When you first decide to get clean and sober – and maybe even before – you might be afraid that deciding to live on the clean path means you’ll never have fun again.
No more wild parties, no more throbbing nightclubs, no more girls wine nights.
The fear of giving up that old way of life stops many people from taking the leap into recovery.
But the reality is that it IS possible to have fun in sobriety – and maybe even MORE fun that you had while drinking and using.
The first thing to remember is that drinking and using wasn’t really all that fun. Every time you’re tempted to dwell on a memory of the “good old days,” remind yourself about what happened after – the hangover, the regretted text message, the overdrawn bank account.
If you’re like most alcoholics and addicts, your “good times” weren’t ever really without consequence. And if it seems like they were, it was probably early on in your addiction, before things got really bad.
In recovery, you’ll learn that it’s possible to have fun without negative consequences. You can enjoy a great evening hanging out with friends and wake up refreshed and happy the next morning. You can network at a work event without embarrassing yourself in front of your boss. You might even discover a new talent or hobby to fill the hours you’ve gained back from your addiction.
The biggest roadblock to fun in recovery, actually, is that most alcoholics and addicts have forgotten how to really do it!
Like anything else in recovery, if you have openness and willingness, the rewards are there for the taking.
A good place to start is with your 12-Step fellowship. Simply going out for coffee before or after a meeting is a good way to ease into having fun in sober settings.
You might also want to join one of the many Young People groups that are part of AA. Ask another young person with some clean time to help get you into the loop.
Before long, you’ll have built a new life for yourself – one greater than you’ve ever imagined.
To start your new life in recovery, contact us today.