How to Prevent a Relapse

If you’re watching this video, it probably because you want to prevent a relapse.

Time and time again I get asked by students how to guarantee they won’t have a relapse.

I built this course to give you all of the tools, techniques, tricks, hacks and ideas I’ve learned in preventing relapse.

I think the idea of relapse being common is outdated.

With proper planning, sufficient preparation and a commitment to your recovery, you won’t have to worry about having a relapse.

If you are worried about relapse it’s probably because you haven’t done enough to prevent it yet.

By the end of this course you will gain knowledge and confidence you never knew you needed.

My name is Denise Roberts and I’m the owner of liverehab. I’ve helped hundreds of people get sober and stay sober without having to leave their home.

You will find this course to be relatable, engaging and hopefully life altering. Let’s get started.

In this quick lecture I am going to give you a brief rundown on what to expect as you work through this course. This course is all about how to prevent a relapse so we’ll kick it off with some basics such as HALT, a fun acronym to use anytime you feel triggered, then we’ll jump right into the meat of it. We’ll be discussing your physical health, which includes your fitness, nutrition, sleep, triggers and post acute withdrawal syndrome. Then we’ll talk about your psychological health which includes your mental health, spirituality, and how to live intentionally. After that we’ll talk about your social circles like how to navigate your family, friends and professional relationship and then we’ll end the course by taking a look at your living situation and places you go. With that being said. Let’s get started!

When you’re in recovery the last thing you want or anyone wants is to think about what would happen if you relapse. There’s this myth, well I call it a myth anyway, that relapse is a normal part of recovery, I really don’t like saying that because in many ways it subconsciously gives you permission to have a relapse - believing that it’s normal. I want you to know that you don’t have to relapse and relapse is not a normal part of recovery. The best way to not have a relapse though is to be super prepared.

Some of you are here taking this course as your first course and others have taken other courses and this is an add on so that you can continue living addiction free forever. Either way, I’m glad you’re here.

So to kick things off I want to start with something super basic and if you nail this, then most of your triggers won’t turn into a relapse. The thing I want to talk to you about is how to HALT, H A L T.

So anytime you feel triggered, think about these four things:

1. Are you hungry

2. Are you angry

3. Are you lonely

4. Are you tired

I’m telling you, most of the time you’ll be feeling one of those things and once you fix that thing you’re feeling, you’re triggered will dissipate But the key is, is to think critically and take action. Most people get a trigger and that is the only thing they can think about so if you can open up your mind and HALT then you’re always be one step ahead of the game.

Once you’ve HALTED and if you are hungry, angry, lonely or tired then do something about it. Get something to eat, do some deep breathing or watch something funny to help be less angry, call someone or chat online if you’re lonely and if you’re tired just try and sleep or at least relax your mind. I know it’s not alway so simple but sometimes it really is. The point is to recognize it, try to fix it and then let time just pass. When you let time pass, the trigger will pass too.

In our next section we are going to focus on your physical health. See you there.

In this section we’re going to talk about nutrition, fitness and sleep and how important it is to take care of those three things throughout your entire recovery process and beyond. We’ll also talk about triggers, warning signs, and post acute withdrawal syndrome. In addition, I have a little activity for you do as well which is to write a letter to yourself so we’ll go over what should be in the letter and why it’s important to write it. So let’s get started!

Nutrition plays a big role in recovery but did you know it also plays a big role in managing triggers. First off, a healthy balanced diet minimizes triggers by helping repair the brain. If you get sober but continue to eat junk food, your body is still experiencing the effects of having substances that don’t belong. Foods that are high in sugar or highly processed with lots of chemicals are just as hard on your kidneys and liver, not to mention your heart and other vital organs. So by eating a well balanced healthy diet, you are not only taking better care of yourself but you are also reducing the chances of a triggers.

Another thing to think about is what foods may trigger you. Were there certain foods that you ate while you were drunk or high? For example, peanuts that were served at the bar might feel triggering if you eat them at home. If you drank soda while high on cocaine, that itself might trigger you.

So think of this as two-fold; 1. You want to eat healthy to help your recovery and avoid triggers and 2. You want to avoid purchasing or eating any foods that were once associated with your addiction.

