Why You Should Be Celebrating Sobriety Milestones

If the person doesn’t want to make their sober anniversary a big deal with celebrations, you could do something simple. This can help them connect with their support system and remind them why they’ve worked so hard to stay sober. Sunshine Behavioral Health how to celebrate someone’s sobriety strives to help people who are facing substance abuse, addiction, mental health disorders, or a combination of these conditions. It does this by providing compassionate care and evidence-based content that addresses health, treatment, and recovery.

When most Americans celebrate major milestones, be it an engagement, a job promotion, a vacation or a win by their favorite sports team, alcohol is usually involved. You’ll need to take some simple steps to ensure that you’re celebrating around safe and supportive friends who are in favor of your continued sobriety. Taking an evening, or a whole weekend, to celebrate your newfound sobriety, or your continued success, is an important part of recovery. Adjusting to a life that doesn’t include drugs or alcohol is a challenging process. We recognize and celebrate life events like marriages, pregnancies, anniversaries, and birthdays to mark the occasion of personal growth and progress. Reaching a milestone in sobriety is an event that should be celebrated as well. To celebrate sobriety means recognizing the date in which you started on your life in recovery. If you are currently enrolled in a drug and alcohol rehab program, transitional housing program, or IOP, your sobriety birthday should be one of those annual milestones that you celebrate. This date carries a powerful meaning and purpose, and it’s important to recognize that as you continue your life in recovery. If you’ve never considered celebrating your sobriety birthday or aren’t even sure what it is, here is an explanation as well as a few ideas on how to celebrate.

Many Ways to Celebrate

Many recovery programs emphasize the importance of so-called 12-step programs, like those offered by Alcoholics Anonymous. These meetings can offer an important support system from other people who have been through the same problems of addiction. In the beginning, it might be helpful to attend more than one meeting per day, especially if you have large chunks of time in your schedule when you have nothing to do. Loved ones and friends who have been by your side throughout your sober journey can share in your success. It’s a nice way to recognize others while celebrating this personal milestone with you. This could be done in a variety of ways such as treating loved ones to a cake or bringing donuts to your next outpatient treatment meeting. A sobriety milestone is also an opportunity to remind us about being humble.

You only get back from the program what you give to your recovery. I did a lot of things that I didn’t feel like doing in order to make it through the first 30 days of sobriety. I have been involved with Peggy Albrecht Friendly House, in different capacities, for the past several years. Peggy Albrecht Friendly House’s historic mission, to help woman recover from the deadly disease of alcoholism and addiction, is extremely close to my heart. I am honored to be a part of this life changing and life-saving organization. As a sober person myself, I know how important it is to support our community and to give others the help I was given. Working with Peggy Albrecht Friendly House allows me to be of service for not just a cause but directly with women that I believe in. An individual who achieves six months of sobriety will get a dark blue chip. There is a purple chip given to those who have remained sober for four months.

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Sent back out into the world, they lack the foundation in sobriety necessary to sustain long … Not deviating from a standard schedule is a good way to lessen your likelihood of relapse. Most of your waking hours will be used up by work, therapy and doctor or social appointments and the downtime should be designated for activities like meditation, exercise or hobbies. Having two much free-time in your schedule can open the opportunity to relapse. Keeping yourself busy and on a regular, reliable daily plan will help you stick to your sobriety. Healthy living is a big part of the journey to sobriety.

Staying loyal to your sobriety lifestyle requires on-going work. Of course, the most important gift you can ever give to a person celebrating their sobriety is your time, love, and support. Remember that sobriety could be a private thing for some people. Respect your loved one’s boundaries when deciding whether to celebrate privately or in a large public party setting. Although none of these things are necessary, Sober Home your friend or loved one may appreciate the extra thoughtfulness you put into recognizing their sobriety anniversary. If you have a very close relationship with a sober loved one, a heartfelt letter might be a great way to express your support for their ongoing sobriety. Affirming their progress this way might mean a lot to them, especially if you have a complicated history plagued by addiction.

Recovery After 50

Take your friend out to a nice dinner at his or her favorite restaurant. You do not necessarily need to throw some big, extravagant party. By taking your friend out to his or her favorite restaurant and having a meaningful, sober conversation you are letting them know you are proud of them and making an effort to show them that. If you attended a rehabilitation or treatment program, you’ll likely be referred to a local psychologist or counselor who can help continue your recovery. Starting this relationship and sticking to your schedule of appointments is imperative, especially early on.

