New Year, New Habits: Sticking to Recovery Resolutions
January 28, 2025
A new year is an exciting time.
A time for changing our calendars, constantly forgetting to write ‘2025’ instead of ‘2024,’ and looking forward to what the new year will bring. Many of us will set goals for 2025 that we try our best to follow through with. Whether it’s something simple like, ‘eat less chocolate,’ or something more complex like achieving a promotion at work.
An increasingly common New Year’s resolution is to cut down on alcohol consumption. Health challenges like Dry January and FebFast continue to grow in popularity as we become a more health-conscious society.
Everyone has their own reason for wanting to make a positive change in their life, and the self-improvement journey looks different for everyone. But the start of a new year can provide a good opportunity to re-evaluate our personal relationship with substances — and can be a launching point to a healthier and happier lifestyle.
Sharyn – one of our Clinical Workers – knows this well. Over her 7.5 years with Drug ARM she has supported hundreds of people from all backgrounds and stages of the recovery journey.
“Most people already have a goal in mind when they come to see me.” explains Sharyn.
“I remember one client in particular, Elizabeth, who enrolled in our alcohol counselling program when she realised that all activities she enjoyed doing centred around drinking. Elizabeth shared with me that she was tired of spending so much of her life drinking, whether in social settings or with her partner.”
*Actors used to protect our client's privacy
Elizabeth isn’t alone.
This is a common story in Australia, where it is ingrained into us from an early age that socialisation is best paired with a drink. The bar at the school fete. A beer at the footy. The inevitable ‘should we just get a bottle?’ proposal at dinner. Because of the widespread cultural acceptance of drinking in Australia, it can be difficult to recognise when our personal relationship with substances may be an issue. Even when someone is able to recognise this, often their social lives are so entrenched in drinking or drug taking it can be a real challenge to make a change.
“For people who are quitting or reducing their substance use, it’s important to find a use for the time they would have usually spent drinking or taking drugs,” Sharyn told us.
“When I was working with Elizabeth, she wanted help to refocus her attention on to things that brought meaning to her life. Together, we came up with a plan that included goals for different areas of Elizabeth’s life including her physical health. The main thing we focused on was making sure those goals are achievable.”
“Setting goals is an important part of the recovery journey. It allows you to track progress and celebrate the little victories that come along with it.”
One of the unexpected outcomes for Elizabeth was that she organically lost a significant amount of weight, allowing her to lead a healthier lifestyle overall.
Aside from the immediate health benefits of reducing her alcohol-related calorie and carbohydrate intake, Elizabeth also used the extra time on her hands to try new things including going to the gym, yoga classes and Pilates.
Sharyn encourages as many of her clients as possible to try getting active as part of the recovery process.
“Getting active outside can give people a fun distraction and goals to work towards that don’t involve alcohol and other drugs.”
Elizabeth’s story is about finding the strength and courage within us to stick to our goals and leave our comfort zones, even when it gets difficult and we might feel like giving up.
If your resolution this year was to go to the gym, or improve your diet, you can find comfort in knowing that nobody is alone on their journey, and support is always available. In many ways, we are all like Elizabeth.
Reducing alcohol intake can have profound benefits for both physical and mental health. However, for individuals whose social lives and routines have long revolved around drinking, cutting back or quitting can bring unexpected emotional and psychological challenges. Elizabeth’s story illustrates this complexity. During her counselling sessions with Sharyn, she shared how re-evaluating her relationship with alcohol initially left her feeling depressed and isolated. In social settings where she once felt included while drinking, she now felt like an outsider.
Adding to her struggles, Elizabeth’s friends began to impose unfair expectations on her as the “sober friend” at gatherings. What had once been reciprocal friendships became one-sided, as her friends relied on her to take on responsibilities like picking up extra alcohol or food, being the designated driver, and caring for them when they drank excessively. This dynamic placed significant strain on her relationships and mental health—challenges that Elizabeth worked through with Sharyn’s support.
Elizabeth’s experience highlights the complex interplay between mental health and substance use. For some, heavy or regular drinking can lead to symptoms of depression or anxiety. For others, pre-existing mental health conditions or unresolved trauma may drive them to use alcohol as a form of self-medication, which can later develop into dependency.
The statistics underscore this connection: over 50% of individuals with mood disorders—such as borderline personality disorder, schizophrenia, or depression—also develop a substance use disorder. Similarly, 40.3% of people with major depression and 47.4% of those with bipolar disorder experience co-occurring substance use issues.
That’s why, from a clinical perspective, counsellors like Sharyn first take the time to understand the other forms of medical care that their clients might have received or still be receiving. Regulating alcohol consumption isn’t just about cutting back—it’s about fostering a healthier relationship with alcohol and addressing the underlying factors that may contribute to its overuse. For many, this journey requires support, understanding, and a commitment to long-term well-being.
In Elizabeth’s case, she was also seeing a psychologist to develop strategies in dealing with her feelings of depression. Sharyn was able to work with Elizabeth and her psychologist to integrate those strategies into her goals.
Unfortunately, there are many people in our community right now who desperately require help from counsellors like Sharyn but stigma and shame hold them back from seeking help. That’s why Sharyn and her local colleagues focus on creating a caring, non-judgmental environment where people can feel safe to access support.
“Programs like SMART Recovery and the Day Program give people a place away from stigma where they can be totally honest with us and themselves. Collaboration, courage, empathy and trust are at the core of the care we provide.”
Drug ARM’s specialist team are trained to provide judgment-free counselling so that our clients like Elizabeth feel safe and comfortable to share the things that they are struggling with in life.
Ultimately, Elizabeth’s story is a message of hope for everyone who is trying to improve themselves this new year. It takes a lot of courage to recognise the things about our lives that we are unhappy with and really commit to bettering ourselves.
Sharyn’s parting message is this, “We hope that all our clients leave with a sense of optimism for the future.”
On behalf of our team we wish you a happy and healthy 2025.
If your New Year’s resolution is to change your relationship with substances, contact our Central Intake team today on 07 3620 8880 for a confidential and obligation free chat.
If your New Year’s resolution is to change the lives of others, consider how you can get involved by working with us, volunteering, fundraising or donating by visiting drugarm.com.au/get-involved or call us on 1300 656