Fitness is the next part of the physical component that is so important when aiming to prevent a relapse. I always talk about how important it is to have a solid fitness plan in recovery but fitness plays a much bigger part in actual relapse prevention.

When you exercise regularly you are helping your body physically and you are also helping your brain by producing endorphins - those feel good chemicals. Exercise increases blood flow to the brain which in turn enhances the mood. When you are in a better mood, you are less likely to have a trigger. The less triggers you have the less like you are to relapse. So having a daily exercise routine is an absolute must. You can sign up for a plan that best suits you - lots to choose from or keep it fun by enjoying physical hobbies such as biking, hiking, ice skating, whatever it is you like doing - incorporate that and make sure you are moving your body every single day,

Another thing to think about when thinking about relapse prevention is how exercise can get you out of a trigger. As we talked about earlier and we'll continue to talk more about throughout this course is how trigger are pretty common but if you have something that you can turn to such as exercise, it can dramatically decrease the severity of the trigger. So for example, if you feel triggered try doing 15 jumping jacks, 10 pushups, or go for a quick job around the block. You’ll be surprised how well that works.

Preventing relapse requires a tremendous amount of thought and one area in recovery that often gets overlooked or not really thought about is sleep. Sleep is not one of those things that just comes naturally - it’s tricky and of course varies from person to person but what we do know is that everybody needs solid sleep in order to minimize triggers. If you are tired, your ability to make good decisions isn’t strong. Tired people tend to act more on impulse. Tired people get triggered more often. If you’re sleeping too much you’re tired. If you’re sleeping too little, you’re tired. The goal is always to get the perfect amount of sleep so that you’re not tired.

Now life is tiring in general. You all have work, school, family, friends, and so on, so it’s important to note that being tired isn’t always a side effect of being in recovery but the difference is, when you’re in recovery you have to work harder to ensure you’re not getting too tired, too often.

How do you ensure you’re getting the right kind of sleep? You focus on two things: getting the right amount of sleep and getting high quality sleep. You need 6-8 hours of sleep every night and that needs to be uninterrupted sleep. It’s important that you take your sleep seriously, go to bed at the same time every night, eliminate distractions such as phones, computers, TV right before bed and make sure you are waking up at a decent hour every day. If you just can’t get your sleep right after trying for about a month, make sure you talk to your doctor.

One more thing in regards to sleep and relapse prevention. If you do have a trigger, it could possibly be because you’re tired - remember HALT? If you are tired, it’s perfectly okay to take a nap as a way to overcome your trigger. Sometimes you might not know what to do - lay down, close your eyes and just start daydreaming or counting, if you fall asleep that’s a win - you overcame your trigger. If you can’t fall asleep, relax your body and mind until your trigger is gone.

In our next lecture - we’ll specifically talk about triggers and what else you can to overcome them. See you there.

Okay so let’s now talk about the inevitable. Triggers. I will let you know that yes, triggers are common and even if you take all the precautions to avoid them you will still have them - the severity and ability to power through depends solely on how well prepared you for them.

The first thing you need to know is that your body will give you warning signs that a trigger is about to happen. We talked earlier about HALT - and the reason I wanted to talk about HALT earlier on in the course was because HALT is something you need to know right away so that you can overcome triggers when they do happen but what if you can spot the early warning signs and stop a trigger before it starts?

If you feel your body starting to tense up or if you start feeling anxious, this could be a warning sign that you are about to get a trigger. Fear, anger, sadness are all other warning signs as well. The key though is to be completely in tune with your own body as everyone’s warning signs will be different. The best thing you can do is to journal - if you have a trigger, think back to what your body is telling you right before and anytime that happens again you’ll know, a trigger is about to happen.

So if you get a warning sign then you can start to dig deep into that thought - what can you do to distract yourself or take your mind off things so that a full on trigger doesn’t happen? Have some go to things to do - make a list and pick something on that list and keep doing it until you know you are in the clear.

Now if a trigger does happen, don’t sweat. You can work through it too - triggers don’t automatically mean relapse. Make a list of things you can that easy and things are not so easy. Little triggers - pick something small like 5 jumping jacks or for a massive trigger do something that will snap you back to your own reality like taking an ice cold shower. Have things in between too for those medium sized triggers like taking a walk around the block, calling a friend, watching TV. and so on. Next up; post acute withdrawal syndrome.

