Finding sober outdoor activities for you and your family can be challenging if you live in an area with limited outdoor access. For example, living in a heavily populated urban area makes getting outside more stressful. Researchers have spent years pinpointing an association between nature exposure and health. Your family can experience benefits – and you can maintain recovery – by finding sober family outings in Boulder, Colorado.
There are many benefits of seeking treatment with NorthStar Transitions, including ample opportunity to spend time in nature. To enjoy sober family outings, you must first achieve sobriety. For more information about our treatment services, facility, and opportunities to spend time in nature, contact NorthStar today.
Regarding addiction recovery, there are many tips and tricks to help you stay sober. Individuals create relapse prevention plans chock-full of coping techniques. That may include attending therapy and support group meetings, having an accountability partner, and utilizing additional recovery resources. People can also add holistic and experiential therapies to their recovery plans, such as yoga, meditation, and outdoor activities.
Spending time outdoors has many mental, physical, and emotional benefits. Time outside can improve mental health conditions, reduce cravings, and help you find inner peace. However, time outdoors is not only beneficial for mental health and sobriety.
Time outside also improves a healthier lifestyle. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, spending time in outdoor spaces "supports an active and healthy lifestyle.” Partaking in outdoor activities can help with weight loss, improve self-esteem, and increase vitamin D levels.
Think about what you do when you are not outside – do you watch TV, spend hours on your phone, or fall into bad habits like binge eating? All the extra time we spend partaking in harmful indoor activities could be spent doing things outside that can improve our overall wellness.
There are many benefits of seeking treatment in Colorado, including outdoor opportunities. As mentioned, NorthStar has many treatment and care options available to people seeking addiction recovery, which includes experiential therapy.
Our program takes clients out of their elements and gets them to engage with peers. Interacting with peers differs from group therapy engagement and tries to get clients to open up. Experiential therapies, like outdoor activities, can also improve overall wellness by decreasing anxiety, depression, and cravings and increasing self-confidence.
Individuals can also try nature therapy. Nature therapy provides a new way for people to get sober and improve their wellness. It uses the outdoors to promote healing for substance use disorders (SUDs) and mental health conditions. Experimenting with nature therapy can be more simple than people think.
You can start by going for a 15-minute walk outside, gardening, or camping. Relaxing activities in nature can reduce your stress levels and improve your SUD and mental health symptoms. In addition to experimenting with outdoor activities alone, you can embark on these adventures with your family. Time spent outdoors with family can help you bond with each other and help you maintain your recovery.
Family support is vital to addiction recovery. Deciding to enter rehabilitation is courageous, especially if you have a family to care for. Individuals often refrain from seeking proper help because they have a family.
Thankfully, treatment programs – including NorthStar Transitions – focus on providing individualized care to parents who feel stuck in their addiction. With this program, people no longer have to choose between sobriety and family. A family can easily become a pillar of your recovery.
Bonding with your family through outings helps your recovery in many capacities. By taking the time to create memories and surround yourself with loved ones, you are able to find encouragement, compassion, and motivation to stay sober. Granted, families can sometimes cause stress, but not when that family is loving and has healthy dynamics.
Long-term recovery can be hard to maintain. Triggers and cravings often present themselves when you least expect them. Spending time in nature, surrounding yourself with family, and making happy memories can help you manage these triggers. You can reduce the risk of relapse and mental health symptoms and stay sober long-term.
The best part about sober family outings is that finding things to do in Boulder is not hard. Plus, a lot of family fun activities, in general, are substance free. The greater challenge is carving out the time to do these activities, but once you find the time, your options are truly endless.
Some sober family outings you can do in Boulder are:
These are only a few ideas to consider. With summer around the corner, Boulder will have endless opportunities for you and your family to get out and have sober family fun. Finding the time can be challenging, but we guarantee it will be worth it.
People find motivation to stay sober in many different ways. One way to do it is by getting outdoors and spending time with your family. Two things that greatly increase the risk of relapse are boredom and isolation. Planning sober family outings reduces both of those. Bonding with your family and making memories provides the support and motivation necessary for maintaining long-term recovery, and in Boulder, there is no shortage of outdoor activities to try. Take your family on a hike, go camping, or attend a festival this summer, and see how these outings are conducive to a sober lifestyle. Call NorthStar Transitions at (303) 558-6400 today for additional resources and information.
