The first step to staying clean is getting clean. When you have come to begin the journey towards wholeness, you will find that giving up anything toxic will be an important choice to make.
It usually is a very momentous and life-changing decision to get off all drugs, and to move towards health and sobriety. And maybe you’ve made that choice, or are going to make that choice in the future. This is the first step towards the change you are making to live the life you truly want.
Giving up drugs is a process, and it can take many years. The first step is getting clean, and that will probably be the hardest part of the process, as any cravings you have will kick in when you stop using the substance. This is the most challenging part of staying clean off drugs, and will require courage, determination, will-power, and community support.
Once you begin to take that journey towards wellness, you will, at first, have to get through those first few days. Then the first few weeks. Then the first few months. If you’ve made it to the first few months of being clean, then you are well on your way towards sobriety. The turning point in staying clean is usually about 3-4 weeks, and then the journey continues for the next few months and then the next few years. Once you are clean for a good amount of time, it does get easier to know that you’ve accomplished being able to stay clean for enough time that you know you can go on without the substance you were addicted to.
Giving yourself half the time you were using to let all the cravings for the substance or substances you were addicted to to come out of your system and to be free of those cravings is a good measure. So if you were using for 10 years, give yourself 5 years to make that change.
This is where the longer journey takes place, usually in those years after giving up a substance. If you are also beginning to eat healthy, and I suggest purely certified organic foods and artesian spring water, then you will also be clearing your system of other chemical that may hinder your cravings and make you more prone to going back onto a substance.
This time that you take to be free of your addiction will usually be a process that you will have to stay vigilant with. Those first 3-4 weeks, then the next 21 months, then the next however many years that is half the time you were using, will give you a good idea of the process that the body needs to cleanse itself and release any and all toxins from your system.
Each seven years, your entire body is completely new, which means that all the cells in your body will have been replaced by new cells. This is also a good indication of how long you may have to stay vigilant for. Those seven years after giving up a toxic substance will be the most important in coming clean off a substance.
Staying clean is simply a matter of continually making the healthy option and to stay with your integrity in your decision for a new life. It is a choice that you must make at the deepest level, to stay clean off all drugs is the pathway to a new life, and sticking to that no matter what cravings you go through, or what other people are doing, whether they are using or not, will be something you will have to strive for. Stay vigilant in your decision no matter what you are faced with. This is the only way to stay clean.
Of course, removing the substance can also mean removing those people from your life that are using those substances. It is a massive clearing that you will make when you are choosing to get clean and stay clean. Letting go of a substance means letting go of the culture that you were in when you were using.
Changing your focus is also something highly important. Your focus in life will change from the addiction to the sobriety, and you will find new things to live for. Being able to be there for your family and friends, enjoying daily life, finding your purpose and following that path will all come from being clean and choosing to stay clean.
This is something that only you can do, and to have as much support as possible will help you on this journey, so make sure you reach out for help when you need it. Staying clean of drugs is a life choice, it is supporting the affirmation to live. Making that choice is something only you can do.
