29 Apr Finding Balance in Recovery

Photo by Elena Mozhvilo on Unsplash

Getting clean and sober is a big deal if you’re an alcoholic or addict, particularly if it’s your first time getting into recovery. And, in early recovery, it’s important to remain diligent in your recovery efforts. This can be different for every individual depending on the recovery method. Generally, however, it will involve some combination of recovery meetings and support, along with keeping a distance from triggering places and situations. Once again, being diligent with your recovery is key early on, but there will invariably come a time when you’re going to crave some balance between your recovery life and everything else. 

Here are some tips for easing back into your daily routine and achieving balance in recovery:

• Reach out to people you love and trust outside of your recovery circle. If you’ve been avoiding people you care about in your early recovery days for whatever reason, perhaps it’s time to start letting people back in. Certainly, if you have old drinking or using buddies that you consider to be bad news in your recovery, you have a valid reason for keeping your distance. But, the friends and loved ones who truly care about you will almost undoubtedly be thrilled to hear about how you’re doing and be back in touch with you. It’s easy to stick with our recovery community only when we first get sober. After all, this environment is relatively judgement and trigger free, and it’s also a really safe space. It’s so important to have a recovery community throughout sobriety, but it’s also important to step outside of your recovery bubble and experience relationships in sobriety with other people. Only maintaining friendships in your recovery circle has the potential to become unhealthy and isolating eventually. Part of living, working, and socializing in the real world sober means learning how to navigate all types of social and professional situations. Not everyone outside of recovery needs to be a trigger forever.
• Stop avoiding “uncomfortable” social situations. While we’re certainly not suggesting hitting up bars and nightclubs where you know they’ll be tons of booze, there will come a day when you’re going to want to do fun stuff in public. If you were a fan of salsa dancing or live music events but you’ve been avoiding them because you’re afraid of doing them sober, try grabbing a sober pal and heading to a concert. Perhaps you can start with outdoor concerts on spacious grounds where you can keep your distance from drunk music fans and venue bars. Or, ease back into a few salsa lessons with a trusted pal. If you’re used to dancing after you’ve knocked a few drinks back, having a good friend around will help you feel more comfortable. Better yet, bring someone who’s never danced salsa before! This way, you don’t have to feel super self conscious in the beginning. And, trust us, it will get easier. Doing stuff sober that we’re used to doing drunk is always a little awkward at first, but as time goes on, we begin to feel more and more comfortable in our own skin. The most liberating part of it all is when we finally discover that we don’t need any mind or mood altering substance to dance, sing, and have a good time. We never really did. 
• Exercise. If you’re not already exercising as part of your recovery routine, now is a great time to start. The cool thing about getting active is that it can give us the same kind of endorphin and dopamine hits that drugs or alcohol did, but without the substances. Working out can give you a quick confidence boost, helping you feel more relaxed and confident in social situations. It really works, and your body will look fab, too — a win-win!
• Stop drinking so much coffee! Okay, okay, we know the stuff is hard to give up, particularly if you’re an addict or an alcoholic. And no one is telling you to give up coffee entirely, so let’s just get that out of the way. Coffee is the best, but too much of it can turn you super jittery and lead to social anxiety. Social anxiety, of course, can lead to isolation. Or, it can just keep you hangin’ out only with your cracked out on coffee addict and alcoholic posse since, you know, they get you. Heck, we get you. Coffee totally rules, but just go easy on it. 
• Meditate. Meditating gives you an opportunity to sit with your thoughts in a judgement free space where you can learn to quiet the mind. Quieting the mind can help you to feel more comfortable out in the real world, so you can start to bring more balance into your life in recovery. Getting into a daily meditation routine gives you the strength of mind to start dealing with life on life’s terms. It makes it easier to step out of your comfortable recovery bubble every now and again. Eventually, you’ll start to notice that life is actually quite easy to do sober and, dare we say, a lot simpler than it was when you were in active alcoholism or addiction. 

While it’s a good idea to always stay close to your recovery network, living outside of that recovery bubble is also important if you want to maintain a healthy, balanced life. In the meantime, just take it easy. There’s no rush, and you’ll know when the time is right for you to step out and start enjoying the things you used to enjoy before you got sober. Only this time, you’ll be doing them sober, and this is the ultimate reward. 

Kembali Recovery Center can Help

If you or someone you love is struggling to get or stay clean, Kembali Recovery Center is here for you. Contact us today to learn more about our Treatment Programs. 

*Please note that there are still travel restrictions to Indonesia, so our offerings may currently be limited. The rules are changing daily, so feel free to reach out to us for the latest information regarding travel to Bali.