Daily Grounding Strategies for Maintaining Sobriety

Recovery is an ongoing process. Even those who have graduated from a dedicated recovery program and are navigating the stresses of daily life are still exposed to many personal challenges. Recovery is a lifelong journey that is never “completed.” Therefore, continuing to employ regular grounding strategies is crucial for each individual’s continued sobriety. Practicing daily strategies and making such techniques routine can ensure that each individual is able to effectively employ their best practices in the face of stress, urges, cravings, or any unforeseen challenges that may manifest throughout daily life. 

Addiction is a devastating disease. Even if an individual transitions out of a dedicated recovery program, it doesn’t mean that their journey with addiction is over. Rather, individuals must adopt various skills to attain a greater degree of agency as they navigate the effects of addiction on their daily life. Continuing to engage in effective sober practices and refining strategies for overcoming urges, cravings, anxiety, and depression are all crucial parts of maintaining the profound transformations first made throughout dedicated addiction treatment and recovery programs. 

Each individual will still be exposed to unforeseen stresses or situations when transitioning to a life outside of a dedicated treatment facility. Having daily practices, strategies, and routines to challenge these unforeseen stresses is necessary to prevent relapse and create each person’s newfound healthy, sober life. Making daily grounding strategies a part of daily rituals can ensure that they are practiced and ready to be effectively employed whenever needed.

Each individual will have their own most effective grounding strategies for navigating urges and cravings and preventing relapse. Finding the right strategy or combination of strategies unique to each individual is crucial for ensuring that these practices are pertinent to each person’s goals for continued sobriety. While some strategies may work equally well for multiple people, others may need to adjust or amend certain strategies to make them more personally effective. Working with peers, professionals, and supports alike can help each person find the right grounding strategies for promoting a healthy and sustained sober life. 

Breathing techniques are a crucial part of recovery and are one of the first essential skills that many learn to practice in their recovery journey. However, even after leaving a dedicated treatment space, continuing to refine these breathing techniques is crucial, as this essential skill is necessary to enable other grounding strategies. Paying attention to one’s breathing can empower an individual to focus on their internal bodily responses, increasing mindfulness in the face of stress. An example of this is using the 3-3-3 technique where a person inhales while counting out three seconds, holds for three seconds, and then exhales for three seconds.

Grounding oneself in reality also means remaining cognizant of a person’s environment to create a shared sense of understanding and perspective for challenging stress, urges, cravings, and the effects of mental health disorders. Naming objects in one’s vicinity can create this shared sense of reality while navigating the challenges of daily life. Identifying objects in the room or reaching out to touch objects in one’s vicinity can all ground oneself in their environment alongside supports and peers, making it easier to communicate while navigating stress. 

Regularly engaging in the practice even while not under the crippling effects of stress can be immensely beneficial, ensuring that each person is able to engage with the practice whenever necessary. Naming objects while in the car at a stoplight or while brushing one’s teeth in a morning routine can all be great ways to normalize the practice. 

Music and nature have incredible healing potential when used as dedicated recovery tools. Listening to a certain song can provide feelings of familiarity or evoke more peaceful emotions or memories. Having a specific song an individual enjoys can help ground them by focusing on the melody, lyrics, or calming soundscape can all be instrumental in navigating stress. 

Nature can have just as many benefits when used regularly. Incorporating natural and calming imagery or going on regular walks in natural environments can allow those in recovery to process stress before they inform more self-destructive behaviors. Daily walks with a pet, friend, or family member, or having an outdoor space to feel the wind in the air, can all have amazing calming effects for staying grounded in the face of stresses or challenges to sobriety.

Each individual will acknowledge grounding strategies that are most effective for them. What works for one person may not work for others in equal measure. However, even the most effective of strategies may lose their efficacy over time as a person’s needs and goals change throughout recovery and one’s continued success. Continuously adapting strategies, trying new experiences, and refining practiced grounding strategies are essential for keeping these strategies fresh and effective for each person’s changing needs and goals for a healthy, sober future. 

Recovery and sobriety take daily effort and maintenance. We at Hawaii Island Recovery are committed to helping you embrace and incorporate daily strategies for furthering your own recovery goals. Whether you are looking to get connected to other alumni continuing to navigate their own goals or develop your own personal strategies, we can help. Our community of support and understanding permeates each of our recovery programs, connecting you to peers while addressing the unique stresses alumni face in their continued life of sobriety. We also offer comprehensive approaches to your needs in overcoming urges and cravings and addressing your emotional, social, and spiritual needs. For more information on our treatment centers in Hawaii, call (866) 390-5070.