Addiction Recovery: The Need of Peer Support in a Community
- Ben Pearson
- Sep 29, 2021
- 6 min read
Updated: Aug 22
Finding a community is crucial for addiction recovery. The isolation and loneliness that often accompany addiction can be overwhelming, but a peer support network offers a path forward. A community of like-minded individuals can provide the understanding and accountability needed to navigate the challenges of recovery.
What are the main benefits of peer support in addiction recovery?
Peer support in addiction recovery offers a sense of belonging, helps break through isolation, and provides a network for sharing goals and keeping each other accountable. It creates a powerful atmosphere of understanding and acceptance.
The journey to recovery is a deeply personal one, but it doesn't have to be a solitary one. We've just touched on the power of peer support, and there's so much more to explore about how the right community can transform your path forward. Keep reading to learn how finding your group can make all the difference.
The Need for A Community
Peer Support Communities
While addiction can affect anybody, its effects are wholly unique and personal. However, that does not mean that each individual has to tackle their recovery on their own. Having a group for peer support can make a major difference in one’s recovery journey. Addiction affects people of all demographics.
Having a space to begin one’s recovery journey alongside like-minded peers who share in one’s professional occupation, age, or worldview can be a great boon to one’s recovery efforts. Finding a community of peers can be a challenge, and it is important to look at the communities available that best match one’s goals, values, and priorities to nurture an atmosphere of belonging and support from the beginning of an individual’s recovery journey.
How Addiction Creates Isolation
Addiction is a complex disease. However, while it causes a plethora of physical and mental effects that are cause for concern, it also carries social implications. Most predominantly, those suffering from the disease can find themselves feeling isolated from their family, friends, and coworkers.
For some, this can be a result of guilt. Shame, guilt, depression, and anxiety surrounding one’s use of drugs or alcohol can prompt an individual to push oneself away from friends and family to hide their use. Others may find that the depression caused by their use can make it extraordinarily difficult to motivate themselves to spend time with others in the first place.
It is even possible to isolate oneself physically and emotionally as an individual may only want to attend functions that would allow them to engage with these addictive substances. Even electing to stay home and drink if an event is not providing alcohol may occur, for example.
This isolation is a major hurdle in addiction recovery and can be further exacerbated by one’s professional position. High-ranking positions may feel additional stress as they are tasked with continuing to manage difficult situations without support.
Dealing with isolation is exceptionally difficult. Connecting with others is essential.
Having other people around is not a guarantee to recovery but it is beneficial to look to a place where peers share similar lifestyles or ambitions and garner support, understanding, and break through the walls of isolation.
Peer Support in Recovery: Who Makes up Peers?
Each recovery group will be different, with each person bringing their own unique experiences, perspectives, and goals to the dialogue. Having peers who share similar stories and demographics can make the most important peers for one’s recovery. Looking at the ages and occupations of others in the group is a great way to determine how beneficial a group may be.
Those who hold high-pressure professional positions can have a unique perspective on their experiences with substance abuse that may not be shared by other people. The ability to surround oneself with like-minded and understanding people can be a great bridge to effective communication and support.
Peers to Guide Communication
It can be difficult to always verbalize how addiction has affected each person. Having peers who can understand the stresses of the professional workplace, or peers that also have children, can aid in this communication without having to constantly explain everything. A quiet air of understanding and acceptance can be a profound experience. Working to create this level of intimate communication can be the beginning of a powerful peer support network.
Sharing Goals
Goal-setting is a part of every stage in recovery. Having peers is essential in finding the right milestones for each individual’s recovery path. Peers who share similar personal goals can help scaffold ideas and strategies to work towards these personal ambitions.
Peers in similar professional positions throughout their recovery can accent pertinent professional goals and approaches for balancing their recovery with professional obligations. Being able to set similar goals means that groups can work more closely in creating effective strategies.
Keeping Each Other Accountable
While being able to set goals and share in pertinent strategies are powerful reasons to work with peer support in recovery, these people can also help keep one another accountable. Peers can be intimately aware of the unique challenges that one faces every day due to shared goals and similar experiences. This can lead to an inherent understanding of the difficulties, as well as a reason to keep each person accountable for their actions.
It can be easy to go back on one’s goals or modify them if there are not around sympathetic and understanding people who know of the challenges one faces. Having peers be closely involved in one’s recovery can help keep each member of the group accountable and pushing forward each day.
Frequently Asked Questions
• How does addiction lead to isolation?
Addiction can lead to isolation because of feelings of guilt, shame, and depression. People may push away friends and family to hide their use, or they might only want to attend events where they can use substances.
• Why is having a peer support community so important for recovery?
A peer support community is important because it helps an individual break through the isolation caused by addiction. It provides a space to connect with others who share similar experiences, goals, and values.
• Who makes up a peer support group?
Peer support groups are made up of individuals who share similar stories and demographics. It can be beneficial to find a group with peers who have similar occupations, ages, or life experiences.
• How can peers help with communication during recovery?
Peers can guide communication by offering a quiet air of understanding. They can relate to the stresses of a professional workplace or having children, which helps members communicate without having to constantly explain everything.
• How do peers help with accountability?
Peers help with accountability by being intimately aware of the unique challenges each person faces. Their shared experiences make them a source of encouragement, keeping each other on track and pushing forward with their recovery goals.
At Chateau Health and Wellness Treatment Center, we understand that true recovery happens in a supportive and understanding community. We've built our program around the principle of shared responsibility, where we work alongside you to address the unique challenges of your journey. Our community of peers provides a space where you can connect, share goals, and build a powerful support network to overcome the isolation that addiction creates. If you're ready to take the next step and find a community that truly gets it, we're here to help. Contact us today at (435) 222-5225, and let's begin your recovery journey together.
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About The Author
Ben Pearson, LCSW - Clinical Director
With 19 years of experience, Ben Pearson specializes in adolescent and family therapy, de-escalation, and high-risk interventions. As a former Clinical Director of an intensive outpatient program, he played a key role in clinical interventions and group therapy. With 15+ years in wilderness treatment and over a decade as a clinician, Ben has helped countless individuals and families navigate mental health and recovery challenges.
Danny Warner, CEO of Chateau Health and Wellness
Brings a wealth of experience in business operations, strategic alliances, and turnaround management, with prior leadership roles at Mediconnect Global, Klever Marketing, and WO Investing, Inc. A graduate of Brigham Young University in Economics and History, Danny has a proven track record of delivering results across diverse industries. His most transformative role, however, was as a trail walker and counselor for troubled teens at the Anasazi Foundation, where he directly impacted young lives, a personal commitment to transformation that now drives his leadership at Chateau.
Austin Pederson, Executive Director of Chateau Health and Wellness
Brings over eight years of experience revolutionizing mental health and substance abuse treatment through compassionate care and innovative business strategies. Inspired by his own recovery journey, Austin has developed impactful programs tailored to individuals facing trauma and stress while fostering comprehensive support systems that prioritize holistic wellness. His empathetic leadership extends to educating and assisting families, ensuring lasting recovery for clients and their loved ones.