You’ve finished treatment, you’re living on your own, and you’re ready to experience your newfound sober life. As you embark on this journey on your own, don’t forget to hold your sober community close. They will be there for your good and bad days with support and advice to help you stay sober and on track in recovery. Understanding the recovery community’s role in your recovery and its importance will help motivate you to stay clean. Then you can begin expanding your sober support network for support on the bad days and fun on the good ones.
After treatment, you most likely move back into your everyday life and try to balance a job, family, school, and home responsibilities in your newfound sobriety. With everything going on, you may stray away from the recovery community without meaning to. This can lead you to feel somewhat isolated when you begin having struggles in your recovery. However, isolation is a common trigger for relapse. You may feel urged to go back to your old ways of coping with drugs or alcohol, but this doesn’t have to be the case.
You should have a support network of sober individuals to help you maintain a healthy recovery. You can open up, ask for support, and share your feelings and difficulties with these individuals as they will understand exactly what you are going through. This can be relieving as you begin navigating your newfound life. You may start to meet people who have been in recovery for years who can offer you practical advice as you transition into this new period. Surrounding yourself with helpful, supportive, and sober individuals will help reduce your risk of relapse and give you the community you need to maintain long-term recovery.
Many people think recovery merely is staying sober from drugs and alcohol, but this is not the entirety of the recovery journey. While in recovery, you will need to develop healthy habits and behaviors to begin living a more happy, healthy life. Having a sober community on your side can help you in this process because it helps hold you accountable for your healing and habits. If one of your friends suspects you might be struggling, they can talk to you about it before it becomes an unmanageable issue. This way, you can avoid relapse and stay on a stable path with others that understand what you are going through.
Your sober support network may include individuals that have successfully maintained their recovery for years. These individuals are great examples to follow and talk to as you are starting your new life. You can learn a significant amount from a person that has gone through many struggles and victories in their sobriety, as they can give you real advice that helped them stay clean all of these years. Eventually, you can become this person for someone else, which can serve as a way of giving back to the community and leave you feeling fulfilled.
Leading by example, is not the only way to give back to the recovery community. There are several ways you can give back, which will help form even stronger bonds with sober individuals. Consider helping out at a support group meeting, becoming a sponsor, or even offering to educate others on the realities of addiction. This is a great way to boost your recovery and give back to the same community that helped you get sober in the first place.
Trying to jump into a sober support group can be intimidating, but you shouldn’t be anxious. There are numerous support groups full of sober people waiting to be your friend and support you in your recovery. Try looking up what support groups meet near you so you can go to a meeting and find new friends. You can also call your local treatment center to see if they have an alumni program or know of any local meetings that you can attend.
If you are still having trouble, you can try joining an online support group or chat room to help you connect with other sober individuals. This may also be the best option amid the COVID-19 pandemic. You can find many support groups online and offline on the website for the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Don’t be nervous about opening up; having a sober community on your side will help your recovery more than anything!
The importance of a sober support network in your recovery cannot be underestimated, as this is often one of the biggest preventers of relapse. Being part of a recovery community can help hold you accountable in your recovery and remind you that you are not alone, even on the bad days. This way, you can reach out for help when you need it or have someone approach you when they think you might be struggling. Over time, you may begin to realize the importance of a recovery community as it serves to save your life. At Northstar Transitions, we encourage all of our clients to join a recovery community of some kind to aid them in their journey. We know just how helpful a recovery community can be in picking you back up when you feel like you cannot go on. Call us at (303) 558-6400 to learn more and find local meetings near you today.
