Tommy Recovery Coaching

How to Set Achievable Goals in Addiction Recovery

When medical professionals research substance abuse and recovery topics, they often separate recovery goals into abstinence-based and non-abstinence-based categories. Alcoholics are more likely to pragmatically base their recovery goals on abstinence—for example, never drinking again and helping others achieve the same. People recovering from opioids and stimulants are more likely to formulate non-abstinence-based goals—for instance, boosting their physical and mental health. Working toward achieving recovery goals in both categories is always ideal. Nonetheless, they should also be realistic.

Goal Setting in Addiction Recovery

Setting personal goals during your recovery journey can help you reach sobriety as the ultimate destination. Staying sober and avoiding relapse are intrinsic goals. More specific objectives may include becoming a better parent, creating a stable life, getting into fitness, or improving your finances. Working to achieve these specifics can help you build a life structure, boost your self-esteem, and stabilize your mental health.

Preventing the New Year’s Resolution Trap

Approaching recovery goals like many people approach New Year’s resolutions can be a recipe for failure. The problem with most New Year’s resolutions is that they’re often unrealistic. For example, many people resolve to achieve the physique of fitness models in less than a year. However, such an accomplishment takes years of dedication and strict discipline. It’s easy to become discouraged and abandon resolutions when we don’t see immediate results. In addiction recovery, setting vague goals can result in frustration, thus creating a relapse risk.

Understanding the “Pink Cloud” of Addiction Recovery

“Pink cloud syndrome” often happens after detoxification or during rehabilitation. It feels great, like a honeymoon, with abundant optimism and boundless hope. From an emotional perspective, the pink cloud provides a glimpse of what your life could be as you make progress. However, it distorts reality because it doesn’t account for the work ahead. You must acknowledge that the pink cloud will dissipate, so you should set your goals along with reasonable and methodical plans to achieve them.

SMART Goals and Reality Checkers

A thoughtful way to avoid the New Year’s resolution trap in recovery starts with setting specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and timely (SMART) goals. The specific objectives should be reasonable to accomplish and easy to measure. Plus, they should have contributed to recovery by a certain date. Sobriety coins from Alcoholics Anonymous are classic examples of SMART goals because they represent specific accomplishments that are measured incrementally in days, months, and years. Plus, they’re meant to be achieved through peer encouragement and are highly relevant to recovery. The AA coins are reality checkers in and of themselves. However, you can also ask recovery professionals, such as those who provide support for sober recovery Carlsbad addicts can trust, to validate the reality of your recovery goals. Sober lifestyle coaches are often retained by clients for this reason. They can evaluate your goals against the SMART framework and through reality checks. This can help you set different goals and adjust current objectives so they conform to sober reality.

While many people who fall into substance abuse can start to recover on their own without the help of an interventionist, Carlsbad addicts can get a great deal of benefit from working with experienced sober coaches. For strength-based support with sober recovery, reach out to the trained recovery coaches at Sober Lifestyle Coaching. Our goal is to offer our clients maximum recovery support, especially in the first fragile days or weeks of early recovery. If you’re looking for extra addiction recovery support so you don’t risk relapse when you head into the danger zones, we’ll work with you to put together a game plan to keep you safe and sober as you accomplish your goals. To learn more about how we can help you or someone you love, call us today.