My Early Sobriety FAQs: What Actually Helped Me Stay Sober

Spoiler: I still had to do the daily work

Why the early sobriety FAQs? In the early days, weeks, and months of sobriety, I was flooded with questions. What do I do with all this newfound time (drinking takes up a ton of time and productivity)? How do I silence the racket in my head? How do I make it through simply one more day?

Here’s the truth: early sobriety doesn’t look identical for everyone. There’s no ideal formula. What worked for me might not be what works for you—but these were the habits, routines, and sometimes downright repetitive coping methods that allowed me to stay the course.

Netflix, Movie Rentals, and Distraction

I watched TV like my life hinged on it—because most nights, it did. Netflix was consistently on standby, but I also had the local Bozeman movie store, where I’d rent piles of DVDs, creep into bed, and watch until sleep finally came. That store is long gone now, but at the time, they enabled me to survive early sobriety.

Here’s why it worked: my brain needed relief. For 34 years, alcohol had always provided a momentary escape, and without it, I had to find innovative ways to give my mind a break. Plots, characters, and the predictable British drama storylines gave me something else to focus on besides trying not to drink. On many days in early sobriety, survival looked like one more episode, one more movie, one more sober night.

Walking It Out

If I wasn’t watching movies, I was walking—morning, noon, and night. Whenever my thoughts started spinning, I laced up my shoes and headed out the door to the local regional park.

Walking gave me three things I desperately needed:

• A way to terminate anxiety physically.

• A chance to deplete myself enough to sleep.

• A reminder that my body mattered again.

  
  

Every step was a little piece of progress. And in early sobriety, small progress can add up.

90 Meetings in 90 Days

Yes, I did it. And yes, it helped. Meetings supplied me with connection at a juncture when I felt totally untethered. They gave me accountability when I wasn’t sure I could trust myself. Most notably, they gave me hope.

I enveloped myself with people who had the kind of sobriety I wanted—stable, enduring, and unpretentious. Listening to their stories assured me that transformation was possible, and if they could do it, maybe I could too.

Sleep as Success

In those early months, going to bed as soon as the sun set wasn’t laziness—it was survival. My rule was simple: if I went to sleep without drinking, I’d slain the day. Sleep became my reset button. It restored my energy, helped me recover my body, and gave me the gift of waking up sober. Those sober mornings were proof I could do it again.

Taking Suggestions

I stopped pretending to know how to fix myself and started hearing people who had already trekked this path. If they said “show up,” I showed up. If they said “call someone,” I called. Taking advice worked because it got me out of my head. My thinking had gotten me into trouble for most of my life; their knowledge gave me a roadmap out.

Hygiene Matters

It sounds nearly laughable, but brushing my teeth and washing my face every night felt revolutionary. After years of remissness, these little routines gave me dignity and reminded me I was worth caring for. Sobriety isn’t built only on ample milestones. Sometimes it’s built on floss and face wash.

Why These Worked

None of these things was glamorous. They were ordinary. But ordinary was precisely what I needed.

• Netflix and movie rentals gave me distraction.

• Walks gave me movement.

• Meetings gave me community.

• Sleep gave me strength.

• Suggestions gave me guidance.

• Hygiene gave me self-respect.

  
  

Each action was a building block. Day by day, they stacked up into something extraordinary: a sober life.

Final Take: One Day at a Time Is Not a Cliché

When I was drinking, “one day at a time” sounded like a stupid overused slogan. But in early sobriety, it became my lifeline. Success wasn’t alluring. It was raw. It was going to bed sober, brushing my teeth, and trying again tomorrow.

And frankly? That foundation still holds me up today.