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The Transformative Power of Altruism in Recovery

Written by Jacob on January 6, 2022. Posted in Healthy Tips, Mental Health.

Have you ever helped someone and found yourself feeling a little happier than before? It’s a scientifically proven fact – helping others makes us feel good too.

You might not think so, but small acts of kindness, also known as altruism, can help you in your recovery journey. Find out how here.

What Is Altruism?

Simply put, altruism is all about putting others first and acting selflessly. It could be as simple as giving a gift without any expectations or helping someone out with a chore.

The Power of Giving Back in Recovery

Substance abuse leaves a long-lasting impact. Even once you’re in recovery, you’ll have to face up to past mistakes and understand how your actions have hurt others. You’ll also need to learn to forgive yourself.

Aside from the emotional and mental effects of drug abuse, you can expect to encounter withdrawal symptoms in rehab. All these factors can sometimes make it difficult to focus on getting better, let alone helping others. However, as noted above, altruism is a powerful tool in recovery.

Why, you ask? We explain below.

Improves Mental Health

Helping others helps us. Whenever you make someone else feel good, your brain instantly releases endorphins that give you that pleasurable feeling.

A decades-long study conducted by Maria Pagano proved that altruism positively impacts mental health, indicating that it increases feelings of wellbeing and reduces stress among individuals. After all, when you’re feeling good, you’re more likely to stick to sobriety and avoid relapse.

It’s also worth remembering that helping others is a form of social interaction. In addition to boosting your happiness, you’ll also be building a support network that you can make use of both inside and outside of rehab.

Provides a Sense of Purpose and Accomplishment

Helping others offers a sense of accomplishment. Although you may have many goals to achieve during your recovery, simple acts of kindness are easy to achieve. They will also help give you a purpose.

Overcoming addiction can seem frightening. After all, it was your life. When you’re suddenly stripped of the one thing that was important to you, you might start to feel like you lack a sense of direction. Helping those around you will help you see the power of recovery through others, making it easier to stick to your goals.

Sets the Stage for the ‘New You’

During active addiction, you’re a different person. Things that once interested you no longer do, and you might have pushed family and friends away in a bid to hide your addiction from them. Now that you’re in recovery, you’ll probably want to rebuild yourself and the image you created throughout the height of your addiction.

By helping others and putting them before yourself, you will be able to set the stage for the new you. Not only will this give you a renewed purpose, but it will be visible proof to others that you’re making positive changes.

Practicing altruism in recovery

Now that you understand what altruism is and its benefits, you may find yourself wondering how you can practice it throughout your recovery.

There are several different ways to practice altruism in recovery, and we have shared a few suitable options below.

Attend the Twelve-Step Program

It’s easy enough to give a gift to a stranger or lend them a helping hand, but what happens when it comes to already established relationships? Practicing altruism, especially if the relationship is strained, can be difficult.

Going through the twelve-step program will push you to recognize your mistakes and make amends with those you have hurt. You might not think so, but making peace is a form of altruism. This is because you’re offering an olive branch to someone without any expectation. Because they could ignore you or reject you, it’s a selfless act.

In addition to having the opportunity to make amends, attending a twelve-step program group will enable you to connect with others on a similar journey. In doing so, you can build a support network.

Since much of the twelve-step program is group-based, you’ll be provided with the perfect setting to practice altruism. As well as giving you space to be more generous with others, the twelve steps will also help you stick to sobriety. You won’t just be learning how to give up your addiction; you’ll also be learning how to accept yourself and start developing healthier habits.

A 2019 study proved this point, indicating that individuals who participate in the twelve-step program enjoy an overall better quality of life than those who don’t.

Be Open to Listening to Others

Rehab provides the perfect opportunity to listen to others. As well as attending group therapy, you could make an active effort to forge friendships with others. Instead of just focusing on your own problems, give others a chance to open up. You don’t even need to offer advice – listening is just as effective.

Volunteer Your Services

It’s a no-brainer, but volunteering is a great way of putting altruism into action. Just because you’re in rehab or recovery doesn’t mean you have to focus your efforts there. Pick something you’re passionate about and get involved in the cause.

For example, if you love animals, you might enjoy helping out at a local animal shelter or horse ranch. Not only will the act of altruism give you a boost of happiness, but you’ll also be doing something you love.

To Conclude

The road to sobriety isn’t always easy, and sometimes you’ll face challenges. However, getting out of your bubble and putting your attention on others is a great way of focusing your mind on something other than your problems. It will also make it easier to forge friendships and lay the right foundations to begin your new sober life.

Does Being Sober Mean You Can’t Party Again?

Written by Jacob on January 5, 2022. Posted in Healthy Tips, Stories.

Recovery usually involves making adjustments in your lifestyle to avoid relapse triggers. But does being sober mean you can’t party again? There’s no need to withdraw from socializing and miss out on fun events such as seeing friends or going to special events. With a little planning and preparation, you can go out, have fun, and still stay sober.

Here are some tips for when you decide you are ready to party again:

Stick With Supportive Friends

When you were using, you may have done so in a group of people who had their own substance abuse issues. Spending time with old friends, especially in a party setting, could cause you to reminisce and romanticize your days of addiction. This will leave you in a vulnerable position. You could even be encouraged to relapse by people who are not on the same recovery journey as you.

If you decide to socialize in a party setting, stick with friends who understand your need to stay sober and who will support you to make good choices. Your friends can get help and give advice on how best to help you.

