5 wonderful things about being a sober woman

At Women’s Recovery, we’re committed to the health and recovery of each woman in our program. We offer a wide array of treatment options, each of which we can tailor to your unique needs. Read through the wonderful things about being sober, then contact our treatment programs today at 833.754.0554.

My name is Faith R., and I am a grateful recovering addict. I’m from Colorado Springs, Colorado. My clean date is December 12, 2010. Many people will tell you they are a recovering alcoholic, or that they are recovering from cocaine addiction, or that they are a grateful recovering heroin addict.

Me? I am recovering from the disease. When I was in my addiction, my drug of choice was MORE. More opiates, more coke, more meth, more weed, more booze…more, more, MORE! Like every recovering addict I’ve ever met, I had to go through a whole lot of pain before I made the decision to get clean. I had to hit a really rocky bottom before I finally reached out for help and decided that, no matter what, I was done using drugs. It took a long time to get there, but I am thankful I made it out of my addiction alive. SO many addicts don’t.

Those early days of recovery were quite difficult. I will never forget detox. It was so painful. After detox, I did thirty days of in-patient treatment, I did an outpatient treatment for three months, and I lived in an Oxford House for a year-and-a-half. Looking back, I know without a shadow of a doubt that putting my recovery first was the best gift I could have ever given myself. Now that I have experienced some of the blessings of recovery, I want to tell you this topic.  

Even though it’s been seven years since the last time I got low (I call it getting “low,” not getting “high!”), I still remember that last binge. I was in total bondage, a slave to my addiction. Everything about my life revolved around drugs – the getting, using, and finding ways and means to get more. Today, by the Grace of God, I am free. I get to choose what I want to do with my day. I am free to spend my money how I want to spend it. My mind is not consumed by the obsession to use drugs. I am not shackled by the chains of addiction.

I am free in my mind, body, and spirit. Freedom – it’s the most wonderful thing about being a sober woman.

When I was controlled by the disease of addiction, I was in and out of the pawnshop, hocking my most valuable possessions. After months of paying high finance fees, I would get everything out, only to put everything back in again. A savings account? Forget it! More like hundreds of dollars in overdraft fees every month, never-ending negative account balances, and blood-sucking payday loans. Ugh. I was always in dire financial straits. Now that I am a woman with some sobriety, I have a savings account. I have decent credit. And, all my valuables are at home, safe and sound…where they belong. Financial stability – it’s another wonderful thing about being a sober woman.

When I was getting low, I carried the shame and guilt that comes with all the things you have to do to stay loaded – lie, cheat, and steal. In my heart, I was a good person, but I compromised all of my values to maintain my habit. I was terribly ashamed of the things I did, and I felt like I didn’t deserve to look people in the eye. Today, I live an honest life. I am a productive member of society. In sobriety, I have righted my wrongs and changed for the better. I am clean and sober, and I can live out loud. I don’t have to hide.

In fact, I can walk down the street, hold my head up high, and look people square in the eye.

That shame and guilt I talked about? It was because of things I did to support my habit – things I thought I would never be able to forgive myself for. In an active addiction, I carried a burden in my soul, a heaviness in my spirit. The realities of my past would keep me up at night. After completing the process of working the 12 steps, I have been able to find forgiveness within. I have also been granted forgiveness by others because I have made proper amends to those I have harmed.

Forgiveness is a beautiful thing because it has allowed me to move on from the past and look hopefully toward the future. I talked earlier about being grateful for the freedom I enjoy from active action. Another wonderful thing about being a sober woman? Finding freedom through forgiveness.

I have also been granted forgiveness by others because I have made proper amends to those I have harmed.

When I was using drugs and alcohol, I was in horrible physical condition. I would wake up terribly hungover from all the drugs I had been doing. I had the shakes and the sweats. Sometimes, I can still remember how tremendously painful it was to pull my aching body out of bed and put my feet on the floor. I would have to drink whiskey or use some kind of drug first thing when I woke up so I wouldn’t get dope sick or go through the symptoms of withdrawal. Yuck.

Now that I am free from the bondage of chemical dependency, I no longer suffer from the physical sickness that accompanies drug and alcohol addiction. My physical health has been restored. It took time. I first had to walk through the pain of detox and give my body permission to readjust to a normal state of functioning without chemicals. But, now, being comfortable in my own skin is a wonderful thing.

But, now, being comfortable in my own skin is a wonderful thing.

If you are new to recovery, I don’t want to read the words on this page and think, “Good for her. She’s recovering quite nicely. Whoopity-do-da for her sparkly rainbows and yay for her la-tee-da rays of sunshine. She has no idea what it’s like to be me! This sobriety thing sucks!” You are right. I don’t know what it is like to be you. You are unique in your own one-of-a-kind story, and nobody knows what it’s like to be you – nobody except you, of course.

If you’re not at a place where you think it’s wonderful to be a sober woman, that’s okay. Don’t use drugs, no matter what, and you’ll get there.

I can tell you with absolute certainty that my early days of recovery weren’t easy. They were uncomfortable. They were difficult and challenging, and painful. I used to think sobriety sucked. There were times that I cried out into the night, “God, help me! I want to get high!” But, I can tell you – I will even promise you – that sobriety gets easier. It gets more comfortable. It gets better. If you stick around long enough, you too will think that it’s wonderful to be a sober woman!

If you stick around long enough, you too will think that it’s wonderful to be a sober woman!

Women’s Recovery can help women, just like Faith, who are struggling with an addiction. We offer a wide array of treatment programs, including:

• Alcohol addiction treatment
• Heroin addiction treatment
• Cocaine addiction treatment
• Opioid addiction treatment
• Prescription drug addiction treatment

To learn more about the treatment options available to you, please contact Women’s Recovery today at 833.754.0554.