Stress, trauma, or untreated mental health issues often play a role. Individual therapy helps you explore these deeper struggles and develop healthier coping skills. Therapists use methods like cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) to change negative thought patterns that lead to drinking. Long-term sobriety takes effort, but the right strategies make it easier to stay on track. Having a plan, managing stress, and surrounding yourself with the right people help prevent setbacks. Drinking after long term sobriety can happen, but you can take steps to protect yourself.
Can an Alcoholic Ever Drink Again? The Risks and Realities of Controlled Drinking

The answer is that you will notice changes going back to drinking after being sober right away when you quit drinking and will continue to notice changes for months to come. Some of these changes will be difficult to experience because they may be unpleasant at first. Still, the longer you abstain from alcohol, the more you will notice welcoming changes in both your physical and mental state.
What are the benefits of complete abstinence for recovering alcoholics?
This means that there will be relapse, shame and guilt, loss of trust of relatives and friends. You don’t have wine on the kitchen counter or vodka in your freezer. In fact, you haven’t had a drink in months or maybe even years.
Week Two Benefits
This approach fosters a stronger foundation for sustained recovery. Alcohol use disorder is a lifelong condition, which means someone who has struggled with addiction always carries a risk of relapse. Even after years of sobriety, it’s important to remain mindful and take steps to protect what is alcoholism recovery. That said, with ongoing support, healthy habits, and coping strategies, one can live a full, rewarding life free from alcohol. But what happens to your body during the first year of sobriety?

Most importantly, reintroducing alcohol into your life should not be taken lightly. If you find yourself craving alcohol, never allow yourself to decide in the moment.
- There are individual, group, and family therapies for this purpose.
- Not only will you reduce your overall calorie intake, but you will also likely replace some of these calories from healthier sources.
- She admits that after a year of being sober, she began drinking again.
While it may not be something you perceptibly notice, one huge health benefit from stopping alcohol will occur by your third week of not drinking. Using alcohol frequently or consistently increases your blood pressure, leading to an increased risk of heart disease and stroke. The Star Search judge revealed in 2022 that she was one year sober and dedicated to living alcohol-free. However, in May 2025, she admitted that she had started letting alcohol back into her life, but as of January 27, she’s now 52 days sober again.

Not for just all the years on Bravo he has blessed us with, but because of his honesty and openness around his own journey with sobriety,” Teigen revealed in an Instagram post. Chrissy Teigen is known for showing her raw, unfiltered, unedited life https://demo-dev.graphcomment.com/bored-drinking-how-to-defend-against-the-sneakiest-2/ on social media. She frequently posts candid videos and moments of her and husband John Legend’s frenzied life raising four young children. Everything from birth stories, milestones, celebrations, and tragic loss has been covered by the former supermodel in an authentic way to connect with her fans and followers.
Teigen detailed how a conversation with the reality TV star about his “honesty and openness around his own journey with sobriety” helped her. Similarly, she told Cosmopolitan in 2017, “I was, point blank, just drinking too much. I got used to being in hair and makeup and having a glass of wine. Then that glass of wine would carry over into me having one before the awards show. Although it wasn’t “the kind of drinking where you slur your words and miss a step on the stairs,” Teigen began to notice the small ways it was affecting her life.