Recovery typically means finding new playgrounds and new playmates as a way to keep from repeating old addictive behaviors. Being around people and going to the same places where drugs and alcohol are being consumed can be detrimental in eliciting cravings and causing bad ideas which can lead you right back to a relapse. Really understanding why you just cannot keep the same company or visit the same hangouts once you get sober is imperative for your recovery.
They no longer relate to you.
Now that you are sober, your old friends may view you as being too straight because they may be ignorant when it comes to understanding what addiction entails. They could hold the philosophy that you should just be able to stop if you have a problem which is laughable. Wouldn’t you have already stopped if you could like it was a switch in you? This misconception could distant some of your friends and loved ones who will not allow themselves to relate to your recovery.
They are a bad influence.
Even though these old buddies may not be passing out on the floor and getting rip-roaring drunk or high like you used to, they still could bring out your cravings without meaning too. They could still offer you a drink or a drug when they know they know you are in recovery. Even if they forget that you are in recovery, they could certainly put you in a vulnerable place to choose your addiction rather than your recovery.
They will not care about your sobriety.
Since you are no longer their drinking or using buddy, they most likely will care less about your sobriety. Friends that you hung out with in bars or in drug houses will probably write you off because you do not have anything to offer them now since you no longer have a bar tab or any drugs to get them high. Plus, they do not want to be reminded that you are doing so well. They may delusionally think that they cannot get sober like you did because they wholeheartedly believe that they do not have it in them.
To learn who will stay in your life and who will go is important because you need solid encouragement and motivation in your recovery endeavors. Putting your recovery community into an honest perspective will give you the incentive to start your new beginnings in sobriety with the people you were meant to belong to.
Offering a full range of recovery and mental health services, Valiant Living offers “Expanded Recovery” to enrich our clients’ lives in mind, body, and spirit. Through evidence-based therapy options and the endless adventure of Colorado, Valiant fosters connection, encouraging clients to get connected to themselves, their peers, their families, and their higher power. With the power of recovery, clients are restored to full health and experience life-changing healing. Call us today for more information: 303-536-5463
