Back to School & Sober: 12 Tips for Success

Heading back to school this fall as a newly sober person? Maybe you just finished treatment, or maybe you took a year off to build a really strong foundation for your recovery.

Wherever you are in your recovery, you might be nervous about heading back to school. Totally understandable. Maybe you’re worried you’ll be the only person not partying. You might fear you won’t have any fun. You might be afraid you’ll be tempted to use again, being surrounded by lots of partying students.

The good news is, these days there are many high school and college students in recovery. You are not the only one. Far from it.

With some preparation you can have a school year filled with academic achievements, a great social life, and no relapse. Below, a dozen ideas to help you succeed:

1.  Get involved in a recovery program. Recovery programs help build self-esteem, self-respect, Read more...

Back to School & Sober: How to Resist Peer Pressure

“I just went back to school after six weeks of addiction treatment and summer vacation. What do I do when my friends ask if I want to get high?”

When you go back to school you will likely run into temptations to drink to use drugs. You need to make a plan to deal with this kind of situation long before it comes up, or you might have trouble refusing these offers.

Peer pressure can be tough to fight, but you can resist. All you need are the right tools. You probably got some of them in treatment, and you’ll pick up others as you go to more AA or NA meetings.

Talk about this issue with your counselor, your sponsor, and other students at your school who are in a recovery fellowship. Ask them exactly what they do to avoid problems. The following tips may also help:

  • Think ahead
Read more...