Milestones in recovery are important to celebrate for many reasons. Two main categories exist: holidays, birthdays and sober anniversaries along with attainment of critical skills in support of recovery. Sober anniversaries and skill building are critical to success in recovery so it is beneficial to celebrate any time things go well which helps the healing process continue.
Sober Anniversaries
Strong evidence suggests that honoring sober anniversaries are important milestones which deserve a victory lap. When memories of trauma are intersected with memories of a positive event, it helps to build more positive memories to outweigh the negative ones. Some of the more common sober anniversaries help boost a person’s mood, build positive feelings of accomplishment and set the stage to reach ever higher for more goals in the future.
First sober birthday
This milestone is exciting and a very special day. Creative ways to celebrate can include wholesome, drug and alcohol-free entertainment with sober friends and family right alongside to make the day extra special.
First Christmas sober
Holidays can trigger stress which remind a person of substance abuse triggers. Holidays can stir up emotion-laden memories of past holidays spent drinking or using drugs to cope. With some advance planning and intentional celebration, a sober anniversary at Christmas can be full of rich, good memories.
First year sober
The first anniversary of sobriety is a great opportunity to extravagantly lavish rewards on oneself for doing what felt unthinkable in the past. This may include:
- Saving up for vacation
- Travel to a new place
- Plan a trip somewhere
Focus on smaller anniversaries
Smaller, yet more meaningful anniversaries can have power to transform the way a person sees sober living. It helps to visualize how a celebration will occur that is fun and exciting. This may include:
- Completion of detox
- Finishing a month of treatment
- Staying sober for a week after rehab
- Becoming a first-time sponsor in a 12-step program
- Other important milestones that are personally significant
Share the achievement with others who understand and don’t be embarrassed to flaunt the achievement with words of affirmation and positivity.
The goal with celebrating milestones is to highlight all that a person has achieved up to this point. Recovery is a difficult journey and deserves to be celebrated each step of the way, big or small victories included. Rewarding oneself for a job well done helps build momentum and motivation for the days ahead which will be challenging but manageable with a positive mindset focused on intentional recovery.
If you or a loved one are working towards sober goals and need support, call The Villa. Let us help celebrate your milestones and help you reach even further towards your recovery goals.