Taking Life One Day At A Time In Recovery

One day at a time is common recovery phrase.  It may seem simple enough to live for today, but the phrase can mean more to the recovering addict or alcoholic.  There are reasons this statement is so important in recovery.

Once an addict or alcoholic enters recovery, living one day at a time becomes necessary.  At the start of recovery, the addict faces financial, relational, vocational, and social problems.  There is a lot to address.  No one can fix everything in one day!  Recovery is a lifelong commitment to staying clean and sober.  

Living one day at a time gives the addict the opportunity to focus on what they can do today and not worry about yesterday or tomorrow.  Research supports the idea that if an addict begins to focus too much on the future, recovery might be jeopardized.  During recovery there will be time to focus on the issues of the past including healing family relationships or resolving financial concerns.  

One day at a time also emphasizes the positive idea that you did not use alcohol or drugs just for today.  This mindset allows many addicts to put the emphasis on not using today; tomorrow will take care of itself.  Living one day at time also means that one will not take on what cannot be worked on.  In some cases, recovering addicts will change this one hour at a time or one minute at a time.  This illustrates how difficult, but not impossible, recovery can be.

Living for today is also spiritual.  This is the day we have been given and we will make the most of it.  We will focus our energy on the day ahead of us and what we can accomplish today.  If we cannot work on a problem today, we can review it tomorrow.  Living one day at a time provides a sense of serenity knowing that all of your post-addiction problems do not need to be fixed today.  We will find the time to work on our problems and find solutions as recovery unfolds.  For today, you did not use drugs or alcohol and that is a very good thing!

One day at a time, Avalon Malibu provides the residential treatment programs you can trust for trusted results. A leading provider in primary mental health and substance use disorder treatment, our full continuum of care brings clients the serenity and tools they need for living a peaceful live, free of suffering. Call us today for information: (888) 958-7511