It is a good idea to have a friend at hand who will take care of alcohol-related issues without a fuss. For example, if you are offered an alcoholic drink by a well-meaning person, a friend can jump in and offer to get you an alcohol-free drink instead, or tell them that you don’t drink without you having to answer any follow-up questions.

A friend might decide to opt-out of drinking alcohol alongside you, but you cannot assume or expect this. You must accept that you will be around alcohol in these settings. But there are ways to feel less left out.

Bring Your Own Alcohol-Free Drink

There will likely be alcohol-free drink options at parties and events. But just in case there isn’t, it is a good idea to bring along a drink of your choice. Ensuring you have something delicious at hand will stop you from feeling left out and tempted to stray from your sobriety. You could bring soda, juice, iced tea, or mocktails. Ask for a glass with ice and a slice of lemon, and pour your own drink that fits right in with everyone else’s. Carrying an alcohol-free drink will also stop people from offering to get you a drink that might contain alcohol.

Keep in mind that some drinks labeled as alcohol-free, such as alcohol-free beer, often retain a small percentage of alcohol from the natural brewing process. It is not recommended that you drink them, especially if you are early in your sobriety. If in doubt, talk to your recovery team for advice.

Be Present

In the past, you might have used any celebration or occasion as a reason to drink or abuse substances. In fact, taking substances might have been the only reason you were out at all. When you go out for a special occasion, make an effort to be present. Focus on who you are with and why you are there. Maybe you have been invited to celebrate a friend’s birthday, work promotion, or wedding. Perhaps you are simply catching up with friends. Talk and socialize, celebrate with your loved ones, make memories, but most importantly, have fun.

The great thing about being sober is having a clear mind to make good choices and being able to remember them the next day.

Know When To Call It Quits

When you find yourself bored at an event, and you know this is when you would have reached for an alcoholic drink, leave. If you need to be intoxicated to enjoy yourself, then you aren’t enjoying yourself. If a situation is putting you at risk of relapse, you need to get out of there. Put yourself and your recovery first.

Supportive friends will understand. Friends who can’t respect your boundaries regarding recovery are not being supportive. As stated above, you need to surround yourself with supportive friends when taking the first step to attend parties when sober

Take things one step at a time, and if you feel you have jumped back into parties early or feel overwhelmed, talk to your support team or 1 rel=”nofollow noopener noreferrer”2seek help elsewhere.

sober couple celebrate Christmas holiday together

3 Tips for a Sober Christmas

Written by Jacob on November 18, 2021. Posted in Healthy Tips.

With Christmas just around the corner, you may be wondering how to stay sober during all the festivities. As the holiday season is a time of parties and celebration, maintaining sobriety can be somewhat daunting, especially to those just starting their recovery journey.

Whether you think it’s the most wonderful time of the year or not, you can have an enjoyable Christmas without turning to alcohol. After all, being sober does not mean having to miss out on all the fun.

Here are three tips for celebrating Christmas sober.

1. Plan Activities That Don’t Involve Alcohol

Christmas is all about spending quality time with family and friends. Before embarking on your path to sobriety, you might have engaged in many social events involving alcohol. But it doesn’t have to be this way, and there’s no need to miss out just because you are dedicated to your sobriety.

There’s no better time than now to start new traditions that you will look forward to for years to come. Why not plan a night of board games, festive movies, or baking treats with loved ones? Many of these fun activities can be enjoyed by the entire family.

Instead of alcohol, why not set up a hot cocoa station with a variety of toppings to add? If that doesn’t appeal to you, try masala chai tea, a warming drink with rich spices that invokes the Christmas spirit.

2. Keep Busy

Like many others, you may find that keeping busy will help you avoid falling into bad habits or dwelling on old traditions.

Whether creating a routine that includes a form of fitness activity or taking the time to learn new skills, meet new people, and do good for your community, there are many things you can do to stay busy.

Over the festive period, your social calendar might not look busy. If this is the case, why not join a book club, sports group, or community? Crafts also make a great distraction – you’ll even have a finished product at the end to show for your hard work. You could even use them as Christmas gifts.

Another idea for staying busy is volunteering your time to charity, such as animal shelters or soup kitchens. Volunteering is exceptionally beneficial if you find yourself feeling lonely around this time of year. Not only will volunteering leave you feeling good about yourself, but you’ll have the chase to make some friends along the way. You’ll also be making a positive difference in other people’s lives.

3. Plan Ahead

A little planning ahead eases unnecessary anxiety during the festive period. If invited to an event or gathering, consider taking a delicious non-alcoholic drink with you just in case there aren’t any provided. If you go to a restaurant, research the menu ahead of time to see if any of the meals include an alcoholic drink. In doing so, you can ask in advance if they would substitute something non-alcoholic.

If you are participating in gift exchanging or secret Santa, see if someone would be willing to swap with you should you receive an alcoholic gift. Better yet, suggest to your family members, friends, or colleagues that no alcoholic gifts are given. Instead, come up with a theme such as silly socks, puzzles, mugs, or homemade items only.

Celebrate Christmas on Your Own Terms

There is no right way to enjoy Christmas. You might choose to put up your Christmas decorations the moment Thanksgiving is over, the night of Christmas eve, or not at all. You are under no obligation to celebrate in a specific way. Irrespective of your preferences when celebrating the holiday, be kind to yourself during this challenging time.

Remember the acronym H.A.L.T – this stands for hungry, angry, lonely, and tired. These are risk states that can throw a wrench in your recovery. Recognize your triggers, and don’t be afraid to reach out to your support network. There are many people out there working on their sobriety and also having a sober Christmas. You are not alone in this journey.

The key to a successful sober Christmas is being prepared and staying in control.