Did you know that about two out of three individuals will relapse in their first year of recovery?

The statistics on sustaining sobriety seem grim, but individuals with other chronic medical conditions such as hypertension relapse at a similar rate. Relapse in chronic medical conditions is common and considered normal, but that doesn’t make it ideal. And for addiction, in particular, it can be quite dangerous. Finding coping techniques and ways to reduce stress is fundamental to maintaining sobriety.

Statistics on Sustaining Sobriety

It’s true that the longer you maintain your sobriety, the less likely you are to relapse.

  • Within the first year of recovery, only about a third of people who maintain abstinence will remain abstinent.
  • After one year, that percentage increases to more than fifty percent.
  • For those who make it to five years, their chance of relapse decreases dramatically to less than fifteen percent!

That means that over 85% of people who remain sober for five years will achieve life-long sobriety. Though there are certainly still incidences of people relapsing after 10, 20, 30, or more years, it is far less common. We can assume the rate drops further at those longer intervals. Still, the statistics on sustaining sobriety become harder to find because there is simply not enough research on that subset of the population.

Reading and Recovery

When working through recovery, individuals will learn a myriad of coping techniques to help them deal with stress and triggers that could cause relapse. One such technique that might not be as obvious is reading!

Reading promotes a plethora of physical and mental health benefits that are incredibly beneficial for sustaining sobriety.

There’s even a specific therapy known as bibliotherapy for individuals suffering from certain mental health issues, including depression, PTSD, and addiction. Studies of bibliotherapy participants show that reading positively impacts participants’ motivation, beliefs, and potential for change.

How Reading Can Help You Sustain Sobriety

You don’t need to find a bibliotherapist to reap the benefits of reading. Simply getting into a habit of reading, be it for pleasure or knowledge, can provide significant benefits for your recovery.

Reduces Stress: Reading can reduce stress by up to 68 percent! In 2009 researchers found that reading for just 30 minutes reduces stress, lowers blood pressure, and decreases heart rate, putting you at ease and inducing a sense of calm.

Provides a Positive Form of Escapism: Reading fiction is a form of escapism, allowing you to transport yourself into another time and place. Similar to how drugs provide a form of escape, a healthier alternative is in the form of reading.

Alleviates Symptoms of Depression: Depression often makes people feel isolated and alienated. When you become engulfed by the world of imagined characters, it can help you feel less lonely. Even with non-fiction books about recovery, one can empathize with the author’s story and form a connection in that sense.

Teaches Coping Strategies: Non-fiction “self-help” books can be an excellent resource for learning additional coping techniques as you navigate your recovery journey.

Strengthens Your Brain: Addiction is often referred to as a brain disease because it causes physical changes in brain functions. Through therapy and recovery, an individual works on “retraining” the brain to function normally again. Reading engages certain areas in your brain, making it stronger and better able to process the changes needed for recovery. Researchers used MRI scans to “confirm that reading involves a complex network of circuits and signals.” As your reading ability gets better, the connections in your brain increase, getting more robust and more advanced.

Creates Opportunities for Relationships: Not only does the evidence show that reading increases empathy and an individual’s ability to maintain relationships, but the sheer act of reading offers the opportunity to build new, healthy relationships. A person can join book clubs or poetry clubs either in person or online and gain more exposure to the opportunity of creating meaningful friendships.

Promotes Better Sleep: Because reading helps an individual wind down and increase calmness, it is often used as a bedtime ritual to help a person get to sleep faster. As we all know, better sleep improves overall mood and wellness.

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