Friends In Recovery: How To Make Sober Friends
For people in sobriety, loneliness can be a hard emotion to handle. This is especially true for those people in the early stages of sobriety. This is why it is important for individuals to form friendships. Everyone can benefit from having clean and sober friends, especially people who are overcoming an addiction. Not only do sober friends help a person get through loneliness, but they can be a great resource when it comes to advice and support.
New Friends in Recovery
One of toughest challenges for people recovering from an addiction, especially individuals in the early stages of recovery, is the task of making new clean, sober friends. A person will need to change their thought process, change their environment, and possibly change the groups of people they are used to hanging out with on a regular basis. Generally, hanging out with old drinking buddies is simply asking for trouble. In most cases, these people are linked to a person’s past and don’t fully understand why a person is seeking sobriety. As the old saying goes “misery loves company.” In this case, your old drinking buddies may try to use peer pressure and do what they can to bring you back into the drinking environment.
Although, it might be difficult for you to break old friendships, in most cases it is necessary if you are serious about your recovery and sobriety. In addition to letting go of your old buddies, you will need to build new relationships with clean, sober people who fully understand the process of sobriety. Otherwise, your time in recovery might be a lonely place. It is often easy to find friends in recovery, especially if you join an addiction treatment program. The reality is that looking for new friends in recovery can be beneficial for those people who are on their journey to sobriety.
People in Recovery Need Social Support
Having clean, sober friends in recovery is an essential element in order to achieve your goal of sobriety. Generally, humans are naturally social animals, they need a network of people who support them. A few important things to consider during recovery include the following:
- Friends in recovery can give you support.
- Friends in recovery can give you advice regarding your behavior.
- A sober group of friends can help you deal with your emotions which is essential for people in recovery because they often feel alone and unloved.
- A sober social group of friends can help you with physical assistance. They can be their to help you pick yourself up. Many people in the early stages of recovery have trouble getting up the courage to move around in social environments. Your new friends in recovery can help you find the courage to get up and join social activities.
- You might find your new friends in recovery can offer you resources and advice which can help you achieve your goal of sobriety.
You might find it difficult to make new friends in recovery, but remember everyone in recovery has one thing in common – they want to get sober.
It’s Important to Make Friends in Recovery
Making friends and socializing is extremely important for people in the early stages of recovery. Some of the reasons for this include the following:
- People who are in the early stages of recovery often feel vulnerable. Their world can seem strange and dangerous. In addition, the person might feel anxious and overwhelmed about their future. New friends in recovery can help the person overcome these feelings by offering advice and support.
- In the early stages of recovery, many people feel lonely. They need a good support network in order to realize they are not alone during this time of their life. Loneliness can be a trigger to relapse, so if you are in recovery it is essential to make clean, sober friends in order to be successful.
- Being around people who have been clean and sober for a long period of time can be a huge help for those people in early stages of recovery. These people can act as guides and talk to you about possible obstacles which may come your way.
- Boredom can also be a trigger to relapse which is why making new friends in recovery is so important. Many people believe their life is boring without their old drinking buddies. This can make them want to go out and use drugs or alcohol. However, spending time with clean and sober people is a good antidote for boredom.
In order to succeed in recovery, it is important to surround yourself with friends who are sober. These people can give you support, lend advice, and show you how to live a life without the use of harmful substances.
A Big Relapse Trigger is Loneliness
The fact is that your disease wants to get you alone. It wants to control you. When people feel lonely, they tend to feel unsatisfied with addiction treatment. Loneliness doesn’t always have to do with the number of people in your life. People can feel lonely even when they are in a crowded room. However, having friends in recovery can help you to avoid feeling lonely.
Loneliness is a relapse trigger. It can increase the odds of you turning back to using or consuming alcohol and drugs. It can take the joy out of your life. In addition, it can make you feel depressed, tired, and unhappy. This means that when a person feels lonely they may choose to return to active addiction because they believe it will make them feel better. However, if you are surrounded by friends in recovery, who can fill your life with joy, the odds of you feeling lonely decreases and the risk of you reaching sobriety increases.
It can be hard to make friends in recovery, but it is essential in order for you to successfully get through it. Clean, sober friends can guide, assist, and support you through this trying time of your life. They can give you encouragement to help you continue the path to sobriety. If you are in recovery, don’t feel overwhelmed about how you can make new friends because other addicts at some point possibly felt the same way. Believe in yourself and let your new friends become part of your recovery.
