Partaking in sober-friendly activities is vital to preserve sobriety and forestall relapse. These activities replace unhealthy behaviors like substance abuse with healthier coping mechanisms. Finding sober-friendly activities has been key in maintaining sobriety long-term. Connecting with sober living homes can provide a structured environment and peer support. One of the easiest ways to surround yourself with people who support your recovery goals is to attend recovery meetings.
Step 6: Build Support for Recovery
Celebrating your sobriety milestones with loved ones can foster a sense of gratitude and enhance motivation in your recovery journey. Incorporating physical activity, good hygiene, and healthy meals into your daily routine supports recovery and emotional regulation skills. Community cleanups and neighborhood events provide a social environment without alcohol.
Maintaining Healthy Relationships with Members of Your Support Network
As explained and elaborated on by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, relapse prevention is the main goal of all addiction treatment. Treatment provides you with the tools to change your thoughts, emotions, and behaviors around substance use. If you’re not ready or willing to change those behaviors and thoughts, then treatment cannot do what it’s designed to do.
Step 5: Choose the Appropriate Therapy
Heather is an experienced customer service rep. While initially in the auto industry, she has brought her talents and skills to the SoberVerse. Heather has worked with Dr. Jonas since 2014, and her primary responsibility is to work with our Recovery Coaches Program. Her fantastic work ethic and positive attitude have significantly impacted the Recovery Coach Program. In addition, she will manage RecoveryCoaches.com, the online school curriculum, and provide liaison services to the new, current, and former students. “The most important thing to focus on with an individual who is working to decrease their substance use or achieve abstinence is to promote safety and reduce harm.
- AA members typically attend face-to-face meetings where members share their experiences and discuss their progress through the steps.
- You can also consider joining sober activities or sober events in your community, such as support groups to build your sober support network.
- In addition, she will manage RecoveryCoaches.com, the online school curriculum, and provide liaison services to the new, current, and former students.
- Community cleanups and neighborhood events provide a social environment without alcohol.
- You must be ready to change in order to find the best treatment program for you.
The Importance of Good Support Systems in Recovery from Substance Use Disorders
These strategies can help you stay on track and maintain a positive recovery journey. Engaging in these activities and reaching out to your sober support network when stress levels are high ensures a strong, healthy support network and overall well-being. Establishing a self-care routine fosters healthy sober network habits and results in enhanced mental health outcomes. Creating an individual self-care plan helps address mental health needs candidly and can include seeking professional help after addiction. Joining a book club can help you meet people with similar interests and build a support system.
Cooking classes, art classes, and fitness classes provide creative outlets and opportunities to connect with others. These activities support your recovery journey and help you build meaningful connections. What type of treatment you need depends on several factors, including the severity of your addiction.
- Likewise, during these support groups, you can gain motivation from others who may be further along their recovery journey.
- This goal doesn’t end after therapy but continues to your daily living and a new lease on life.
- Started in September 2021 , years after first conceptualizing, the Sober Podcast has taken shape to be a platform for all voices to share their story.
- Setting up and upholding healthy boundaries is fundamental for safeguarding sobriety by creating a secure environment, evading triggers and temptations, and preserving progress.
You may not connect with every group or feel like you fit in at every meeting. You might discover that some people in your life may not be able to support you in the https://ecosoberhouse.com/ ways you need. If you’re not sure where to start, making a list of recovery organizations and groups that sound interesting to you might be a useful first step.
Her work spans various health-related topics, including mental health, fitness, nutrition, and wellness. For opioid use disorder, medications like methadone and buprenorphine are evidence-based treatment options that help reduce patient harm and improve outcomes, including achieving abstinence. “Overall, if an individual’s goal is to stop using substances, it is important to recognize that harmful substance use and abstinence exist on a continuum. The term ‘sobering up’ suggests that it is an all or none phenomenon, which is inaccurate,” says Tetrault. Substance use disorders, such as alcohol or drug use, are medical conditions.
Attending recovery group meetings will help provide the accountability, support, and sense of community you need to help you remain clean and sober. Addiction counselors report that substance abuse often begins when people use drugs or alcohol to enable them to socialize more easily. Most drugs have one or more characteristics that temporarily diminish anxiety or drown out negative criticism that might otherwise make socializing more difficult. Becoming dependent on drugs or alcohol for socialization can further limit an individual’s natural ability to socialize. Therefore, when the individual decides to abstain from using drugs or alcohol, they may experience even greater anxiety.
Upholding a sober support network is indispensable for preserving sobriety and promoting overall well-being. It’s not just about staying sober; it’s about reconnecting with your community and avoiding relapse. A strong support system offers emotional support, accountability, and access to resources that can make all the difference in your recovery journey.