Giving Back in Recovery is Important at Any Stage
When you first get clean and sober, a lot of people are helping you on a daily basis. Treatment centers, people at 12-step meetings, family and others all probably want to see you succeed and start a new way of life. Sure, there are some bumps in the road along the way. But after all you’ve been through, the journey of recovery is worth it. You may wonder when you can start giving back. After all, you were given the gift of recovery. How can you, too, give back to others? Early in recovery, you need to focus on yourself and learning to live life without the use of substances. While you may want to help others who are new, just like you, the truth is that you’re probably not ready to do that yet. You’re still healing your own life, building relationships and working to earn the trust of others. At this time, it’s best you do small things as you learn to give back. When giving back, make sure you don’t limit yourself to 12-step meetings. Putting gratitude into motion means becoming a productive member of your community. Starting Small If you want to give back, try something […]
Having a Routine or Schedule Will Help You in Recovery
When you were using alcohol or drugs, you probably didn’t adhere to one single schedule, even if you managed to maintain a job. Addiction causes chaos. If you were paid on Friday, you probably ended up spending much of your paycheck to feed your addiction. You may not have made any plans on a daily basis and just “went with the flow”. A lot of your schedule probably involved simply getting high or seeking drugs and you didn’t even realize it. When you get clean, you have a lot of free time on your hands. It may not surprise you that a routine or schedule is considered very important to recovery. Why Schedule Your Time? If you went to drug and alcohol treatment, you probably followed a rigid schedule of therapy, meetings, and meals. In the outside world, there are a lot more things that will be on your plate when you’re not using drugs. Creating a routine will help you feel more stable, become more responsible, and help you feel a sense of purpose every day. No schedule must be adhered to 100% — things come up that can’t be planned. A basic routine, however, will help you start […]
3 Big Issues That Can Hold You Back in Recovery
If you’ve finished a treatment program, you probably know that you can’t make it on your own. Getting and staying grounded in recovery is essential to your well-being. Maintaining your recovery usually means getting a 12-step sponsor, working steps, attending meetings and doing your best to be responsible in everyday life. However, many people struggle to keep their focus once they have graduated from treatment and returned home. What are some of the issues that hold people back? Untreated Mental Health Disorders: Untreated mental health disorders will always hold you back from living your best life because you aren’t able to be yourself when your diseases take over. If you’re depressed, anxious or suffering other symptoms such as an eating disorder or PTSD, life is complicated. Treatment can help you discover coping methods when you’re feeling overwhelmed. Mental health is an important part of your recovery. Please get help if you’re experiencing mood swings, depression/constant sadness, or have the urge to hurt yourself. Your treatment center, insurance company or local Public Health or Mental Health department can give you more information on finding a provider that can make a mental health assessment for you. Too Much Free Time: Do you […]
Have a Recovery Plan During the Holidays
During the holidays, there is usually a lot of commotion and some stress, even for the most laid-back people. When you’re newly sober, however, some of the pressure can feel amplifies amplified. What could be a trigger for you? What’s the most stressful? Should you go to the work party? What about Aunt Edna’s? Making decisions about holiday gatherings should be done with the help of your sponsor or your therapist. Together, you can draw up a recovery plan for any triggering scenarios. Planning for Sobriety During the Holidays Here are a few ideas you can use when you’re planning your holidays: Speak to the host or hostess, if you’re close to them, and ask them to provide a nonalcoholic table away from the alcoholic beverages. Practice saying “no” when offered a drink. Ideally, you’ll stay away from the alcohol so it won’t happen often. You can say, “No thanks” or “No thanks, I quit drinking” or anything you feel comfortable telling people. Have a buddy who can be available to text you throughout the party. Let them know how it is going and if you are struggling with anything. Have a plan to avoid anyone in your family who […]
Staying Sober When You Travel
Being in recovery changes many things, and can take some adjustment. After all, you’re working on yourself and sticking to your recovery program. But life is life, and there are obligations to tend. Even when you travel, (for holidays, business, or pleasure) recovery changes everything. Moving around the country or state through sober eyes may seem like a different task than it used to, especially if you often traveled while you were in active addiction. Here are five tips to help keep you happy, healthy, and sober, no matter where you are traveling. Communicate with your fellow travelers or hosts. Let people you’re traveling with (or visiting) know the importance of recovery and sobriety and let them know how they can support you. When you explain them, let them know that you won’t be drinking alcohol and communicate your other triggers. Set your boundaries clearly and let them know if you need to take a break, you’ll be going to a 12-step meeting every night. Practice self-care. Eat healthy food, exercise, and get enough sleep. Holidays and travel are supposed to be pleasant. Take the time you need to assess your energy and mood. Meditation and mindfulness can help you […]
Finding Recovery Support for College Students