Some of you may be familiar with the acronym PAWS. PAWS stands for Post Acute Withdrawal Syndrome. This is different from your initial detox withdrawal symptoms as these symptoms may come on at any time after your detox and really they can last for a few years even. The key to managing these symptoms is to know what they are and what causes them.

First, you should be prepared to feel these symptoms often. Some common symptoms include:

• Depression

• Anxiety

• Guilt

• Anger

• Agitation

• Hunger

• Stress

The first thing you will want to do is try to figure out what may be causing these symptoms.

Did something happen right before? Maybe you were hungry or tired? It is important to try and not fight or ignore these symptoms. Instead, feel, and I mean really feel them. Once you recognize that you are experiencing PAWS you can try to manage them.

There are some specific things you can to do manage these symptoms.

1. Assess your basic needs. Maybe you are too hot or too cold. Are you hungry or really tired? Start here and see if changing something simple helps.

2. Try to relax. Take some deep breaths or you can even search for a guided meditation video online. If you are religious, try praying. Do whatever you can to find peace within.

3. Talk to someone. You should have a list of people that you can try calling or texting. You don’t necessarily have to talk about your withdrawal symptoms either. This is just a way to take your mind off of everything until your symptoms subside.

4. Go somewhere, not triggering. This might be a good time to get some grocery shopping done or go see a movie. Whatever it takes to help you feel better.

5. Exercise. If you can find it this is probably going to be the best thing you can do to help yourself through these symptoms. It’s healthy and the results will really surprise you.

6. Watch TV. I know this sounds really simple but it’s a really easy thing to do. If you are feeling stressed, give yourself permission to just sit and watch one of your favorite shows.

7. Sleep. Unless you are very tired you should avoid this unless it’s the last possible thing to try. Sleeping is always better than relapsing and if that’s what it takes then do it.

That’s it for our section on physical health. Your physical health and symptoms should always be the first thing to address when feeling triggered. We talked again about HALT - asking yourself if you’re hungry, angry, tired or lonely, we talked about nutrition, fitness, sleep triggers and paws - which is post acute withdrawal syndrome. Next up - we are going to talk about your psychological health which includes your mental health, spirituality, and how to live intentionally. See you there.

Welcome to the next section. Now we’re going to talk about your mind - your psychological health. Taking care of your mind is just as important as taking care of your body. We’re going to talk about your mental health, spirituality, how to live intentionally and then last we’ll wrap up this section by doing an activity and that’s going to be writing a letter to yourself. Let’s get started.

Taking care of your mental health is a key component to making sure you don’t have a relapse. A lot of people can stop using pretty easy but once the actually recovery process starts, things aren’t necessarily so easy.

If you were using drugs or alcohol to treat a mental health disorder such as anxiety, depression, or any sort of mood disorder then not using isn’t going to make you feel any better. Sure you may have success over the first few days but how are you going to manage your mental health once substances are no longer a factor? If you’re not prepared, you will relapse.

It is important that you manage your mental health and whatever you do think you can manage it on your own. Most people can’t. You will need help and guidance from a mental health professional, whether that’s getting some medication from your doctor or psychiatrist, seeing a counselor or starting therapy, do what you need to do to nurture your mind.

Even if you’re unsure if you have a mental health disorder or if you don’t, taking time to nurture your mind is going to be important. You don’t have to have a diagnosis to seek out professional help either. In early recovery it’s always a good idea to talk to someone. You shouldn’t have to do this all on your own, you deserve to have someone there, someone who is trained and can help you. Therapy and counseling is not like outpatient or inpatient programs. Therapy and counseling is somewhere and someone you can go to two to four times per month and you will get the tools you need to ensure your mental health is being taken care of.

Preventing a relapse is easier when you have a way to connect with your own self or higher power. If you believe in a god or higher power great but if not, that’s okay too.

Having a spiritual practice will give you a sense of purpose, a reason for not using substances. It’s important to make sure you are setting aside each day to practice. If you’re religious you can pray. If you’re spiritual and can get into meditation that’s a great start. If all of this makes you uncomfortable, try not to think of it any of as being something with a label but rather taking time to reflect and get in tune with your body.

