, at any time of the year.

Although challenging, there are ways to benefit from the new chapter and its message. The New Year can be a suitable time of year to kickstart sober intentions.

Here are some tips to welcome in the new year and life in sobriety. Start the year off strong with our support at Nova Recovery.

What is addiction recovery?

Addiction recovery subsequently follows early sobriety. It’s a process that continues, mainly on a post-rehab basis, to direct recovering addicts towards life in sobriety.

Rehabilitation itself helps to motivate the treatment of addiction. Common treatments used help to work through the cause and effect of alcoholism or drug abuse. Detoxification helps to remove drugs or alcohol as influences. Therapy sessions help to readjust the mind. Further activities, addiction treatments and support groups educate clients on long-term recovery. Rehab has a timeline and several milestones to achieve.

Following rehab, addiction recovery is a continuous process that doesn’t have an end date. It reflects the journey of growth, development and self-awareness that recovering addicts go through to stay sober.

Trial and error are likely throughout the process, up until set coping strategies, lifestyle choices, support networks, and routines are in place. To this point, staying sober and maintaining the triggers, symptoms, and effects of addiction as a recurrent condition is possible.

If you’re looking to embark on a journey of addiction recovery, whether you’ve completed rehab or not, the New Year is an excellent time to get started. Offering a fresh chapter, new perspective, and the chance to set some resolutions, you can join many other people in recovery or those who hope to make some healthy changes.

Here are some addiction recovery tips this New Year to use and follow through everyday life.

Tips for remaining sober this New Year

Set your sober intentions

If it’s your first Christmas and New Year period in recovery, this is your time to set your sober intentions. Like you would a New Year’s resolution, yet with much more accountability and seriousness behind it. If you’re revisiting addiction recovery due to relapse or pushback, you can set some new intentions to reflect your goals and expectations of recovery.

Be aware of your triggers

Triggers can be physical exposure to alcohol to stress, emotional moments, and financial worries. You will need to be aware of your triggers moving forward. With awareness, you’ll be able to spot any signs of relapse, from mere thoughts of substance abuse to full-blown consumption. You’ll also be able to transition into the New Year with a relapse prevention plan, prepared for any vulnerabilities.

Take the transition day by day

Addiction recovery tips this New Year should be feasible, and this is why we encourage you to take the transition a day at a time. It’s essential to plan for the future and set goals. But it’s also necessary to be mindful and embrace each small win.

Develop new healthy lifestyle choices

Most people will develop new healthy lifestyle choices in the New Year. Yet to remain through addiction recovery, yours will need to be sustainable. Your lifestyle should improve your physical and mental wellbeing, and it should nurture sobriety rather than drug or alcohol abuse. It should also reflect positivity rather than harmful or toxic habits. Everything from your sleep and mental health to your nutrition should benefit your life.

Rely on a support network

Throughout the addiction recovery transition, you’ll need to feel supported. People struggle without support, as it’s an emotional time. Support from family members, friends, peers, and medical professionals will be encouraged.

Make use of support groups and sober campaigns

With the New Year, more and more people will be pledging to quit alcohol or reduce intake. Sober campaigns and support groups will be even more accessible through such resolutions. Make use of external guidance and peer support throughout this transition. It’s also encouraged to associate with sober friends and those who support your addiction recovery journey.

Avoid old associations

Your old associations, meaning your choices, relationships, habits, environments, lifestyle, and outlooks, will have contributed to your addiction. To move forward, you’ll need to avoid swaying back to your comfort zone.

Be mindful

Mindfulness is a beneficial tool to make use of whilst embracing change. To be mindful means that you’re present, grateful and balanced. With the newness of the New Year, it’s time to make the most of an effective coping strategy.

Recognise your progress

Addiction recovery is a long-term process, and you’ll need to break it up into small milestones. Recognising your progress will be motivating and will be helpful whilst battling any obstacles.

Source addiction treatment

If you’re struggling to grasp the transition of addiction recovery or just require some extra support, addiction treatment services are available in different forms. At Nova Recovery, we offer various types of addiction treatment services from our private recovery hospital to assist our clients at different stages of their recovery.

Starting the New Year off strong here at Nova Recovery

At Nova Recovery, we can help you set your sober intentions, start your journey, provide initial or additional addiction treatment, and help you plan for long-term recovery.

The New Year is a great time to start, providing you with a fresh perspective, goals, and outlook. Reach out to start the year off strong or for more addiction recovery tips this New Year.

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John Gillen - Author - Last updated: December 1, 2023

John has travelled extensively around the world, culminating in 19 years’ experience looking at different models. He is the European pioneer of NAD+ (Nicotinamide Adenine Dinucleotide) treatment to Europe in 2010; and recently back from the USA bringing state of the art Virtual Reality Relapse Prevention and stress reduction therapy. His passion extends to other metabolic disturbances and neurodegenerative diseases. The journey continues. In recent times, John has travelled to Russia to study and research into a new therapy photobiomudulation or systemic laser therapy working with NAD+ scientists and the very best of the medical professionals in the UK and the USA, together with Nadcell, Bionad Hospitals own select Doctors, nurses, dieticians and therapists. Johns’ passion continues to endeavour to bring to the UK and Europe new developments with NAD+ Therapy in preventive and restorative medicine and Wellness. In 2017 John Gillen was made a visiting Professor at the John Naisbitt university in Belgrade Serbia.