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What To Do To Strengthen Your Recovery
Finding fun sober activities that allow you to connect with yourself and others is a great way to explore the new you. Here is a list you should consider:
1. Hire a Recovery or Sober Coach
You have probably heard this countless times, and this doesn’t seem like a “fun” thing to do. However, the importance of a recovery coach in this journey to be clean again can’t be over emphasized. A coach can help you achieve your goals and fast-track your recovery. Walking this path by yourself can be lonely and unattainable. A recovery coach will be your succor and the cushion your need for the ebbs and tides of the new world around you.
2. Know Your Triggers
The first step to avoiding relapse is protecting yourself from triggers. How? By knowing what, where, when, and how you get triggered. What are those things that create the desire to get high or indulge in heavy drinking? Where are those places? For example, visiting a bar or going clubbing can be a possible trigger. Who can fuel your desire for drugs and alcohol? Avoid such persons. These changes are guaranteed to bring positive results.
3. Games
Games do not have just the ability to help you have some fun and avoid thinking about drugs or alcohol, but they help you build other important skills such as communication, team playing, cognitive development, ability to focus, and patience. For example, playing a board game subtly teaches you how to grow your team-building skills and interpersonal effectiveness. Other types of games to consider are:
Crossword puzzles, Scrabble, Chess, Sudoku, I-Spy, videogames, etc. These games are equally therapeutic.
4. Traveling
This might be the best time to see the world and have a change of environment. Moving away from where you can be easily triggered can be a great decision. Also, your travel plans can involve traveling with other sober friends to see the world together and strengthen each other’s recovery. Traveling wouldn’t only teach you about life outside your confines, but it will remind you of why life is worth living and how much dignity being clean will bring to you as you interact with different people from different races/backgrounds.
5. MEDITATION AND PRAYERS
Recovery is a great time to practice mindfulness and connect with your inner thoughts. Spiritual relationships can be improved at this phase too. Meditation is the practice of silencing the mind of any distractions, taking a few moments or minutes to focus on your well-being. These activities will help you focus on and listen to yourself. They help you reduce anxiety, improve your sleep, and make you feel better altogether. Take some time every day to introspect and calm yourself with prayers and meditation.
6. SKILL ACQUISITION
With more free time at your disposal, this is the time to get your mind active with different tasks. Acquire a new skill that will help you to earn more, get promoted at work, prepare you for a new career, or overall improve your existing skills. More than ever, your desire to be respected and honored is higher now than before. Therefore, you should get involved in activities that will help you accomplish this. You can pick up courses online or learn a new skill on YouTube. These are things that will strengthen your recovery.
7. JOURNALING AND READING
Reading helps to improve your thought pattern and what you think about. The ideas from the books read can fill up your mind and be a distraction from your cravings. Reading allows you to get lost in a different world, recognize other perspectives, and visualize different things.
Journaling and writing will strengthen your thought process and how best to coordinate your words and communication. Writing will help you to pour out your hurts, wishes, desires into a book or journal and relieve you of whatever anxiety such might cause. You can create a gratitude journal, write a letter to yourself, write your goals, etc. You should give it a try.
8. PICK A FUN PROJECT.
A fun project could include coloring, painting, knitting, scrapbooking or collaging, drawing, building with kinetic sand, etc. These activities are proven to be therapeutic and fun at the same time. They can calm the mind by allowing it to focus on something simple and help you deal with the wave of emotions the recovery phase can bring.
9. LISTEN TO MUSIC AND WATCH A COMEDY SHOW
When the waves of emotion hit you, you can rely on good music or comedy shows to get you out of them. Watching a light-hearted movie can give you a good laugh and release hormones that help you feel good. Listening to good music can be a therapeutic activity that will distract you and provide a different emotion in times of sadness. As an aside, never listen to songs that will cause a trigger.
Start Living a Fulfilling Life in Recovery
As shown above, some common activities have massive therapeutic value, making them an excellent resource to use when you are going through recovery and addiction treatment. Using the skills learned in our treatment options and recovery coaching, you can be assured of rebuilding yourself and getting clean again. Our programs are anchored by certified sober coaches, they teach you a new way of life, how to prevent relapse, and encourage you to build a healthy lifestyle.
