Addiction can be viewed as a coping mechanism that’s gone rogue—out of control. Think of a child who is bullied relentlessly. The bullying creates constant feelings of powerlessness, frustration, humiliation, fear, and resentment. The child may conclude that to cope with the bullying, they’ll have to take a gun to school.
While that’s an extreme parallel, addiction functions in much the same way. When someone abuses us or we suffer a great loss, sustain chronic stress and physical pain, or battle deeply painful feelings and experiences, we may turn to substances in order to continue with our daily lives. When we constantly rely on those substances, they begin to take over our brains, our bodies, and our lives. Suddenly, the consequences are grave.
But, what if there was a way to manage the pain of being bullied, losing a loved one, dealing with chronic pain, or processing trauma in such a way that substances or guns weren’t necessary?
Enter the foundation of successful long-term recovery: emotional sobriety. Emotional sobriety is your ability to control your emotions so they don’t control you. It involves three components:
- The ability to identify your emotions as they surface
- Your ability to regulate those emotions as they come up
- Your ability to regulate behaviors that those emotions try to incite
In the recovery context, negative emotions may trigger you to use substances again. Emotional sobriety helps you develop healthy coping mechanisms and positive life perspectives when faced with challenges. Unlike physical sobriety, which can be achieved relatively quickly through residential addiction treatment programs like ours in Cameron, emotional sobriety is a lifelong journey that requires persistent effort.
How Do Healthcare Professionals Teach Emotional Sobriety?
Typically, recovery programs recognize two distinct but complementary approaches to emotional regulation. The first centers around abstinence and is presented in the early days of recovery:
- Slogans like “Don’t Think and Don’t Drink” sometimes get used at this stage.
- There’s a focus on cognitive disengagement or a push to actively ignore triggers and painful memories.
- This phase calls on activities like prayer, exercise, and frequent group meetings to support sobriety.
In later stages of recovery, recovery therapists may begin to focus on the second half of the emotional sobriety equation: long-term emotional processing. This is where the real, nitty-gritty psychological work begins:
- With guidance, clients begin to carefully analyze behavioral patterns, noticing their typical reactions to certain stimuli, and begin detecting triggers.
- Clients start to reflect upon their complex relationships with people, places, and things associated with their addiction.
- Clients start to develop more sophisticated coping mechanisms, like journaling, meditating, or seeking support.
- The slow process of building emotional resilience finally gets put into motion.
Emotional Sobriety’s Impact in Recovery
Studies show that having a good grip on emotional sobriety can reduce your risk of relapse. There are also several other benefits of having emotional sobriety:
- Better emotional management, allowing you to mitigate painful emotions and more readily enjoy positive emotions
- Better agility in handling life’s obstacles without feelings of powerlessness or total overwhelm
- The achievement of healthier relationship-building skills
- More emotional stability and self-awareness, allowing you to see triggers before they detonate
- A greater capacity for self-reflection, auto-correction, and personal growth
The impact of emotional sobriety extends to all facets of life: your relationships, your family, your job, your mind, your self image, and your heart. It’s not something you can force or rush. By nature, it’s a lifelong process—and oftentimes demands professional guidance and the regular encouragement and accountability offered by support groups.
At Waypoint Recovery, with locations in Cameron and North Charleston, we can help you start your journey toward recovery and emotional sobriety when you contact us today!