Some people practice yoga, journal, tai chi, long nature walks, read, the opportunities are endless but it takes time and dedication to make it a practice. If you make a practice you will know where to turn if you do have a trigger and that’s what’s most important. Having a spiritual practice will help prevent a relapse.

Intentional living doesn’t come naturally. It’s hard work and takes a lot of mental practice. Intentionally living is living in the moment. Thinking, planning and taking steps each day to ensure you remain substance free.

Making a plan is crucial and a key component of intentional living. Think about what would work best for you. Would taking 15 minutes each morning to plan your day be best or perhaps an hour each week to plan your week.

Once you make a plan, it’s important to stick to it and live through it intentionally.

Here are some things to think about when planning your day or week.

What will you eat? If you don’t plan this out you’re likely to make impulsive unhealthy choices. Plan your eating times and the things you will eat.

When will you exercise?

What time will you go to bed? What time will you take a nap? What time will you wake up?

When will you set aside time for your spiritual practice?

And here’s the most important thing; what will you do in your downtime? As silly as it sounds, schedule out your downtime. If you want to spend an hour surfing the web then schedule that. If you want to watch TV, schedule that out. If you don’t have a plan for your down time you might get bored. And what happens when you’re bored? You might get triggered.

In early recovery you will want to make sure everything you do falls around making sure you don’t relapse but as time moves on you’ll be surprised how much you can accomplish when you live intentionally. You;ll be able to gradually move away from 100% recovery focused intentional living to living intentionally, accomplishing goals that go beyond sobriety. Maybe it’s relationship goals or education or career goals - the possibilities are endless when you are free from addiction but you have to start and start it off right.

See you in the next lecture.

I really love this activity because it forces you to face past demons but for a good cause. I know this lecture might be uncomfortable and possibly even triggering for some so I want to say that if anything in this lecture gets to be too intense, you can skip or pause, take a break and come back to it later, another day or whenever you feel you can tackle this. I don’t however, want you to ignore this activity because it might be the one thing that will save you from a relapse.

Okay so the purpose of writing this letter is to so that you can keep it on hand and anytime you feel especially triggered, and I’m not talking about the little triggers that can be resolved with a warm shower or some deep breathing I’m talking about the big ones. The ones where you feel out of control and you’re out of ideas on how to stop yourself. So for those big ones, I want you to remember where the letter is, take it out and read it over and over again until you can do something else that doesn’t involve a relapse.

So let’s get started with the letter.

1. First things first, this letter should be on old fashion pen and paper, not on your phone, not on your computer just a paper that you can fold up and keep in your wallet, purse, or someplace always with you.

2. You’ll want to address this letter to you. You are writing this letter to your future self. So I would start with Dear Denise.

3. Next, you’ll want to acknowledge the reason you are reading this letter. For example:

Dear Denise,

You are reading this letter because you are feeling triggered right now.

4. Give yourself some props for remembering to take out the letter, Be empathetic. For example, Kudos to you for not relapsing and reading this instead. It shows great strength.

5. Now it’s time to remind yourself of the reasons you stopped using. This will be the hardest part because I want you to remember what things were like at your very worst. When you were at your rock bottom start writing about it and list all the things you did that hurt yourself and the people around you. Get graphic if you need to - remember, you are the only one reading this letter so don’t worry about anyone else seeing it. If you had sex for money or you stole from someone you love - remind yourself about the things you did.

6. Now I want you to write about the horrible physical withdrawals or pain you felt during your addiction - this pain should cover both physical pain and mental pain. Talk about the vomit and diareah. Talk about the depression, insomnia, heartache. Don’t hold back.

7. Now it’s time to build yourself back up. Once you’ve gotten all the bad stuff out, talk to yourself about how far you’ve come and what being sober or and free feels like. What are the positive changes that you see in yourself. How does it feel to have a clear mind? What relationships have you repaired and what have you gained so far from not using? How much money have you saved or perhaps bills you’ve paid.

8. And last, talk about your plans for the future. These are only things that can be accomplished if you’re not engaging in your addiction.

