Choosing the right facility and program that furthers you or your loved one’s chances of sobriety is key. This approach and dedication to remaining sober can make a huge difference in your future. Throughout our life, we are told that anything that causes great effort cognitive dissonance and addiction to achieve is always worth the time spent. There are times that your effort does not produce the outcome you expected or wanted. Cognitive dissonance causes you to justify all of the effort put forth and causes you to believe that things turned out for the better.

Although relapse can happen and it is possible to recover from it, you should do your best to maintain your sobriety permanently. She says that reaching more consistency in your thoughts and behaviors will create a world that’s less harmful, less likely to trigger negative emotions, and therefore, less problematic. And sometimes reducing the dissonance can be as easy as reframing your thinking. Accepting this helps explain the rise of ideologies that promise you can have it all. This citation illustrates both some active decision to stay sober but also a recurrent struggle not to yield to temptations, buffered by the fact that they realised that a relapse could quickly destroy everything they had been working for.

Science-Based Ways To Apply Positive CBT

Have you ever felt a sense of tension in your mind, but you weren’t sure why or what was causing it? This psychological phenomenon of cognitive dissonance is hard to detect, but for those with addiction, it is important to recognize. This can help be able to detect any underlying mental illness https://ecosoberhouse.com/article/blood-thinners-and-alcohol-risks-and-side-effects/ that can be a major contributor to someone’s addictive behavior. Co-occurring disorders (addiction and substance disorder coinciding) can be managed with dual diagnosis treatment. These programs are established in houses occupied with people in recovery from misuse of alcohol and drugs.

Notably, the participants reported hard work in distancing themselves from drug dealers and other criminals, criminal actions and fear of the police. Apart from the occasional craving for illegal drugs and alcohol in controlled forms, the participants experienced their new life as non-addicts as a kind of freedom, for instance, from the fear of the police and criminal prosecutions. The present findings support a favourable position concerning the possibility of leading a new life despite a history of heavy drug addiction. A clinical implication of such findings is that sobriety is an essential goal for personal recovery.

Preventing Cognitive Dissonance in the First Place

This can be a positive experience as you can try things you have never done before and maybe even find something you love. In some cases, building up your recovery community and network of friends that support you can mean ending some toxic relationships. You want to be surrounded by people that provide a positive influence and are there for you when you need them.

• Other substance misuse treatment approaches comparable to a sober living house are day treatment programs, partial hospitalization programs, and intensive outpatient programs.
• My knowledge that I am hungry is very much related to my behavior at the local restaurant in which I am sitting.
• Considering recovery as a long-term process (Keith et al., 2021) poorly captured by controlled studies (Bjørnestad et al., 2020), qualitative studies are most likely to bring forward more processual knowledge.
• Living sober can be especially difficult if you have any mental health issues, personal problems or unresolved conflict.
• Imagine confronting a sunbather with the information that excessive sun exposure is the leading cause of skin cancer.
• The fortunate ones eventually see through their denial and decide that they have had enough.