Get Into the Sobriety Groove

If you have been listening to music for a long time, the odds are pretty good that you have seen the delivery method of your favorite tunes change over the years.

Maybe your original music collection was all on records—both albums and singles. Perhaps you dabbled with the 8-track player before moving on to cassettes. Maybe you replaced all of those cassettes with CDs. Perhaps you packed up all those CDs when you started listening to mp3s. Perhaps you left your personal collection largely behind when you discovered you could stream almost anything you could think of. And now you might find yourself flipping through vinyl records once again as that old format returns to a place of prominence in the listening habits of music lovers.

In the end, it doesn’t much matter what format the music comes in. The important thing is that you get to hear the songs you want to hear. If you have a particular favorite song, it is possible you have owned it in a number of formats and listened to it in several others.

You might be wondering what this foray into the history of recording and playback technology has to do with recovery from a substance use disorder. That’s fair enough. Here’s the song we’re singing: Your sobriety is like your favorite song.

My Sobriety is Like What Now?

You may be scratching your head over the idea that your sobriety has anything in common with your favorite song but stay with us here.

When it comes to the songs you like the best, you are probably pretty flexible about format. Got a record player and a record? Great! Have an old boom box that plays cassettes? Wonderful! Got a CD player in your old car? That will work!

No matter the format—whether old or new—the important thing is not the technology. It’s the song that is important.

Now think about your sobriety. Does making a change to your diet (like reducing your sugar intake, for example) support your sobriety? It does! Would you be well served to add another 12-Step (or other recovery program) meeting to your schedule during a time when you are struggling? Absolutely! Got a mindfulness app or book or podcast that helps you focus on the present moment? That will work!

No matter the strategy—whether it is something you have been doing since the beginning of your recovery journey or something new—the important thing is not the specifics of the approach. It’s the sobriety that is important.

Different Moments May Call for Different Approaches

There was a time when it was difficult to find record players and easy to find CD players. Now, the reverse is largely true. When you are trying to listen to your favorite music, you sometimes have to go with what works right now.

The same is true with your sobriety. It is possible that you will develop a set of routines that truly serve you well in the early stages of your recovery journey. But at some point, you might start to notice that the same old strategies for keeping cravings at bay or for keeping your self-talk positive or for ending relationships with toxic individuals just aren’t working like they used to.

That is perfectly okay. The key is to find new habits and strategies that will continue to undergird your ongoing sobriety. And just like you may need to ask an expert (or a teenager) for the most up-to-date information on how to play your favorite songs, you may need to ask your therapist, your sponsor, or others in your life who understand what you are going through to help you find new approaches to protecting your sobriety.

Heck, you might even turn to the blog of a respected treatment center that relies on evidence, expertise, experience, and empathy to provide top-notch personalized services for those struggling with drugs or alcohol. We’re reasonably confident you could find a blog like that without too much trouble.