Building a Support Network in Recovery Banyan Stuart

The most obvious reason for this stipulation is that liking someone makes it easier to talk to them and rely on them. If you like your support group, you won’t feel it’s a chore to come to them for help.

• The first thing that you’ll want to do is to make sure that you’re properly educated about substance abuse, recovery, and the future challenges that you will be facing.
• Every person’s journey in substance use disorder recovery is unique.
• If you’re naturally more introverted or accustomed to handling your problems by yourself, learning to rely on others can be a bit of a challenge.
• For this reason, patients may be more inclined to shy away from investing effort into building a support network when they graduate from rehab and commit to remaining clean and sober.

They may have spent several years being active users and trying to put up a virtual wall between themselves and others to avoid the possibility of hurt, embarrassment, ridicule or humiliation. Some of them may not even remember a time when they were not drunk or high when attempting to interact with other people. Support group meetings are often a vital part of your continuum of care following residential treatment. They are also an excellent place to make friends who understand your struggle with addiction. Talking to people who understand the challenges you’re facing in recovery makes you feel less alone.

Immediate Placement for Mental Health Treatment

Going to rehab and completing a drug and alcohol treatment program will give you some strong tools that will help you learn to live drug and alcohol-free. The recovering addict needs to keep applying the techniques used in treatment every day, but he or she can definitely use encouragement from friends during the early days of recovery. One thing we know about addiction is that it robs those affected by it of their self-esteem and their self-worth. When a person is actively using his or her drug of choice, little time remains for social relationships. The friendships of an addict are based on obtaining a substance and sharing it, rather than developing real connections. One of the topics discussed during a drug or alcohol treatment program will no doubt be the various techniques that can be used for developing a sober support system after rehab. Family members may or may not initially be a great source of support in recovery.

Whether you’re celebrating New Year’s Eve or just looking for a fun way to ring in the new year, there are plenty of ways to have fun without drinking alcohol. However you go about it, you need to find someone who identifies with what you are going through. Living in a world in which you feel like you’re the only person who knows about your problem is a very lonely way to live. It might work for a while, but there’s likely not much longevity in it. It doesn’t hurt to find one or two older people, who may have a decent number of years sober and can recommend some decent recovery literature. Oftentimes, drug addicts are completely unaware of the devastation they are causing in the lives of those around them, especially within their own families.

Individuals You Feel Open & Honest Sharing Recovery With

As we stated in the very beginning, you have to be willing to show the same honesty and reliability that you expect from the members of your support network. Relationships, romantic or not, must always be a two-way street. It is important to have a support network of people who can rely upon one another. There are many types of tasks that can be performed by unpaid workers, and the organizations would be more than happy to have an extra pair of hands. Whatever the skills that someone in recovery has to offer, there is an organization that can put them to good use. All of these activities are designed to help people get to know each other naturally while they are enjoying an activity together. It takes the pressure off needing to think of something to say while introducing themselves.

sober networkinging a support network in recovery may not always be as easy as it sounds. Who you spend your time with can impact your sobriety for better or worse, so you need to be careful who you choose to let into your life. Looking over old blogs, I noticed that I’ve mentioned sober support networks in quite a few of them.