I usually abstain from the use of alcoholic liquors or drugs; moderate. You are not intoxicated or affected by drug use. Someone who is sober is intoxication-free, that is, not drunk. But does being sober or having a sober lifestyle require continued abstinence from alcohol? Yes, at least according to the standard medical definition of sobriety, a common view shared by popular recovery programs like Alcoholics Anonymous.
Some people would even say that their partner can sometimes be in a better mood when they drink. Being clean can be the equivalent of being a dry drunk or putting white knuckles on your sobriety. Sobriety means that you are addiction-free. You can control the feelings that arise when you don't drink alcohol, and it can even help.
Being sober because of drugs is like being drug-free. It is used in two different ways. It may mean that the person is not feeling the effects at this time, or it may mean that the person is no longer using drugs and is free of them. For most people, the word “sober” means anyone who isn't intoxicated.
In recovery, however, sobriety has a much fuller definition. Sobriety isn't just about abstaining from using drugs and alcohol. It's about moving toward complete physical, emotional, mental and spiritual health. Sobriety actually means, first, not being intoxicated.
It doesn't mean abstinence, as AA understands it. In fact, the DSM psychiatric manual (which practically everyone who uses it, even the experts who write about it) does not contain any abstinence criteria for recovery (what is actually called remission). Addiction and remission refer to the absence of problems using or not using a substance. The dominant concept of sobriety is commonly understood as completely abstaining from a particular behavior or substance.
However, what this actually describes is abstinence. The definition of sobriety in textbooks is simply not being intoxicated at any given time. According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, the definition of sober is not getting drunk or abstaining from taking intoxicating drugs or drinking alcohol. Being sober can also mean abstaining from using addictive substances.
After having faced addiction in his own life and working through recovery, James truly understands what it takes to be sober and stay sober. The transition from treatment to everyday life can be overwhelming, so there are homes for sober people available to provide structure, support and guidance. New You Sober Living offers a long-term supervised structure and sober support for both men and women in South Florida. Homes for sober people also motivate people to stay completely sober by performing random and specific urine drug tests.
In addition, people who come out of treatment must be motivated to stay completely sober, and homes where they live sober can help with that motivation. However, participants also highlighted the characteristics of the recovery environment of a sober life as important factors that influence motivation. The National Institute for Sanitary Substance Use and Rehabilitation “The motivation to maintain sobriety among residents of recovery homes to live sober” says:.
