If you are a regular reader of this blog, you may have noticed we offer lots of advice related to things you should do in recovery. You might also have noticed that we provide a fair amount of advice concerning things you should not do in recovery. In that latter category are several blogs with titles that start with “Do Not” or “Don’t.”
What we’re going to do in this post is take a look at some of those don’ts by providing some excerpts. We will link you to the original posts as well, because reading the full versions is definitely something you should do.
Do Not Let Anyone Yuck Your Yum in Recovery
Have you ever noticed that some people have trouble keeping their opinions to themselves when they don’t care for something you like?
For example, maybe you say you like Star Trek, and they tell you all the reasons Star Trek is dumb and Star Wars is better…Or maybe you mention that you really enjoy jigsaw puzzles, and they tell you jigsaws are a waste of time and the real puzzlers do the crossword…Or maybe you have, on occasion, belittled something someone else enjoys before talking up something you enjoy as a better alternative.
This behavior can be described as “yucking someone’s yum”—and it can be needlessly aggressive. It can also chip away at the foundations of a person’s recovery from a substance use disorder.
Read Don’t Let Anyone Yuck Your Yum.
Do Not Sleep on Our Roundup of Sleeping Tips
How tired are you right now?… The truth is far too many of us do not get the sleep we need to stay healthy. That is a problem for anyone in that situation, but it is particularly problematic for a person who is in recovery from a substance use disorder. That is because sleep supports your ongoing recovery, while a lack of sleep can undermine your recovery efforts.
Read Do Not Sleep on Our Roundup of Sleeping Tips.
Don’t Move the Goalposts—Get Help for a Substance Use Disorder
Sometimes, a person struggling with drugs or alcohol sets up an arbitrary standard by which they will judge the severity of their problem…[I]nstead of heading to treatment, they decide they will get help if and when they, say, find themselves drinking or using drugs alone or during the day when they should be at work…But then one day, they find themselves leaving the office early and heading to their favorite bar or to a dealer they know who can set them up with their drug of choice.
Time to get treatment, right? That was the deal they made with themselves.
Ah, but here is the moment the goalposts get moved. If the metaphorical goalposts are drinking or using the drugs alone and/or doing the workday, the person in question might decide that new goalposts will be a drug- or alcohol fueled altercation.
Read Don’t Move the Goalposts.
Do Not Take Club Drugs Just to Be Sociable—or for Any Other Reason
When you are headed out for a night of partying, you might be tempted to try to amp up the experience with a club drug—maybe the one called “spice,” or the one called “ecstasy,” or the one called “Special K.”
Those sound fun, right?… These drugs can produce the sensation of euphoria, an intense feeling of happiness or joy that you wish would never end.
But, of course, the euphoria will eventually end. And when it does, you may find that you have already created some serious problems for yourself. Even if you don’t notice any immediate problems, you have started down an extremely dangerous road.
Read Dangers Related to Club Drug Use.
Don’t Go It Alone: Keeping Loneliness at Bay in Recovery
[I]t can be scary to try to reconnect with people you have hurt. But part of building a firm foundation for ongoing sobriety is rebuilding your relationships with friends and family…Meanwhile, your newfound sobriety also provides an opportunity for you to find some new friends as well…[Y]ou might try out a new hobby or volunteer for a cause that is important to you. In doing so, you will encounter like-minded folks and forge new friendships. These healthy relationships also provide ongoing support for your sobriety—even if you never tell these new friends about your past troubles with drugs or alcohol.
Do Not Let a Relapse Cause You to Give Up on Sobriety
If you start using drugs or alcohol again, you will not feel like celebrating. In fact, you may feel as though a catastrophe has occurred…When you are feeling despair, it can be hard to motivate yourself to do much of anything. It might feel like giving up on your sobriety is the only thing you can do. Those feelings are understandable—but they are not in your best interest…And that is why, if a relapse occurs, you need to look for the same motivation that led you to reclaim your sobriety in the first place.
And then you need to do exactly what you did then.
Read Do Not Let a Relapse Cause You to Give Up on Your Sobriety.
Do Get the Help You Need at The Farley Center
Located in Williamsburg, Virginia, The Farley Center is always here to help you reclaim your life from a substance use disorder.
