One of the greatest benefits to getting clean and sober with the help of the Twelve Step fellowships is that as a member, you don’t have to do it alone. At any given meeting, you’ll find an unlimited number of new friends and mentors who want to walk with you on the path to recovery.
But not all recovery friends are created equal! Especially in early sobriety, who you choose to associate with can have a serious effect on the success of your program. So how do you know who to hang with?
One common recovery slogan makes that decision simple: “Stick with the winners.” Look for people who appear to be working a solid program, and have amassed a sizable chunk of time. Search out the people who have what you want — serenity, good relationships, an impressive recovery network — and ask them how they got it.
The temptation is often to align with people who are also new in sobriety. The AA Big Book describes the first days of the program as surviving a shipwreck: Of course you might think you have more in common with someone who’s still slightly shaken and drenched, like you, rather than the cool, calm, and collected people on the shore.
However, getting close to people who are also counting days can be seriously dangerous. There’s no assurance that your new friends won’t suddenly go out — and take you with them. And while relapse can happen at any time, to anyone, it’s far less likely to hit someone with a lot of time who is working a solid program.
Stick with the winners, and you’ll have a better chance of becoming one, too.
At Clean Path Behavioral Health, we’ll help you win your fight against addiction. Contact us today to find out how.