Emotional Sobriety Could Be the Key to Substance Use Recovery

Are you on the path to recovery from substance use disorder? If so, it’s important to understand emotional sobriety and how to achieve it. Read on to learn more.

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When people think of recovering from a substance use disorder (SUD), they typically focus on the act of staying sober and abstaining from substances –– but recovery is about so much more. Maintaining sustainable recovery requires a lot of determination, resilience, and emotional strength, which may be referred to as emotional sobriety. General sobriety focuses on staying physical sobriety –– not consuming any drugs or alcohol –– but emotional sobriety runs deeper. Read on to learn about what emotional sobriety is, why it’s such an important aspect of recovery, and how to achieve it. 

What is emotional sobriety? 

Emotional sobriety isn’t an official medical term, and different people define it differently. It’s more of a concept than a diagnosis. “I view emotional sobriety as relapse prevention, addressing mental health and physical concerns, developing healthy coping skills –– including skills to manage your emotions without the use of substances –– gaining insight and self-awareness, and finding a lifestyle that promotes long-term wellness and fulfillment,” says Sarah Lyter, LCPC, MA, a Clinical Supervisor Charlie Health. “Emotional sobriety gives you the inner resources to maintain sobriety.”

You can also view emotional sobriety as the ability to cope with whatever emotions come your way, feeling and managing them without any substances. No matter how intense your emotions get, you won’t be controlled by them, and you can get through it with your emotional regulation skills and coping tools. 

With emotional sobriety, you aren’t just white-knuckling through life, experiencing pain and distress while wishing you could just indulge in your substance of choice to feel better –– you’re embracing your emotions, whatever they may be, confident that you can persevere through anything that comes your way with the skills you’ve learned. 

Since a big part of emotional sobriety is emotional health, a key aspect of emotional sobriety is addressing any underlying mental health concerns that contribute to your substance use. If you don’t address these underlying disorders, you will find it more difficult to cope with the difficulties of everyday life. 

What is the importance of emotional sobriety in recovery?

Achieving emotional sobriety and improving overall emotional health will enhance your recovery journey. “If you put yourself in an emotionally healthy state, you’re going to be more equipped to handle any challenges or struggles,” Lyter says. “Recovery is directly impacted by your emotional sobriety because the human condition is an emotional experience.”

Plus, many people with SUD use substances as a means to cope with or numb intense emotions, and getting sober presents new challenges. “When you stop using, feelings are really magnified, or repressed feelings come up,” says Lyter. “If you’re not in an emotionally sober place, it’s going to be really difficult for you to navigate that without your primary coping skill, which is a substance.” Ultimately, emotional sobriety will give you the strength and skills to maintain your physical sobriety, even when life gets hard and emotions are running high.

How to achieve emotional sobriety

There are several ways you can work towards emotional sobriety, including the following:

1. Have a support network

Humans are social creatures, and we inherently crave connections with others. Having healthy, fulfilling relationships with family and friends has a great positive effect on your overall mental health and well-being. Plus, social support plays a huge role in recovery. “Trying to be sober––let alone emotionally healthy––without support and connection is really difficult,” Lyter says. 

Research shows that having a solid support network leads to better treatment outcomes and lower risk of relapse. Feeling socially isolated and lonely are risk factors for relapse or worse treatment outcomes. This is why it’s crucial to stay connected. 

2. Have a sober support network

On top of having your loved ones around, it’s also crucial to have other sober people in your life who understand exactly what you’re going through. You want to have people who are also in recovery who you can be open and honest about your struggles, such as dealing with cravings, Lyter explains. “Addiction is a very isolating experience, and a lot of the time, the healing is that opposite experience and really requires profound connection,” she says.

Twelve-step programs, such as Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) or Narcotics Anonymous (NA), are options for finding your sober support network. Or, you can opt for other sober support groups of choice. Lyter recommends Refuge Recovery, Yoga 12 step recovery (Y12SR), and SMART Recovery. 

3. Create a relapse prevention plan 

Having a relapse prevention plan –– ideally one that you create with a mental health professional ––  is crucial, Lyter says. This plan should include:

• Your triggers (both internal triggers, like difficult emotions, and external triggers, like being in specific places or situations)
• Warning signs that you’re on the road to relapse
• Names and information of people you can call when you’re struggling (such as loved ones or people in your sober support network)
• Healthy coping skills
• An actionable plan of steps you can take if you feel the urge to relapse 

This relapse prevention plan will help you abstain from addictive substances. “You need to be able to prevent relapse to be able to do the work required to achieve emotional sobriety,” Lyter says. “You can’t be emotionally sober if you’re not sober.”

4. Practice mindfulness

Mindfulness helps you become aware of your thoughts and emotions without judgment. 

“To be emotionally sober, we have to be aware of our emotions and be able to experience them and tolerate them,” says Lyter. “Mindfulness is really helpful for people who have used substances as a coping skill for emotions because it requires you to be in the present moment and sit with your experience.”

Plus, plenty of research backs up mindfulness’s benefits in SUD recovery. Researchers have found that mindfulness can reduce cravings, help prevent relapse, and improve emotional regulation.

There are many ways to practice mindfulness, so you can experiment with different methods and figure out what works best for you, whether that’s traditional mindfulness meditation, specific guided meditations, body scans, or mindful yoga. With practice, mindfulness is a great tool for coping with intense emotions.

5. Practice self-care

It’s so important to take care of yourself both physically and mentally in recovery. Physically, you should focus on getting regular exercise and eating a healthy diet, Lyter says. Getting enough high-quality sleep is also crucial for both physical and mental health.

Some other tips for self-care include:

• Journaling
• Getting creative (such as creating art or music)
• Practicing self-compassion
• Limiting time spent on social media
• Spending time outside
• Sticking to a routine
• Practicing gratitude
• Engaging in things you’re passionate about 

6. Seek professional mental health treatment

“The work that needs to be done to maintain recovery is typically pretty deep and profound, and having professional support is incredibly important to navigate this effectively,” Lyter says. She recommends working with a mental health professional who specializes in substance abuse or a substance abuse-focused program. 

Additionally, it’s very common for SUD to co-occur with mental health conditions. It’s estimated that about one in four people with a serious mental health disorder also struggle with substance abuse. Examples of conditions that commonly co-occur with SUD are:

• Depression
• Bipolar disorder
• Anxiety disorders
• Post-traumatic stress disorder 
• Personality disorders
• Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)
• Schizophrenia

Lyter stresses the importance of addressing these comorbid conditions to improve overall mental health and maintain both physical sobriety and emotional sobriety.

How Charlie Health can help

If you or a loved one struggles with substance use disorder, Charlie Health is here to help. Charlie Health’s virtual Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP) provides more than once-weekly mental health treatment for people who are dealing with serious mental health conditions, including SUD and co-occurring disorders. 
Our compassionate clinicians meet you where you are on your addiction recovery journey and create personalized treatment plans to help you heal. They will teach you to build emotional resilience, reframe negative thoughts, learn effective coping skills, prevent relapse, and promote long-lasting recovery.

We incorporate evidence-based therapies into individual counseling, family therapy, and group sessions. With this kind of holistic treatment, recovery from substance use disorder is possible. Fill out the form below or give us a call to start healing today.