Since addiction causes a lifetime of symptoms, recovery requires finding ways to manage your life without relying on drugs and alcohol. During addiction, life revolves around substances, and most of your socializing centers around alcohol and drug use. That can mean finding fun, sober activities after alcohol addiction treatment and recovery can be challenging.
Addiction is such a powerful disease because it’s chronic and incurable. That means that you can continue to experience symptoms, like cravings, long after your last use. Substance abuse disorders, alcoholism, and addiction are also lethal. Drug overdoses have become so common that fatal overdoses are now the leading cause of death among Americans under the age of 50. That means drug overdoses kill more people each year than car crashes, heart disease, and cancer.
If your or a loved one is struggling with addiction or just needs advice on sober summer activities, call The Right Step Houston at 1.844.768.0169.
How Addiction Works
When you develop a substance abuse disorder or addiction, you compulsively abuse drugs and alcohol. Your drug and alcohol use continues even if you have a strong and genuine desire to quit or if you deal with increasingly more severe consequences. During addiction, losing relationships, jobs, or even your home isn’t enough to make you stop using.
While addiction may seem like a choice, the truth is that substance abuse disorders alter your brain chemistry, impair your ability to make logical decisions, and distort your cognition. Struggling with a substance abuse disorder can increase conflict with family members and loved ones, causing damage to relationships and creating a disruptive home environment. Some common changes to thought and behavior stemming from substance use disorder include:
- Disregarding the risks of using drugs or alcohol
- Overconfidence in your ability to control your substance abuse
- Neglecting your physical health
- Prioritizing drug or alcohol use over work, school, or other obligations
- Lying about or hiding your substance abuse
Since addiction causes your tolerance to build, you have to keep using more and more in order to experience the same pleasurable intoxicating effects. Unfortunately, a growing tolerance can lead to significant financial problems, especially if you are addicted to an expensive or illicit substance. Additionally, convictions for drug crimes can have unforeseen consequences and hurt your career, finances, and reputation.
How to Find Fun Sober Activities
Recovery, like addiction, can take time. You risk relapse when craving and triggers strike. Thus, treatment is needed. Another important part of managing your recovery is finding fun, sober activities. Neglecting hobbies is easy when trapped in addiction. Another complexity of addiction is that your social circle usually includes only those who use drugs and alcohol. Thus, you may have to find a new group of friends so you can engage in fun, sober activities. Treatment provides you with a few solid examples of fun sober activities, making it easier to navigate recovery. For example, some great fun sober activities include:
- Arts and crafts
- Yoga and Pilates
- Writing and journaling
- Furthering your education
- Volunteering
When you quit drugs and alcohol, you suddenly have much more free time. Making sure you plan ways to fill your free time with healthy and fun sober activities supports and strengthens recovery.
Connecting With Right Step Houston Today
Reaching out for help is the first step in fully recovering from a substance abuse disorder or addiction. Once you enter treatment at Right Step Houston, it’s essential to start thinking about fun, sober activities. Since discharge planning begins the day you start treatment, looking to the future is important. If you want to learn more about our substance abuse treatment programs and how we can help guide your recovery journey, call us today at 1.844.768.0169.