Although we can think about chemical dependence and psychological addiction as the results of irrational behaviors, we can’t ignore the wide range of anxieties that surround the addiction recovery process. The word “phobia” denotes irrational fears. For more information about substance use disorder and the recovery process, please contact us below or find us on social media. Addiction treatment will address the co-occurring disorder and help the person find ways to treat the depression or anxiety without substances. Therapy and support groups can help individuals in recovery work through self-doubt and pain. A fear of success can be hard for many on the outside of addiction to understand.

If this is the case for you, try channeling your fear into a creative process like writing, painting, or music. One of the hallmarks of anxiety is negative or irrational thinking. This can help you feel more in control and less overwhelmed. To counter this, focus on the present moment and what you’re doing right now.

What are Some of the Most Common Recovery Fears?

We also include supervised, short-term housing to provide support for newly sober individuals. But if you do choose to talk about your addiction, it’s from a place of taking responsibility for it. I’ve been sober from alcohol about 3.5 years and am about to seriously cut back on my weed consumption. We believe everyone deserves access to accurate, unbiased information about mental health and recovery. Many years ago, in the beginning of my recovery from addiction, I was introduced to the Law of Attraction.

Sobriety can help you to improve your health, your relationships, and your overall quality of life. However, it is important to remember that sobriety is not something to be afraid of. This is part of our ongoing commitment to ensure FHE Health is trusted as a leader in mental health and addiction care. She said anyone can have the same experience being sober.

Take a look at our state of the art treatment center. Meghan Blackford is a Social Media Consultant with over ten years of advertising and crack vs cocaine myths digital marketing experience, who helps curate… We offer 100% confidential and individualized treatment

Common triggers

Because he is a member of a support group that stresses the importance of anonymity at the public level, he does not use his photograph or Alcohol and Lung Disease his real name on this website. Receive weekly insights to help you and your loved ones on your road to recovery. Here at Sandstone Care, we know what it’s like to go through the healing process and come out on the other side. A sobriety date typically reflects a person’s first full day of sobriety. However, keep in mind that saying no to a field sobriety test can have consequences. Being sober is the complete abstinence from addictive substances.

The Challenges of Achieving Sobriety

However, working with professionals and peers can be necessary to overcome these fears while navigating short-term and long-term recovery. The fear of failing in recovery is a significant barrier to treatment, and many may not pursue a professional treatment program because of this fear. Engagement with evidence-based addiction treatment and exposure to many therapeutic opportunities and approaches can help you create an educated approach to your developing sober lives.

By seeking professional help and implementing coping strategies, individuals can tackle both conditions simultaneously and pave the way for long-term sobriety. In addition to being able to recognize them, it’s important to know when to seek help. Once you do return to work, it’s important to create a budget and take steps to safeguard yourself as work stress can be a relapse trigger. Eudaimonia Recovery Homes offers an environment where support is always available. Many professionals can help you through the process of becoming sober. Finally, it’s important to remember that you don’t have to do this alone.

They may feel like a failure already for becoming addicted, so why risk feeling even worse when they fail at sobriety? Some people fear they will fail at the process and have to start all over. Nearly everyone who enters rehab feels some level of fear or trepidation. And I have my greatest fears around my kids and the safety of my kids.

• I feel like a lot of people fear they will like sobriety and then will have to deal with the repercussions of telling everyone in their life they no longer drink.
• Let yourself feel that fear, and you are already on the path to getting comfortable with your uncomfortable emotions.
• That’s why I believe it’s a heroic act to be sober in today’s world.
• Learn how certain thinking patterns undermine healing and how self-awareness supports lasting recover…
• Many studies have found that certain fears (e.g., animals, heights) are much more common than others (e.g., flowers, clouds).

Today, the stakes are lower, but while public speaking, elevators, and spiders don’t present the same type of immediately dire consequences that faced early man, some individuals still develop extreme fight-flight-or-freeze responses to specific objects or scenarios. Green discusses famous examples of when athletic anxiety has ruined careers and juxtaposes it with the nature of general anxiety as a whole. Another study was done in 2001 by Conroy, Poczwardowski, and Henschen that created five aversive consequences of failing that have been repeated over time. This was a monumental finding in the field of psychology because it allowed other researchers to better clarify how fear of failure can actually be a determinant of creating achievement goals as well as how it could be used in the actual act of achievement. His studies suggested that inavoidance, the need to avoid failure, was found in many college-aged men during the time of his research in 1938. Murray’s Exploration in Personal (1938) was one of the first studies that actually identified fear of failure as an actual motive to avoid failure or to achieve success.

What Being Sober Feels Like

Everyone enters rehab with some trepidation, even if theyve been in and out of treatment for years. Fear is normal at every stage of recovery. If you wish famous fetal alcohol syndrome to contact a specific rehab facility then find a specific rehab facility using our treatment locator page or visit SAMHSA.gov.

• Tokophobia, or the fear of pregnancy and/or childbirth, is a longtime phobia but one that has only recently been seriously researched.
• And since fear is always about something that might or could happen but hasn’t happened yet, it is a reaction to an imagined, rather than a real, event.
• Yet without taking these steps, there can be no recovery.
• Healthcare professionals have found that choosing sobriety can lengthen your life, improve your relationships, and increase your energy.
• Feeling guilty or ashamed of past behavior or actions during active addiction is natural and healthy.

Reasons Why People Are Afraid To Get Sober

For instance, someone who is afraid of planes might be encouraged to go up anyway. With flooding, the person is exposed to a vast quantity of the feared object or to a feared situation for a prolonged period in a safe, controlled environment until the fear diminishes. Others are learned and are connected to associations or traumatic experiences. Though you recognize that the fear is unreasonable, you can’t help the reaction.

There are various strategies to assuage fears during the journey to recovery. Nifaliophobia is the irrational fear of being sober. Also, many people who are addicted may have an undiagnosed co-occurring mental health disorder, like depression or anxiety. Some people may fear that getting sober will result in being perpetually unhappy. Staying sober is the challenge of a lifetime. Once a person breaks their addiction, they’re faced with the fear that they could slip up at any time.

What Is The Fear Of Failure In Sobriety?

However, it’s important to remember that you don’t have to please everyone. However, sobriety doesn’t have to be boring. Sobriety can be an incredibly rewarding experience. If there are any concerns about content we have published, please reach out to us at

Using the technology of virtual reality to simulate exposure to fears has emerged as a useful therapeutic tool. Minding one’s thoughts, acknowledging their fears, and being present can go a long way toward managing everyday fears. When fear disrupts or overtakes an individual’s life, therapy can help.