How Long Does it Take to Fully Recover? (3 Years Sober)
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I celebrated 3 years of sobriety on November 9, 2022 and something I really appreciated this year is that it takes a long time to recover. I didn't realize this while I was going through it of course, but I've grown a lot of the years. Here are some key things I’ve learned:
Sobriety continues to get better and better for 2 years
Generally, difficulties falling asleep start to resolve within five to nine months of sobriety, but sleep fragmentation (waking up a lot) can last for up to 21 months. By two years of sobriety, sleep has basically returned to normal. There are a lot of physical and cognitive improvements within the first year, but some things may take up to 2 years to fully recover. During the healing process you also need exposure to all of your "firsts", like your first holiday season.
Cognitive benefits are slower than physical benefits
A 2019 study found that alcohol-related damage to the brain can persist for up to six weeks after someone has stopped drinking. And a 2020 study found that in the early stages of sobriety, cognitive performance may actually worsen before it starts to improve. It's not all bad news though, a meta-analysis looked at twelve different cognitive functions and found that after one year, people with alcohol use disorder only had minor differences compared to the control group of people who didn't have a problem with alcohol.
Try to be patient
If you're struggling with sobriety, it's important to understand that recovery takes time. We're used to instant gratification and getting everything we want and controlling our mood as soon as we want it. If we expect things to be amazing and perfect and then they still suck, we'll get discouraged, feel why bother? And then go back to drinking and continue to feel horrible. I'm not trying to imply that things suck for two years and then they start to get better. There's just this background healing going on. Keep going, and know that you are on the right path, even if you don't feel amazing right away.
Learn more about how long it takes to feel better in episode 124:
What to listen to next:
E75: How Sleep Improves from Actively Drinking to Long Term Sobriety
E73: The Obsession Eventually Evens Out (I’m 2 Years Sober)
E21: I'm 1 Year Sober!
