Can I Drink While in Recovery From Drug Use?

Recovery is a wholly transformational experience, and alumni who have navigated drug rehab in Hawaii can approach daily life in new ways. However, it is also common to wonder if those who are successfully maintaining a healthy abstinence from drug use can still drink while in recovery. While an individual may have never been diagnosed with alcohol addiction or alcohol use disorder (AUD), that doesn’t mean that choosing to drink while in recovery from drug use doesn’t still have profound effects on an individual. Thus, avoiding such use in favor of a fully abstinent lifestyle is advised. 

Just because an individual was in recovery overcoming an addiction to another substance doesn’t mean that alcohol can’t still have challenging effects on an individual. When considering if an individual either can or should drink while in recovery from drug use, it is important to truly address what recovery means to each individual. 

Truly transformational recovery through dedicated treatment programs, like the ones offered at Hawaii Island Recovery, is about more than just learning to remain abstinent from the addictive substance in question. Rather, it is about empowering an individual to pursue personal goals and ambitions by embracing many different degrees of change in daily life to live a fulfilling lifestyle – personally, emotionally, socially, spiritually, and more. The use of alcohol in recovery from drug use does not typically align with these intended changes and often does little to aid an individual in achieving their own personal goals set for themselves in recovery and sobriety.

Furthermore, considering taking a drink while in recovery from drug use can also have a number of other challenges that an individual must address, bringing unnecessary risk or relapse and other complications to each individual’s sober journey. 

Each individual will have a unique and challenging recovery journey from drug use, and there is no easy path to a healthy and sober future. However, the use of alcohol can add additional challenges throughout the journey, even if an individual was not dedicated to an alcohol-free life when they began their recovery. Understanding the risks of alcohol use in drug recovery can empower each individual to focus on developing a sober lifestyle and creating a fulfilling plan in daily life. 

Addiction is a disease that can take many forms, and there is nobody who is immune to its effects. However, those who have been diagnosed with an addiction of any kind can be at a higher risk of developing replacement addictions. Replacement addictions manifest when the use of a single substance or behavior wholly replaces previous substance use. While this can purport to be a positive thing at first, replacement addictions still have a myriad of negative consequences, especially when it comes to alcohol use. 

Some of the most common replacement addictions include:

Any single substance or behavior that seeks to fill the same role as a previous addictive substance can be a replacement addiction. Moreover, replacement addictions can fundamentally affect a person’s mental health, physical health, finances, and more in much the same way as their previous addiction, potentially stifling or jeopardizing other dedicated and effective recovery efforts. Meanwhile, engaging in alcohol while in recovery from drug use can quickly manifest into such replacement addiction as the use of alcohol fills a similar role, thus hindering a person’s overall sober goals. 

Navigating a drug-free life is incredibly difficult, with urges and cravings being commonplace even after graduating from a dedicated treatment program. Engaging in alcohol can further introduce urges and cravings into daily life, and can even normalize the use of addictive substances again which can lead to dangerous changing perceptions of drugs and increase the chances of relapse. 

Furthermore, alcohol can also compromise other effective strategies for navigating urges and cravings or impair a person’s judgment and decision-making skills, making it easier to fall back into previous self-destructive practices. 

Recovery goals are personal endeavors aimed at personal accomplishments, and alcohol use can affect a person’s ability to achieve these goals. Personal goals as an alumnus can vary from person to person, from repairing personal relationships, pursuing a professional career, starting new hobbies, and much more. Alcohol use while in drug recovery can make it difficult to focus on these goals, and can compromise other approaches to a truly sober lifestyle and mentality that is otherwise championed throughout effective treatment at Hawaii Island Recovery. 

Each individual should feel empowered to pursue a sober life in the best way that fits them. However, taking a drink while in recovery from drug use can have a number of risks associated with it. Working with educated peers and Hawaii Island Recovery’s trained professionals can empower each individual to not only pursue a drug-free life but also a truly healthy and transformed sober lifestyle for a lifetime to come. 

Drinking while in recovery from drug use can present a number of unnecessary challenges. While we at Hawaii Island Recovery embrace a truly sober and abstinent approach to recovery and sobriety, we also understand that these questions are completely normal, and are prepared to work with you to make your own decisions about how to embody your best sober change. Developing your alumnus life is difficult, but by understanding the risks of alcohol use after drug rehab in Hawaii and working with our professionals and continued community support, we can help you develop the healthiest lifestyle for you. For more information on how we can help you throughout your sober journey, call to speak to us today at (866) 390-5070.