If you go to school or have lived on a college campus, the partying culture can be hard to ignore. College campuses are often full of drinking and drug experimentation. It’s considered to be normal among college students who enjoy the night life. Binge drinking at college can be a real problem, and for many, becomes a lifelong habit that slowly destroys their health and happiness. For some people, drinking gets out of control and affects health, sleep, and even academic performance. Many people who are college-aged manage to get help and find recovery. Sometimes this means spending time away from school in a treatment center. Sometimes it means returning to college years later. Whatever the case may be, people who are in recovery often end up attending college. Because of this, many schools offer resources on-campus for people who need support in their recovery. This is also an excellent way to make new friends in recovery who have the same interests as you. On-Campus Recovery Support Support on-campus seems to depend on your location and the size of the school. More and more often, colleges are offering on-campus support groups for college students. Sometimes the school will have a […]
Staying on Track with Your Goals in Recovery
In recovery, just as life, things can get in the way of our original goals. Before you left treatment (if you went there), you probably had a list of goals and ideas for the changes you wanted to make. Life, however, can often get in the ways of your best-laid plans. For example, you may have wanted to start a job in your profession, only to find that with your newly diagnosed anxiety and depression, you don’t feel ready. Or maybe life at home was too overwhelming, so you ended up in sober housing for a while. People don’t come out of treatment with all of their problems fixed. Life is full of surprises. It’s okay if your goals are a little different that they were when you first went in. Every month, week or day clean in as an accomplishment. During those days, however, you will go through more changes. Some of your changes won’t be your own choice, and you’re going to have to learn to adapt to them anyway. It’s do-able, even if your goals are now a little off. Don’t sell yourself short – you can still reach the goals you set. Let’s take a look […]
Tools for Coping with Sadness in Recovery
Everyone feels sad every once in a while. It’s an emotion that we’re often not prepared for but must cope with anyway. The world can be a sad place, and bad things happen in life from time to time. In recovery, sadness can take you by surprise. But, just like other feelings, this too shall pass. Having tools to cope with sad feelings is an essential part of recovery. You may feel sad about something that happened today and then find yourself reflecting on things that happened in the past. For example, you may argue with your wife and then feel sad and guilty for all of the other arguments you’d had just because you were drunk or high. Or the death of a family member may remind you of another death you never adequately grieved. Few people in the world haven’t experienced sadness. Feeling sad isn’t a bad thing – it’s a human thing. Getting through a sad period in life is something that helps build emotional resilience. You’ll have to work your recovery program hard when it hits you unexpectedly. Share Your Sadness with Others Sadness can be a powerful emotion, but it isn’t healthy to feel sad […]
How Can Mindfulness Help You in Recovery?
Mindfulness is a form of meditation that is recommended to people who suffer from anxiety and stress. Mindfulness can help you live in the moment, let go of negative emotions, and get in touch with yourself and your emotions in a positive manner. When you practice mindfulness on a daily basis, you’ll find that your mind can help guide you away from any distress you’re feeling and towards a positive attitude. This attitude is what will help you, at other times, find solutions to your tough problems. Mindfulness is a meditation practice where you sit with your eyes closed and slowly let your own thoughts melt away, as you listen to the sounds around you, sun on your face, and other sensations. There are many different ways to do mindfulness meditations. (Do a search on Google or Youtube to find some free exercises to try.) How Mindfulness Helps You As a person in recovery, you can probably already imagine some of the benefits of mindfulness and meditation. After all, staying “in your head” is one of the things you’ve probably been told to be cautious about. It’s good to not obsess over things, especially things that you can’t do anything […]
12 Ways to Have Fun Clean and Sober
Getting clean is a challenge, but once you’ve gotten through the detox and the first few months of recovery, you may wonder what else there is. Meetings and support groups are a great way to get out your feelings and learn more about yourself. But you can’t spend 24 hours a day working on yourself. The body and mind need some time away from work. But how do people have fun in recovery? There are a lot of ways to enjoy yourself, but sometimes it takes a little brainstorming. It’s important to remember that staying clean comes first. You may have had hobbies that involved drug or alcohol use, or that may cause triggers. In recovery, you learn to find new people, places and things a part of your life. Surrounding yourself with a supportive network of friends is a good goal. Trying out new hobbies is also an essential part of staying clean and sober. By trying out new things, you’ll build social skills and be able to let go of some of the stress in your everyday life. Plus, having fun is essential to a healthy life. Boredom can be dangerous for recovering people – it can lead […]
Choosing a Sober Living Home to Support Your “Post Rehab” Recovery
There’s countless medical studies that have shown a strong correlation between length of addiction treatment and length of ensuing sobriety. For decades, men and women who had completed a 28 day treatment program at an inpatient facility were typically sent back to the same environment that they lived in prior to treatment and the result was typically an ensuing relapse. That is why addiction treatment community now will always recommend that a you “step down” in your level of care after completing a residential treatment program and reside in a recovery residence to acclimate back into more normal routines of life. The benefits of this are numerous: You will not be returning to the environment in which you most recently were actively using drugs or alcohol You can be surrounded by recovering peers who are invested in their recovery and can act as a support system There should be a house manager who is typically in recovery and can provide guidance You should be drug tested to act as a motivating factor for your sobriety (and to protect the well-being of the house) You may be able to continue outpatient treatment where you completed your residential program (depending on the […]