9. Finally, give yourself instructions on what to do next. Be directive. For example:

Now I want you to fold the letter back up, put it in your wallet, go to the kitchen and get a drink of water and then sit down and watch that 70s show.

Congratulate yourself for reading through the entire letter without relapsing and let yourself know that the letter will always be there for you in the future.

That’s it for our section on psychological health. We talked about your mental health, spirituality, living intentionally and how to write a letter to yourself. Next up we’ll talk about your social circles. See you there.

Welcome to Social Circles. In this section we’re going to talk about how your family, friends and professional relationships can help and hinder your focus in recovery and how each of these groups can play a role in preventing a relapse. Let’s get started.

The social aspect of addiction and recovery is so complicated. When you make the choice to quit your addiction it is likely you had some very hard conversations with your family. This may have included talking to them about things like needing personal space, or asking them how you could help regain their trust. But what happens once you’ve reached your sobriety goals? Do you let those people back in? Do you continue to fight to regain trust? Lots of things to think about but one thing for sure is that family can often be a trigger. Maybe you have some toxic family members or family members that don’t support your recovery in the way you need them to.

So with that being said it’s going to be very important to make sure that as you start to rebuild relationships you also make sure you are taking care of your own sobriety. You don’t want to be in a position where a family member triggers you. Avoidance is okay and encouraged especially in the beginning but unless you want to completely cut ties with certain family members you’ll need to learn how to engage with them but knowing what to do if they trigger you. This means that you’ll want to take it slow. For example, two weeks into your recovery for alcohol you won’t want to go to a family barbeque fueled with liquor. But maybe in a month or two you could try it out for 30 minutes. Make an appearance but come up with an excuse as to why you have to leave early. And as you progress those time limits you have with your family can increase as you get stronger. As the sober months and years go by you’ll be able to be around family members who once triggered you just by seeing them to being able to spend a day with them and not bat an eye. It will come but only if you’re prepared and you practice. Next up: let’s talk about friends.

Friendships in recovery are complicated. Some people mourn the loss of their old friends and their old life and that’s completely normal. Feeling lonely is normal and feeling regrets over things you may have done in past friendship relationships is normal. I talk a lot about friendships in my courses and how to distance yourself from toxic people as well as how to rebuild friendships that can benefit your recovery. But how does this all tie into preventing a relapse?

There are two components to this:

1. Making sure your friendships are healthy so that toxicity doesn’t trigger you and

2. Making sure you have a strong support system.

A lot of times relapse happens because people feel they are strong enough to go back to their old friends, their old lifestyle and think that if they’re offered something they can easily say no. I’m telling you right now. Don’t do this. If your friend continue to use or partake in the addiction you’re struggling with, even the strongest of the strong can’t overcome the triggers when they are right in your face. If your friends can’t not use or partake in the addiction you're struggling with while you’re around then you need to keep your distance. This is especially hard with alcohol as alcohol is just about everywhere you turn and while yes, perhaps when you’re solid into your recovery you’ll be able to be around people who drink you should never plan to go to a bar or a party where the center focus on drinking. A family barbeque perhaps but it’s always important to limit your exposure for as long as possible.

Now if you have friends who are toxic and remain toxic while in your recovery you’ll need to limit your exposure to them as well. Even if it has nothing to do with your addiction, staying around friends who don’t make you feel good about yourself is not a good idea.

With that being said, it’s important to start to establish a strong support system. These can be friends who respect your sobriety and new friends you make as you work through your recovery. When you have a friendship you know is worth hanging onto because you have healthy boundaries, have a good time when you’re with this person and especially if you genuinely feel you can turn to them for support, you’ll want to cherish that friendship. Remember though, friendships go both ways. If you want a friendship to last then you need to focus on being a good friend. Being a good friend means you are not self centered, you can empathize with that person and help them feel strong in the same way they can do those things for you. If it’s always about you, you will find that the friends you really need may start to walk away and that’s not what you want.

So remember, when preventing a relapse you want to limit your exposure to toxic friends and make sure you have or are starting to build a strong support system.

Professional relationships is the last piece of the pie when we talk about social relationships. You might be wondering, how do my professional relationships affect my chances of not relapsing? Well you need to think about the people you interact with on a daily basis. You probably spend more time with your co workers than you do with your partner or kids. So their interactions can absolutely cause you to feel triggered and triggers can lead to relapse.

