06 Jul Having fun in the summer while staying clean & sober
Most addicts who decide to start living a life honest, clean and sober, often find that they are not entirely sure what to do with themselves on the weekends. But a clean & sober life does not have to be boring!
Many addicts discover, clean & sober living is actually a lot more fun and fulfilling than living a life full of addiction.
For the alcoholics and drug addicts who have just completed drug and alcohol treatment and are entering a new life in recovery, finding ways to keep yourself from getting into trouble and entertained clean can be challenging.
This can usually be expected when drugs or alcohol have been such an important part of our lives for so long. Once the addicts or alcoholics have made a decision to start staying clean and sober, you are likely to find at times, you are not completely sure what to do with yourself.
The tricks are finding ways to keep ourselves busy, especially when Friday night comes around.
If you’re new in recovery, here are some clean and sober ways to have fun on the weekends.
Volunteer
Most addicts who are stepping into a new life of recovery, finding a purpose can be a real big challenge. This is normal for lots of addicts, who have been so used to spending so much time and energy into altering the state of your mind.
Once you have made the decision to stay clean, it’s always a good idea to look for fun activities that fulfill you.
Giving back to our local communities by volunteering at food banks and homeless shelters are great ways to stay sober and help someone that’s not in recovery yet. It’s also a great way to meet new people who share some of the same interests as you, other than partying.
Host a Recovery Party
Call all your family, support group, friends in recovery and your sponsor. Let them know you are hosting a recovery party for all the want to attend.
Since your the person hosting the party, make sure that those who will be attending are clear that this is going to be a clean and sober party, and that there is absolutely no drugs or alcohol allowed.
Plan some fun games or activities for your recovery party.
Here are some great ideas:
- Have a big BBQ
- Play some sports
- Go swimming
- Take everyone hiking
- Build a big bonfire and have a recovery meeting
- Play some cards or board games
- Play some recovery slow pitch baseball.
- Play poker for push ups
- Play pin the tail on the donkey
Join a Recovery Sports League
There are so many good reasons to look forward to playing sports when you are trying to stay clean and sober.
For one thing, it is really difficult to play a sport when you are getting high or trying to cure a hangover. Sports are social, which means you have a built-in a support structure of friends and teammates. Exercise of any kind releases dopamine to the brain, which can be beneficial as you make the transition away from drugs and alcohol.
In Surrey, B.C., just 20 mins outside of Vancouver, Canada, there is a recovery slow-pitch softball league that plays every Saturday in the summertime.
When drug and alcohol interventionist Andy Bhatti first got clean almost 11 years ago he used to play baseball every Saturday in the recovery league. Andy says it’s one of the best support systems he ever had in recovery. He got to learn how to be a team player, connect with other recovering addicts who also have a desire to stay clean and sober and learned how to have healthy relationships with men and women.
It was also another way to support other addicts trying to stay clean. Andy has built amazing life long friendships from playing in the recovery slow pitch tournaments and on different recovery teams all over Vancouver.
Support for Maintaining a Successful Recovery Plan
It’s really important to take a proactive approach to maintaining your recovery.
Making your sobriety fun is an important part of staying clean. Andy Bhatti Interventions & Addiction Services operates outpatient addiction treatment programs in Vancouver B.C. and Calgary, Alberta, that has been designed specifically for men and women trying to stay clean after treatment.
We offer online aftercare programs to help graduates of addiction treatment programs stay in touch with their recovery community peers, sponsors and interventionists from anywhere in Canada.
For more information on getting into an addiction treatment centre in Calgary, Vancouver, or western Canada, aftercare programs or drug and alcohol interventions, go to our website at www.Andybhatti.com or call toll free 1-888-963-9116.