Hobbies and Activities for Recovering Addicts and Alcoholics

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Recovery for both substance abuse and behavioral addictions can be extremely daunting but it can also be an extremely rewarding experience. If you or someone you know has recently completed the treatment phase, it is easy to worry about the upcoming obstacles but it is key to remember that you are not alone.

Friends, families, therapists, and counselors all play major roles in encouraging successful sobriety and preventing exposures that may lead to a relapse. Recovering addicts need emotional support from people close to them.

Even with all the support throughout your journey, it is a key part of recovery to find new, healthy hobbies and activities. The importance of hobbies in addiction recovery is an important aspect many people seem to undervalue.

Boredom and spare time are not beneficial to those in recovery and can lead to relapse. Boredom is considered the most common relapse trigger. It can lead to depression, irritability, anger, and isolation which can lead to an increase in cravings and thoughts of reusing.

The better way to look at boredom is that it is not a problem, it is, in fact, an opportunity. A chance to rediscover who you are and adjust to your changed circumstances.

Incorporating healthy hobbies and routines are an excellent way for you to discover meaning and passion in life. Without a purpose, it is difficult to build the foundations of a successful recovery. You have already worked hard for your sobriety, so now is the time to find something new that can fill the void. Benefits from new hobbies and activities include:

Here, the goal isn’t to find something to do but to find something that’s right for you.

Recovery gives you incredible insights on the person you were before your treatment. It allows you to have a unique perspective on how you emerged sober, clean, and healthy.

Hobbies and Activities allow you to put those insights into practice and continue to self-discover while socializing with people that are also sober and clean.

Preferably, choose a hobby that isn’t related to your professional identity to help in completely disconnecting from the monotony of daily activities.

The first step in finding the right hobby is to make a list of things that used to interest you before all the drugs and alcohol smothered everything fun and exciting for you.

This is the perfect time to do all those things you wanted to do but never had the time.

People have turned childhood hobbies and other activities into billion-dollar enterprises. So it isn’t such a stretch of the imagination to think that you may come to enjoy the past times and develop them into hobbies.

Looking for something fun, safe, and sober to do in your recovery? Give these activities a chance:

To sustain long-term recovery, you will need a robust support system. A big part of that system will be your sober friends. All the friends you currently have are likely addicts themselves. Safeguard your sobriety and drug-free life and cut off those ties.It is now an excellent time to make friends that have embraced your new lifestyle and are living happily with their decision.

Recovery doesn’t have to be lonely. Friends motivate you to meet up with a social group, have coffee, share your experiences, celebrate achievements, and generally have a jolly old time.

Spending time with them also helps you brush up on your social skills and become comfortable being around other sober people.

Recovering from an addiction is a lifelong process. Often, addicts feel like they are playing catch up with the rest of the world because of all the wasted opportunities, making them feel anxious, driven, and resentful of others.

Ultimately, this will unearth long-ago memories, and the emotions you tried so hard to banish to the furthest recesses of your mind with booze and drugs will come rushing back.

Since you are no longer under the influence, there is nothing to numb the pain, and it feels like the unfortunate event just happened a second ago. You start feeling overwhelmed and begin to doubt your every move- including sobriety.

Once this happens, it is crucial to take a step back. Seek the advice of a qualified professional, take it easy on yourself, and give yourself a timeout.

Downtime is important. We all need it, and many of us are on a mission to find more of it and figure out just how to spend it. Whether you’re looking for a new hobby, or you want to see if your favorite pastime made our top 10 list, we’re sharing the ten most popular hobbies enjoyed around the world.

At Chateau Recovery we have trained our staff to understand the issues that those struggling with mental health face. Through individual therapy we can dive into the core reason that those struggle, and find a solution. Call Chateau today at (435) 222-5225 for more insight and ways to heal.