Just like friends and family, it's important to identify people the cause you a lot of stress. If you have a toxic coworker or boss you will need to do whatever it takes to get yourself out of that situation. I’m not necessarily saying you need to quit your job but a job move might be something you work towards. Or perhaps moving departments.

You need to care for yourself during this especially vulnerable time so if someone professionally is making you upset in any way you should address each situation as it arises. If you need to go to HR or talk to someone else at work, that might be a solution.

But just like friends and family if you have great coworkers and people you work for, pour yourself into your work while you’re at work and cherish what you have. I’ve had many people who stay sober because they know that if they relapse they would lose their job and being employed is important. So if that’s you, take care of your professional self, your professional relationships and don’t stand for toxicity.

That’s a wrap for this section. We talked all about your social circles and how they can affect your chances for a full recovery with no relapses. Your friends, family and professional relationships play such a significant role in keeping you free from addiction. Next up; we’ll talk about Places. See you there.

Moving right along - congrats for making it this far. We’re on our final section now and we’ll cover a few more things here that have a lot to do with how successful you will be with preventing a relapse. We’re going to start by talking about your living space and then we’ll move on Places. Let’s dive right in.

Your environment has a lot to do with how you manage your triggers. No matter where you live, you can always reduce the chances that you’ll have one in your living space by making a few changes. First things first, you’ll want to take a look around and remove anything that could cause you to feel triggered. Perhaps it’s a photo, paraphernalia, etc.

Next, rearrange. You should be able to rearrange your living space whether you live in a room or a huge house. Placing your furniture in different areas can make a big impact.

Then, you want to deep clean your living space. Think of this as a spring clean but whatever season it is now, just do it. Starting off clean and fresh can help you get off to a strong start. Whether you hire someone to do this for you or you do it yourself, make sure it’s not just a general pick up but more like dusting baseboards, windows, getting rid of clutter and so on. Spray some good freshner, open your windows, and just make it as clean and fresh as you possibly can. Not only will this help reduce triggers but it also helps with your mindset. A decluttered space can help declutter the mind.

If it’s in your budget try redecorating. You can go all out with new art, furniture and so on or keep it simple with some DIY hacks. Pinterest is a great place for inspiration.

And lastly, make sure you have your basic needs met. If you’re going to focus on the important parts of your living space make sure you focus on what really counts; having a good bed for a good night’s sleep, a calm place for meditation, a clean fridge for all that healthy food you’ll be getting, and so on.

So I challenge you to make your space a space you no longer associate with your old life but a space that will now be associated with your recovery; your new life. Next up: we’ll talk about oh those places you’ll go.

Okay so we talked about your space but what about all the other places you go? You see to avoid a relapse and prevent triggers you’ll want to think about every place you go. Think about your daily routine and all the places you go. Make a list of those places and ask yourself if there is anything about those places that could trigger you? If you struggle with alcohol walking through the liquor department at a store or driving by a bar might be triggering so it’s important to avoid those places at all costs. If you used drugs in a certain neighborhood or at someone’s house then avoiding that neighborhood altogether is going to be important.

Maybe restaurants or concerts can be triggers. Maybe a walk at a certain park where you once met your dealer. Maybe an arcade, you see everyone will have their own unique triggering places and it’s important to identify them so that you can avoid them. It is important to completely avoid these places at least in early recovery and then over time you can slowly start to test the waters.But don’t think that you can just walk through or go to these places and you’ll be fine. If you do this without preparation you will be surprised how powerful a place can be. The site, the smell the sound of it can be a definite trigger and what’s happens when you get a trigger? It might turn to a relapse so be careful.

That’s it for this lecture on places. I’ll see you in the wrap up

Congrats on making it through our final section. We talked about your living space and places. Keep going and watch through the end so that you can get your certificate of completion. See you there!

Welcome to Day 1 of 30 days to sobriety success! We're talking nutrition and healthy eating + how it impacts recovery.

Mastering your mental health is day 2 of 30 days to sobriety success. The ability to regulate thoughts, emotions and staying mentally strong is what sets you up for long term success.

Most people don't realise just how much their family impacts their chances of a successful recovery. This is day 3 of 30 days to sobriety success.

