Getting sober is a very complex process. There are a number of social and emotional factors that impact a person’s ability to stop drinking and stay alcohol-free long-term. In many ways, those factors become more difficult to overcome the older a person gets. However, as we tell people at our alcohol rehab program in Sacramento, knowing what the issues are is half the battle.
Advancing Age and Achieving Sobriety
Here are some of the reasons that it can be more difficult to get sober as you get older:
- You get “set in your ways.” While it’s not true that you “can’t teach an old dog new tricks,” it does become much harder. For a senior who has likely been drinking for decades, a life without alcohol can be almost unfathomable.
- Wisdom doesn’t always come with age. While being older ought to mean that you understand your strengths and your weaknesses, your needs and your motivations better, that’s not always the case. Often, as we observe at our alcohol rehab program in Sacramento, years of deceiving yourself about your alcohol problem can become a barrier to seeing the truth of your situation.
- Your list of responsibilities continues to grow. Many seniors keep working and continue to feel responsible for helping to take care of their adult children to a degree. Add to that the desire to provide for their grandchildren and the “golden years” can be quite stressful.
- You figure you’ve made it this far. While alcohol is surely taking its toll on your body, your mind, and your relationships, you may feel there’s no benefit to getting sober at this point.
- The fears that sometimes power recovery have faded. Often the fear of loss is a motivator toward recovery. However, you may believe, with some justification, that your alcohol addiction isn’t going to cost you your job, your spouse, or your friends if it hasn’t already.
Many seniors who are considering getting help for their alcohol addiction feel the deck is stacked against them. But, if you are committed to getting healthy, you can absolutely succeed in your quest.
So Many Reasons to Get Sober
We understand that sobriety is much harder to achieve as you get older. However, that doesn’t change how great it feels to start living life free of alcohol. If you’ve got questions about our alcohol rehab program in Sacramento, give us a call to learn more.
