Legacy Healing Center Blog

How to Maintain a Positive Outlook During Recovery

The road from addiction to recovery involves many challenges, and finding joy in recovery can be difficult at times. There may be times when you’ll struggle and feel trapped, thinking no one else understands what you are going through.

In those times when you feel lonely, isolated, or hopeless you must remember that hope remains. No matter how difficult your life may be now, finding joy in recovery can bring peace and strength to enhance your path and achieve the lifelong sobriety you crave.

As part of our ongoing celebration of National Recovery Month in September, we’ve compiled some simple tips for finding joy in recovery:

Reach Out to Help Others

It’s incredibly challenging to overcome drug addiction on your own, and the support of friends, colleagues, and family members will be critical to long-lasting recovery. Unfortunately, not everyone is blessed with a strong support network, and those who have prevailed in their struggles against addiction can and should lend a helping hand.

Reaching out to support others on their road from addiction to recovery will be good for them, but it could be even better for you. Helping others is a great way to find joy in recovery, and that happiness can be infectious.

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Celebrate Sobriety Milestones

When you are recovering from a drug or alcohol addiction, every day that you spend clean and sober is a cause for celebration. So pat yourself on the back and find the joy in sobriety by celebrating large and small milestones.

These celebrations are part of many 12-step programs, but you can also celebrate on your own. If you want to find joy in recovery every day, reward yourself with something healthy that you enjoy, like an opportunity to get outside and do something you love to do.

Take Up a New Hobby

Finding new activities to occupy your time is a wonderful way to find joy in recovery. It could be taking up a sport you have always wanted to play, scrap-booking your journey from addiction to recovery, or even training for a marathon; if it brings you joy in recovery, then it’s vital to do it.

You can also find joy in recovery by rediscovering a hobby or pastime you once enjoyed. For those caught in the cycle of drug addiction, these kinds of diversions are often the first to go, and bringing them back into your life could go a long way to boost your happiness.

Surround Yourself with Positive People

Human connection is so important for those struggling with addiction. Surrounding yourself with positive people and influences can help you find peace to maintain your newfound sobriety for a lifetime.

If you look around, you can find these positive people and influences nearly everywhere. From the grocery store clerk who smiles while she rings up your order to the new coworker you befriend. Joy exists everywhere; all you have to do is find it.

Rediscover Your Lost Faith

It can be hard to maintain faith in a higher power when you are in the throes of addiction, and it is all too common for addicts who once had a spiritual life to lose their faith. Once you’ve achieved sobriety, why not reexamine what you believe in and rediscover your faith?

Some people find inner peace and strength by rejoining their old place of worship. In contrast, others instead reach out in a new direction, exploring other religious traditions and exploring a more faith-based belief in a higher power.  No matter which path feels right to you, this reexamination of faith and spirituality brings many to experience a sense of joy in their recovery.

Discovering how to maintain happiness in recovery might be easier than you think. If you look around, you will find plenty of reasons to be joyful and stay drug-free. Now that the dark days of active addiction are behind you, it is time to focus on what really matters, including the positive triggers that bring you lasting joy.

To find the joy and peace you seek in recovery, contact Legacy Healing Center today to learn how we can help you live a fulfilling and rewarding life. Call 888.534.2295, we are available 24/7 and calls are completely confidential.