How Do People Cope with Loss in Recovery and Stay Sober?

When a loved one dies from addiction, it can be very scary. Anytime someone passes away it is very difficult and challenging to process. Coping with this loss in recovery, and remaining sober, is another challenge altogether. Especially if you want to stay clean and not relapse. Learn some tips for how to cope in recovery and stay sober?

Recognize Addiction’s Risks

There are many feelings to process when losing a friend or loved one to addiction. Numbness, anger, and sadness are common emotions. Although death is never easy, there is a way to understand addiction as a disease that can help family members process the death and separate the individual from the disease that took their life. Addiction can be overwhelming for everyone involved. Without practicing ways to prevent relapse, there is little groundwork for success.

Deal With Feelings

Recovery can teach people that stuffing emotions is like shaking a soda bottle. Eventually, it will pop and make a mess of everything if the pressure is not released slowly. Even though there is stigma around addiction, talking about a loved one and sharing their story can be cathartic. It may also be cathartic to share your own story as a means of processing death.

Protect Recovery

Losing a loved one to addiction can be triggering for people in recovery. It is important to protect recovery, even as you grapple with losing a loved one or a friend. Loss can be a huge risk for you in recovery, a trigger for relapse. It can help to process the death with someone in this way:

• Attend extra meetings
• Speak with a sponsor
• Do counseling sessions
• Find alternative pathways like yoga or meditation in a group setting

Understand that there is no one way to grieve. Your grief is personal to you and you own the grief and how you process through it. Don’t let it get to you and bring you down out of recovery. Focus on one day at a time, find support, and seek ways to make it another stepping stone in your journey.

Let us help guide you on the journey to healing from addiction and create a better way forward. Healing from loss is never easy. If you are struggling with loss in recovery, we are here to support your journey. Call us 24/7 at our toll-free number: 866-294-9401

from
https://www.serenityrecoverydetox.com/blog/how-do-people-cope-with-loss-in-recovery-and-stay-sober/

From https://serenityrecoverycenter.blogspot.com/2018/12/how-do-people-cope-with-loss-in.html

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