When you think of addiction recovery, you probably mainly think of the recovery process itself…
The process of getting clean, detoxing, attending support groups, and graduating from your recovery program.
But, what about after that? Have you considered the aftercare that will need to be continued following your addiction recovery program completion?
Relapse is a very real thing and poses a major threat to all recovering addicts. Triggers such as people, places, and things can cause an addict to slip right back into the same harmful situations they were in before.
But, by finding other ways to occupy your mind, you can help decrease your chances of relapse.
So, a great idea following your addiction recovery treatment is to find a hobby. Here is why:
- A hobby keeps you from getting bored.
Oftentimes, relapse can be brought on by triggers – but, it can also be brought on by boredom. It is something to do and the drugs or alcohol might make even the simplest of tasks or most boring days more fun.
However, if you have something else you enjoy doing in your spare time, you can do that instead to keep your mind busy, therefore helping you avoid a relapse.
- A hobby helps you meet new people.
Part of addiction recovery is ridding yourself of those negative influences in your life. As a result, you might lose quite a few of your friends. However, it is good for you to begin associating with healthy influences. A hobby is a great way to meet new people and people who still share a common interest with you. They will encourage you to participate in positive activities and help you replace the friends you might have lost on your road to recovery.
- A hobby helps encourage new positive paths in your brain.
During an addiction, your brain paves new pathways for the responses it receives from the drug. It actually develops a pleasure response to the drug which is what makes you enjoy it.
However, you can also reverse these and start creating new pathways based on a hobby. After some time, the hobby will begin to generate a positive response in your body and can help you overcome the sad feeling of needing the drug or alcohol that you were previously abusing.
When it comes to addiction recovery, you have to continuously focus on how to make better choices and how to keep yourself away from temptation. Developing a new hobby is a great way to make a positive step toward your recovery!