Setting a quit date - is it really that important? YES! Find out why in day 4 of 30 days to sobriety success.

Ugh! The gym. It's the worst for most people but fitness is really important to a successful recovery. So, what can you do? Watch day 5 of 30 days to sobriety success.

Developing a deeper spiritual practice has been shown to support your addiction recovery journey. Watch day 6 of 30 days to sobriety success to find out more.

Sometimes your friend group can actually be really bad for your sobriety. Find out who the good friends and bad friends are and what to do about them in Day 7 of 30 Days to Sobriety Success.

Does everyone relapse? What you need to know! This is day 8 of 30 Days to Sobriety Success.

Did you know that work can be a major reason for struggling during sobriety? It's true! Welcome to day 9 of 30 Days to Sobriety Success.

You made it! This is day 10 of 30 days to sobriety success and we're talking about people, places and things. You're going to love this one!

Sleep. We all need it and chances are you aren't getting enough of it. But... did you know it impacts your sobriety? Watch more in Day 11 of 30 Days to Sobriety Success.

Intentional living is a powerful, powerful thing. It gives you complete dominion and domain over your life. Something you DEFINITELY need in sobriety. Day 12 of 30 Days to Sobriety Success.

If you want to succeed in being sober for the long term you have got to learn how to manage triggers like a FRIGGIN BOSS. You're watching day 13 of 30 Days to Sobriety Success.

What on earth does H.A.L.T. mean and why should you be paying attention to it? Find out in Day 14 of 30 Days to Sobriety Success

Wait...why does keeping your home clean make any difference to your ability to get and stay sober? Keeping your living space clean has plenty of benefits. Let's dive in to 30 Days of Sobriety Success Day 15

Sugar. Look it isn't great for you under normal circumstances but when you're suffering from addiction it can be easy to succumb to its dangers. We'll talk through what these are in Day 16 of 30 Days to Sobriety Success

n Day 17 of 30 Days to Sobriety Success, we're examining the powerful activity of journaling. I really recommend to everyone that they journal regularly and here are some reasons why!

You've got to be mentally prepared and ready for sobriety. It's hard work to get and stay in recovery so preparing a strong mind is key to your success.

Reading is a powerful way to up your personal understanding of life. Reading also helps you feel better too!

One persons crisis is not the same as another. So, how do you get crisis support in times of need? Who can you reach out to when your sober journey is under attack?

There are lots of ways to get help with your addiction and online addiction recovery programs have exploded thanks to the pandemic. But will an online support program actually help you?

Like the title of this video says, sometimes you just want to connect with someone in person. If that's you, then you need to do what is necessary to make that happen. It's crucial for your recovery so make an effort to ensure it becomes a reality.

Money. It's critically important in todays society and very important for anyone in recovery. Get your finances in order so you can start making real progress on your life goals.

Everyone today wants instant results. Social media has fueled us to believe that we can get everything we want in a short time. However, going slow and steady is the foundation of recovery from drug and alcohol or even porn abuse.

Grief comes in many different shapes and sizes. People often feel as though grief is just relegated to the loss of a loved one or a pet. Grief is actually more complex than that so lets dig in and find out how it affects addiction and recovery.

What is a dry drunk and how do you know if you are one? Here are some signs that you're actually dry drunk right now and what to do about it.

Sobriety can be a dangerous thing - sometimes you find yourself trading one addiction for another. Find out why that's a potential problem in today's video.

It's time to talk about how to be sober around drunk people and enjoy it. It's a hard topic to cover but you need to know what it will be like when you are having to spend time around other people who may be partaking in your addiction and you are in recovery.

What's the point of being sober? We get asked this question ALL the time.

It's the final day of our 30 Days to Sobriety Success series and it's the most important one - TAKE ACTION! That's right - none of this means ANYTHING if you can't or won't take the action needed.

Congratulations on completing the course. Don't forget to join our closed Facebook group (search for Live Rehab Sobriety Success), download your certificate of completion and like us on Instagram. Well done! 

This meditation encompasses multiple areas: your physical health, your social health and of course self-love. If you enjoy this meditation then check out my course titled, "Meditation for Addiction and Recovery."