What Defines Successful Recovery in 2025?

Successful recovery means much more than not using drugs or alcohol. Successful recovery can be defined by what one learns about themselves, their behaviors, and their triggers during recovery. Moreover, the path toward a successful recovery looks different for everyone, but the goal is always the same: “long-term sobriety and serenity.”

The Purpose of Recovery

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) defines recovery as “a process of change through which individuals improve their health and wellness, live a self-directed life, and strive to reach their full potential.” This definition shows just how important it is to not just focus on sobriety, but also focus on harnessing one’s potential to live a life not defined by drug or alcohol abuse.

Whether this means advancing in a career, starting a family, or finally being able to live in your dream apartment, is all up to the person in active recovery. While everyone has different motivations and personal reasons for enrolling in drug addiction treatment, the goal is ultimately to live a healthy and sober lifestyle. During addiction treatment, knowing how to create one’s personal definition of a successful recovery is key to staying motivated and sober.

How to Ensure Successful Recovery From Drug and Alcohol Use

Did you know that studies on motivation in addiction recovery show that motivation is one of the strongest determinants of success? Having strong motivation can help one power through the challenges of recovery and determine if they’ll complete addiction treatment. Here are some tips on how to stay motivated during your recovery journey.

Create a Personal Definition of Success in Recovery

First and foremost, it’s important to create a personal definition of success during drug and alcohol addiction treatment. Why did you pursue addiction treatment? Was there a specific moment, event, or something you heard from a family member? Did you simply get fed up with your lifestyle or get a health scare? All of these are great questions you can ask yourself as you determine what your personal definition of successful recovery is.

Some people may view success in recovery as maintaining long-term sobriety, while others might see it as being able to hold down a job and live independently. Whatever your definition is, make sure it resonates with you and motivates you to keep going. Write it down in your journal if need be so you can meditate on it, or keep a reminder during those tough parts of your recovery journey.

Using SMART Goals for Addiction Treatment

Goals come in two forms: qualitative and quantitative. Qualitative goals are those that are subjective and can’t quite be measured, like feeling happier or more fulfilled. Quantitative goals are specific and have measurable outcomes, such as staying sober for a certain number of days or participating in 15 outpatient counseling sessions. If you can put a number on it, and if your treatment team can measure it, it’s a quantitative goal.

Both qualitative and quantitative goals are crucial during addiction recovery. However, measuring success might be easier when using quantitative goals. To set these goals for yourself, consider using SMART goals. SMART stands for:

• Specific: Set a clear goal, like taking medication daily for 2 months or experiencing 60 days of sobriety.
• Measurable: Make sure you can measure your goal with numbers. For instance, if you’re titrating off asubstance medication, your goal might be to decrease your dosage each week for a month.
• Achievable: Set a realistic goal. While perfect attendance at work or school might not be achievable for you at the moment, participating actively in outpatient or inpatient therapy might be, and is still a fantastic goal!
• Relevant: Whatever goal you set, make sure it aligns with your definition of success.
• Time-bound: Set a timeline for yourself to measure your goals. This can be days or weeks ahead.

The beauty of SMART goals is that they can be applied to any aspect of your recovery, whether it’s staying sober, improving relationships, or finding a job. They allow you to truly celebrate small victories along the way, which can serve as powerful motivators to keep moving forward!

Have a Strong Support System

People with substance use disorder can also benefit from a strong support system of medical providers, peer support specialists, mental health providers, friends, and family. These support systems are essential for long-term addiction treatment. They can provide benefits such as:

• Monitoring for signs before a relapse
• Navigating through a relapse aftermath
• Identifying potential triggers
• Teaching coping skills to prevent relapse
• Helping you stay accountable and motivated in your recovery journey

For those beginning addiction treatment, one of the best resources is inpatient treatment and drug detox. An inpatient rehab facility gives you access to 24/7 medical support and evidence-based treatments to help you safely detox from drugs or alcohol.

Rehab centers and their support staff can provide counseling, individual therapy, group therapy, and often also specialize in treating a co-occurring diagnosis like PTSD. Inpatient treatment is an excellent first step in building a strong support system. It’s also a stepping-stone to sober living, intensive outpatient treatment, and outpatient treatment.

What About Relapses During Addiction Treatment?

It’s a myth that relapses mean your recovery journey was a failure. On the contrary, studies that examine relapse rates for substance use disorder show that rates are similar to those of other chronic illnesses like high blood pressure and asthma. These relapse rates make sense, considering that more and more providers and researchers now know that addiction is a chronic disease.

Being a chronic disease means that relapses should not be unexpected during recovery. Just like someone with high blood pressure will need to adjust their medications, lifestyle, and treatment from time to time, those in recovery may need to do the same.

Does Relapsing Mean I Failed at Recovery?

Not at all. Biological, environmental, and genetic factors play significant roles in the development of addiction and, subsequently, relapses. Some of these factors, such as biology and genetics, are simply out of one’s control. Because of this, it’s all the more critical for those struggling with addiction to stay motivated and continue working toward recovery, even after a relapse.

Common issues that lead to relapse may include:

• High emotional states
• Lack of coping skills
• Stressful life events
• Strong cravings
• Physically painful withdrawals
• Lack of motivation during any part of recovery

As such, it’s essential to avoid blaming oneself or feeling like a failure if a relapse happens during recovery. Instead, know that the chronic nature of addiction means you will need to continuously participate in treatment to maintain your sobriety. You’ll also need to know how to recognize the signs of a relapse and learn how to stay motivated during your recovery.

Furthermore, relapses can serve as learning experiences. They can show what didn’t work or what could be done differently to avoid a future relapse. Remember, setbacks are not failures; they are opportunities for growth and improvement!

Find Addiction Treatment and Create a Support System for Motivation

Being surrounded by others who are pursuing recovery, and participating in clinical activities that will continually contribute to your motivation are a couple of factors that make residential addiction treatment so effective. At Present Moments, Recovery, our treatment team prioritizes identifying the core beliefs that our clients can access to get motivated and stay that way to achieve long-term recovery.

With the right guidance, so many people have achieved successful recovery for life. To learn more, contact a certified treatment center in your area, or call a licensed drug and alcohol counselor. One place to start with a nationwide database of treatment listings is the SAMHSA Treatment Locator.

About the Author:

Mark Gladden is a U.S. Veteran-in-recovery who has been serving the recovery community of San Diego for a decade as Founder and CEO of Present Moments Recovery, a drug and alcohol rehab that cares for adults for up to one year in their residential program. Presents Moments Recovery can be reached at https://www.presentmomentsrecovery.com/ or by calling (619) 367-4767.