Although addiction recovery has many rewards, the one thing many recovered addicts fear is sharing the fact that they are now sober.
The sad reality is that there is a degree of shame that is associated with being sober, because of the stigma attached to being an addict.
However, being sober is something that every recovered addict should be proud of because it means that you have overcome one of the hardest obstacles you will ever face.
Knowing how to tell people you’re sober can be difficult, especially when you have no way of knowing how they will react.
However, there are benefits that come with sharing this information with people who you interact with on a more personal level.
In addition, this secret can become a very heavy weight to carry and you may find that not sharing it will require more energy than it would if you made it known.
By telling people about your sobriety, you are also building your relationship with them based on honesty and trust, both of which are vital for developing a lasting connection with anyone.
People often tend to encourage each other to drink or use some form of substance when in social situations.
When people don’t know that you are sober, they won’t know that they shouldn’t encourage you to partake in the festivities.
Not only will you need to think of what to say when people ask you why you don't drink, but you will also need to remain strong enough to say no.
Sometimes, saying no is harder when nobody knows that you are sober.
When the people you spend time with know about your sobriety, they will respect your situation and refrain from offering you any form of substance.
Therefore, social situations become less stressful and more enjoyable for you.
Once again, the weight of a secret such as this can become increasingly heavier to carry on your own.
By keeping this secret away from people you care about, you are hiding an important part of who you are from them.
Keeping secrets eventually leads to telling lies to keep that secret under wraps and before you know it, you’re caught in a web of lies that will eventually weaken and, inevitably, the truth will reveal itself.
Telling the truth is liberating, especially from the beginning. Not only does it take courage but it also shows that you are brave to own your past so that it doesn’t define your future.
Tell one person first, then tell a few more or dive in and share it on social media. However, you choose to do it is irrelevant, what matters is that the truth will always set you free.
Sometimes people are struggling with addiction and how to deal with it or go about getting sober but are too afraid to ask.
When you are open about your sobriety, someone like this may look at you and be inspired to stop using or drinking because they'll see that it's possible.
You may be able to give people like this a simple word of advice which can change their entire lives. By keeping your sobriety a secret, you may miss the opportunity to help someone else get sober too.
When you don’t talk about what you’re going through, you can easily feel alone. The same goes for other people who are staying silent in their own struggles.
Yet, when you share your thoughts and feelings with others, you will find that there are more people than you can imagine who share the same struggles as you.
This doesn't mean you are happy to know that someone else is suffering too. It means that you no longer need to feel alone in your struggles, which can be extremely empowering.
By sharing your sobriety with the people in your life, you set a standard for yourself. A standard of sobriety that must be maintained no matter what.
You may find that with your secret out, you will be less likely to fall into relapse because you will want to make yourself and the people in your life proud of how far you have come by never going back there again.
There is no rule book on sharing your sobriety with your friends or family. However, the one thing that we can say is that your addiction was as much part of you as your sobriety is and it’s nothing to be ashamed of.
For more information about our addiction recovery programmes or to find out more about the benefits of sharing your sobriety with others, please feel free to contact us.
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