SOBRIETY CALCULATOR
Milestones are important in recovery from drugs and alcohol. In 12-step groups, for example, milestones are marked by recovery anniversaries. During these anniversaries, individuals in recovery receive special tokens, awards, and recognition for their commitment to recovery. But when recovery is a long journey, it can be difficult to keep track of how long you have been sober.
That’s where recovery calculators come in. A recovery calculator or sobriety calculator helps individuals keep track of the duration of their recovery journey by asking them to enter the date they achieved sobriety. It then calculates how long an individual has been recovering and displays it in a meaningful way.
At Live Free Recovery Services, we want to empower not only our patients but the entire recovery community. This is why we have provided a recovery calculator for anyone to use. To learn how long it has been since you have last used drugs or alcohol, enter the date of your last instance of substance abuse into our recovery calculator!
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From Substance Abuse to Sober
Addiction is a serious condition. It can take a toll on one’s physical and mental health. Addiction also takes a toll on one’s social life and can put a strain on interpersonal relationships. When someone decides to take the steps to recovery, they are making a difficult decision.
Recovery is a long process and involves dealing with many changes such as quitting drugs or alcohol, building up new healthy habits and activities, and working on relationships that have been damaged by addiction, among others. But recovery also brings along its share of rewards—improved health, better relationships, and freedom from addiction.
Tracking sobriety is one of the most important aspects of recovery. Below, we discuss why using a recovery calculator (or sobriety calculator) is important during your journey to addiction recovery.
The Importance of Using a Recovery Calculator
Time holds great significance in the world of addiction and addiction recovery. For those in recovery, the amount of time that passes between their last instance of drug or alcohol use and the current moment represents the hard work, dedication, and healing that has gone into remaining sober. It is a powerful reminder of the progress that has been made and, more importantly, a motivation to continue on this recovery journey.
This is why recovery trackers like sobriety calculators are such an important tool in recovery. These calculators allow you to enter your last instance of drug or alcohol use, after which they will display the amount of time that has gone by. Depending on the sophistication of the calculator, you can learn how many years, months, days, minutes, and even seconds have passed since your last time using your substance of choice.
To discover how long it has been since your last drink or drug use is an incredible feeling and one that can propel recovery forward. Every day spent in recovery marks progress, and continuing to track this progress through recovery calculators allows for a point of reference for where you’ve been as well as how far you have come.
What Date is My Sobriety Date?
Choosing your sobriety date may make you feel a little confused. For some, their sobriety started the day they stopped using drugs and alcohol. This may be the day they started medical detox for substance abuse and had all substances removed from their system. For others, their sobriety date may be linked to the day they agreed to go to treatment or even the day they entered into an addiction treatment program.
Ultimately, the date that you choose to represent your sobriety is up to you. Overall, it is important to choose a date that has meaning and is special to you, as this marks the start of a new journey. Taking the time to identify your sobriety date will give you an important point of reference for where you’ve been as well as how far you have come in recovery.
Acknowledging Recovery Milestones
In life, anniversaries and milestones are important to celebrate. In the United States, we celebrate everything from wedding anniversaries to anniversaries with our employers. These anniversaries, yes, mark time, but they are also important in more symbolic ways as they represent much more than merely the passing of time.
In a similar way, it is important to acknowledge recovery milestones as they are reached. Celebrating recovery anniversaries is one way to take note of the progress made and to recognize recovery successes. And a recovery calculator can make it much easier to track recovery progress and mark milestone anniversaries in recovery.
By tracking recovery milestones through a recovery calculator, individuals are able to measure their own recovery journey and be motivated by their successes. This is also beneficial for friends and family members who can track recovery progress with the individual and celebrate recovery milestones together.
The calculator also helps provide perspective on recovery efforts and allows individuals to evaluate their own progress. This can be especially powerful when an individual has experienced a setback. With recovery calculators, recovery milestones can be tracked over time to provide a visual representation of recovery progress.
Recovery calculators are also great for helping individuals plan and celebrate their recovery milestones. Knowing when recovery goals have been achieved is an important part of the recovery process, and being able to track those dates with a recovery calculator lets you know when it is time to safely and soberly celebrate your accomplishments in recovery.
Ways to Celebrate Recovery Milestones
Celebrating an occasion adds a sense of importance to anniversaries, events, and milestones. Your recovery and every milestone you reach are indicative of so much. Celebrating those milestones is a great way to stay focused and motivated to continue your recovery journey as you are reminded of all that you can achieve.
Creating a recovery calendar with a recovery calculator can be a great way to keep track of your progress and plan for special celebrations. You will know exactly when you hit each milestone and can plan appropriately. It is also useful in providing focus and organization around recovery goals and activities that are important to take part in on the road to recovery.
When it comes to celebrating your recovery milestones, there are many different ways to go about it. Below, we provide different ideas of how you can celebrate recovery milestones as they come up on a recovery calculator.
Take a Trip
If you can, sometimes it is worth it to go big and truly treat yourself to a wonderful experience in a new place. One way of celebrating your sobriety is to get away from it all with a weekend trip or week-long vacation.
When taking a trip, this is a perfect time to take some time for yourself and spend the time reflecting on the progress you have made in recovery. Especially during bigger anniversaries such as annual anniversaries, you deserve to celebrate in a special way and reward yourself for the hard work that you have accomplished.
Celebratory Dinner
Going out for dinner is an age-old celebration activity. Many people choose to go out to dinner for wedding anniversaries and birthdays. Why not do the same for your recovery anniversary?
Opt for a recovery-friendly restaurant and give yourself permission to take the night off from recovery activities. Remind yourself during the dinner that recovery is a never-ending process and can take time, but you have made great progress so far.
Reward Yourself
Just like a student gets a gold star for completing an assignment, reward yourself in recovery. What non-substance-related reward could you give yourself after x weeks or months of recovery? Perhaps there is something that you have been wanting to buy for yourself. Whether it’s a new video game, a trip to the salon, or something like shoes, reward yourself with something that will make you happy.
Addiction Treatment at Live Free Recovery Services
Before you calculate your sobriety, you may need assistance getting sober. Live Free Recovery Services offers the recovery tools you need to start on your path to sobriety. Our recovery programs provide all the support and resources necessary so that you can move forward in recovery and keep track of your recovery milestones.
Our programs range from inpatient addiction treatment to various types of outpatient care for addiction. After completing a treatment program or moving through the levels in our continuum of care, we also provide our patients with the option to join our sober living program. This provides those in recovery with a safe place to live while they transition back into everyday life.
Regardless of your substance of choice, we are dedicated to helping you heal physically and mentally so that you can reach recovery. Through our support network, treatment modalities, and addiction resource, we can help you overcome this debilitating disease.
If you or someone close to you is struggling to stop using substances, contact us today. Our admissions specialists can walk you through our recovery programs and explain how we can help address your specific needs.