One of the six foundations of recovery as taught at AToN Center is to Balance Your Life. Having balance and a healthy lifestyle includes having fun! Whether it be a creative outlet, the great outdoors, playing sports or just hanging out with friends, many people in recovery find it helpful to develop (or rediscover) hobbies.
It’s natural to consider the activities that you liked prior to recovery, although for many people these activities are laden with triggers due to being tainted by previously participating in the activity while using. Often it is difficult to un-pair these associations.
We make it a point at AToN Center to help residents begin to have fun again without substance use. We do so by incorporating play/fun into our program via hiking, paddle boarding, bowling, mini-golf, the zoo, playing music (Rock To Recovery), playing games like ping pong, and many other outings and activities.
Often the key to actually having fun is to participate in activities you enjoy with like-minded people. Many individuals who love music and concerts often have strong associations with drinking and drugging while they saw live music in the past. In fact, for many bands and music festivals there is a well-known culture that normalizes excessive drinking and drugging. These types of events are particularly difficult for those in recovery because there is such an emphasis on drugs and alcohol. For the newly sober, and even the more seasoned, a music festival would be a high-risk activity. It is good to know that recently there is more of a sober presence at music festivals such as Bonnaroo and even at Phish shows!
There’s even a growing sober club scene! These exciting opportunities do not completely negate the risk involved in these activities but they provide support for those who do want to participate. Find more on sober clubbing here.
Dr. Sanders
Program Director
AToN Center 888-535-1516