Any past addiction triggers must be removed from your home before you can expect to live there during recovery. You might need to enlist the help of a family member or friend who can get rid of alcohol, pill bottles, drugs or other things that increase your likelihood of relapse. Hopefully, you have supportive family members and friends who have stood by you during your decision to get sober. After leaving treatment, you’ll probably need to rely on them even more to help you continue your recovery. Don’t be ashamed to ask for help, whether it’s simply needing someone to confide in or a trusted friend who can lend a hand around the house. Your celebration doesn’t have to be a big shindig — just gather a few friends together and go to a nice restaurant. It might be a good idea to call the restaurant ahead of time to request that the wait staff doesn’t offer any alcoholic drinks to your party and that they remove the drink lists from the table. When making this request, ask to speak with the manager who will be on duty the night of your celebration. There’s no need to explain the reason behind your request.

Remember and celebrate the anniversary of the day you last had a drink or used drugs

It is extremely important to us that you receive the highest quality medical care from our qualified staff during your stay. Marking milestones as you travel the path of sobriety can have a positive effect on your life. It serves as a reminder that you are doing great things—you may be taking life one day at a time, but the cumulative effect of those sober days is remarkable and should be celebrated. I had heard of the miraculous stories of sustained sobriety from a multitude of Peggy Albrecht Friendly House alumni for over 22 years. However, I began my personal association with Peggy Albrecht Friendly House about 9 years ago after losing both of my brothers to the disease of alcoholism and addiction. I began attending the weekly Thursday dinner and women’s meeting. I found a renewed sense of purpose and hope the more involved I became with women who were desperately seeking sobriety, as well as, a new way of living. He subsequently became Board Certified in Addiction Medicine and certified by the American Academy of HIV Medicine.

Of course, these are not options for individuals who are working hard to stay sober. So what can you do to acknowledge how proud you are and celebrate all of the major improvements your friend has made? Recreate Life Counseling has compiled a small list of ideas. Remember that it is important to check in with your friend and consider his or her personal preferences. While one individual might like a big celebration with lots of friends and family, another might want to keep things low-key and keep his or her recovery semi-private. There are several milestones that are commonly celebrated throughout an individual’s recovery from substance abuse or addiction. Typically, the milestones celebrated are time markers indicating the length of time an individual has remained sober. These are important because they help to honor an individual’s path and his or her active choice to live a healthy, drug and alcohol free life. Recovering from addiction is hard, and it requires effort every single day. There is no gift too large or small to acknowledge a friend or family member’s dedication to sobriety.

She has been working in the field of mental health, trauma, and substance use since 2014. She has managed a detox facility and held a leadership role as a Recovery Technician for residential treatment facilities. She has gained a wealth of knowledge related to the needs of people who are recovering from substance abuse, and struggles with mental health. As our Admissions Manager she uses this knowledge to connect with women and provide a safe space to begin their healing. Her dedication has been fueled by starting her own journey in sobriety at 19.

Once you’ve reach nine months and one year , it’s easy to become complacent and assume you’ve beaten the addiction. While it’s appropriate to celebrate this success, remember that addiction is a lifelong battle and you’ll need to continue to work on your sobriety, no matter how much time has passed. It would be impossible to celebrate our successes without celebrating our mentors and peers because, without them, we wouldn’t be where we are. If you haven’t ever thanked your mentor, sober coach, or peers for their support, your sobriety birthday is the perfect time to do it. Whether you simply say “thank you,” write a letter or treat them to dinner, it’s important to recognize those who have helped you achieve success in sobriety and who continue to do so daily. A sobriety birthday also serves as a reminder of the progress you’ve made. Or if you prefer, it can be the date that you first entered a drug and alcohol rehab treatment program. Only you can determine what date will serve as your sobriety birthday, but the most important thing is that it carries special significance for you.

A poor night’s sleep can leave you feeling tired and grumpy, making it difficult to stay on track with your recovery goals. Staying sober is a big deal so make sure to commemorate this milestone. Especially if you are celebrating one year of sobriety, a personalized memento can be meaningful. Engrave a piece of jewelry, watch, keychain or wallet that you can have with you often to remind yourself of this accomplishment frequently. It can also be a source of strength if you are feeling weak or like you may relapse. Something as simple as baking a decorating a cake can have a major impact. If you’re hesitant to invite your friends to an official celebration of a sobriety milestone, you could always mark the occasion yourself in a meaningful way. Find out if there are any one-day volunteer opportunities in your area that would allow you to give back to your community.

• The FHE Health team is committed to providing accurate information that adheres to the highest standards of writing.
• Your sobriety gives those that care for you the chance to get to know you at your full potential, while also granting them the peace of mind that you will be safe.
• If your loved one has a nonprofit they support, you could make a donation on their behalf.
• Celebrating your sober birthday or anniversary can reinforce your sobriety while also motivating you to continue to stay sober.
• They can recognize and celebrate how they’ve turned their life around and how much it’s improved.