Recovery
Articles on Recovery
Articles on addiction recovery, sobriety, and the non-linear path of getting and staying sober. Written by people with lived experience of recovery.
Recovery Is Not Linear: What That Actually Means
Recovery does not move in a straight line. If you are further in and it just got harder, or you had a setback after a good stretch, this is what is actually happening.
Identity in Recovery: Who Are You Without It?
Getting sober changes more than your relationship with a substance. It changes who you are and how you see yourself. What the identity shift in recovery actually feels like.
Early Recovery: What to Actually Expect in the First Months
The first 3 months of recovery are unlike any other phase. Not just physically. An honest account of what most people experience and when it starts to shift.
Six Months Sober and the Pink Cloud Crash
The first few months felt like a revelation. Then something shifted. If sobriety suddenly got harder right when it was supposed to get easier, this is for you.
Sober and Lonely Is a Stage, Not a Failure
Getting sober changes your social world. The people you drank with, the places you went, the way you existed in groups. Sober loneliness is one of the most common and least discussed parts of early recovery.
First Holiday Sober
Holidays were when you drank. The parties, the family gatherings, the pressure, the abundance of alcohol. Your first sober holiday season is its own kind of test.
Dry January Day 12: When the Honeymoon Ends
The first week felt possible. Week two is when it gets harder. If Dry January is starting to feel like deprivation rather than freedom, this is what is happening and what helps.
After a Relapse: What It Means and What It Doesn't
A relapse is not the end of recovery. It is not proof that recovery is impossible for you. Here is what the research says about relapse, what it tends to mean, and how people move through it.