Community in Sober Living
John Donne once wrote his Meditation, “No man is an island…every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main”. A man or woman who is on the journey of treatment and recovery for addiction cannot travel alone. This season of life is not a solitary, isolated one, but rather an opportunity to form real, intentional relationships. Who we surround ourselves with can make all the difference in the healing process.
Opportunities to form new relationship will present themselves through support groups, community interaction, and family and friends. Making the decision to live a sober life oftentimes means forming a new, healthy community in Sober Living environments filled with loved ones committed to walking with us on our journey.
Healthy relationships can be formed through
- Volunteering or giving back: Coming together with others to serve a worthy cause and give of yourself takes the focus off of you; volunteering with a single focus is an opportunity to form lifelong bonds with others.
- 12 Step programs: Studies have shown that help groups are vital to the recovery process, and developing some type of social network is an important part of treatment. Surrounding ourselves with likeminded individuals who understand and can provide us with support is invaluable.
- Religious activities: Creating new bonds on a spiritual level connects us with others in a unique way.
Why is Community Important?
Forming new, “dry” relationships may very well prove challenging, but the effort is worth the result.
Community in a sober living environment is important because it provides us encouragement when we make mistakes. When we need an ear that understands, we have a friend to depend upon. Our journey feels a little less lonely and much more possible.
Forming new friendships without the presence of drugs and alcohol means we are fully ourselves, with nothing to hinder who we really are. As we live our lives one day at a time, with a fresh perspective and a will to keep going, we can face these days knowing we are not alone.
We cannot live as an island, living alone out on the water without community. Take one step today to start building your own Community in a Sober Living environment.
