Hobbies and Activities for Recovering Addicts and Alcoholics
- Chateau Recovery
- Jul 20, 2019
- 4 min read
Updated: May 27, 2022
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Getting Started
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.
Dangers of Boredom and Spare Time
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.
Benefits of Developing a Healthy Routine
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:
Being able to unwind or relax
Learning new skills for both personal and professional purposes
Explore your creativity
Provide things to look forward to
Discover hidden talents
Making new friends
Finding Hobbies and Activities
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.
Brainstorming Ideas and Questions To Ask
What did you enjoy before your addiction?
Are there any activities you abandoned that could bring you joy?
Are there any activities you always wanted to try?
What were your childhood interests? What made you stop?
Do you have any role models? Why do you look up to that person?
Use the internet to research new hobbies
Ask friends and families what their hobbies are.
Are there any local classes you are interested in?
Could you volunteer your time for a good cause
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.
Suggested Hobbies and Activities
Looking for something fun, safe, and sober to do in your recovery? Give these activities a chance:
Creative Writing
Research reveals that creative writing is beneficial for recovery and healing, for promoting overall well-being, for reducing stress, and for expressing thoughts and feelings about significant life challenges, trauma, and mental health issues.
Focus on what you hope to gain from staying clean. Visualize the life you want, write it down, and keep it close. It will help remind you of why you are choosing to abstain from drugs while at the same time rewire your brain from an anxious state to a more grounded and peaceful serenity.
Some of the ways that creative writing has helped people in recovery include:
Organizing seemingly chaotic thoughts
Inspiring change
Identifying thoughts that are too difficult to express out loud
Developing a new hobby or interest that would have never been explored otherwise
Providing clarity to underlying issues and concerns
Increasing self-disclosure
Decreasing trauma symptoms
Lessening symptoms of depression and anxiety
Gaining more trust and therapeutic alliance with treatment
The therapeutic power of artistic expression is well-known and proven.
Cooking
Physical Exercise
Meditation and Yoga
Painting, Drawing, or Photography
Listening to Music, Singing, or Playing Instruments
Gardening
Outdoor Activities
Volunteering
Make New Friends
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.
Recovery is Long Term
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.
BONUS: 10 Most Popular Hobbies in the World
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.