As you progress through treatment, it’s common to feel as if you need some social element as a part of your recovery. Safe socialization and making friends in recovery is a huge part of healing. It’s common to feel a little uneasy, scared or otherwise out of place at first but as time goes on things get better and more comfortable—even in terms of socializing and making friends.
Featured Rehab Center
Before you take the leap and start making new friends in treatment, consider the following:
Safety comes in numbers so before making a decision to meet with a new potential friend outside of treatment, consider a group outing that keeps you with others.
Keep in mind that friendship is often about listening and understanding—be a good listener just as you would like someone to listen to you.
Don’t be afraid to step outside of your comfort zone—new friendships are often built when two people step out of their comfort zone.
It is likely that any friend you make in rehab has similar recovery goals as you do.
As a result of addiction, it’s common to have a problem with trusting others and with trusting yourself to make good judgement—especially in social situations. If you’ve met someone in treatment that you believe would make a good friend outside of treatment, don’t immediate pass the potential relationship off as a negative option simple because you met the person in treatment—remember, you’re in treatment too!
Most of the people who are in recovery are also much like you and looking for a good, clean friendship with likeminded individuals who share similar recovery goals. If you continuously see an individual in treatment, there’s a good chance they are taking the same exact steps you are towards getting well—and there’s a great chance that they are also looking for a friend.
However, don’t drop your guard to a point in which it jeopardizes your healing and recovery. Remember that triggers, spending time with the wrong people, or being confronted with stressful situations can quickly lead to relapse if you’re not careful so keep in mind, when meeting new friends, that your first focus must always be on your recovery and healing.
More Questions?
If you have more questions, call our helpline toll-free to talk with someone who can explain more to you about what it’s like to make friends in treatment. We can even help you find a treatment program near you for immediate help. Call 888-646-0635Who Answers? for assistance.
Cocaine addiction has many related consequences and problems that arise when the drug is being used regularly, but what are the long term concerns associated with cocaine addiction? How do you live past a cocaine addiction? Do the health problems stop when you stop using? Do long term effects of cocaine addiction get even worse….
Free rehab facilities can be found all over the country, and patients who would otherwise not be able to afford inpatient rehab (or even outpatient rehab) can benefit from this treatment. There are also many facilities which do not offer completely free treatment but allow patients to pay either on a sliding scale or a….
When dual diagnosis—the presence of an additional condition along with an addiction—is a factor in someone’s addiction, their treatment plan should take it into account. Residential treatment centers often modify their treatment plans in the case of dual diagnosis, which you should keep in mind as you call . If you have a dual diagnosis,….
An individual who drinks or uses drugs is not necessarily addicted to the substances of choice but how do you tell the difference between substance abuse and actual dependence? Many people who casually use drugs or alcohol can do so on a casual basis for years without ever actually becoming dependent on the substance but….
When you first enter into a drug rehab program the most important relationship you will make is that between yourself and your drug rehab counselor. Not only do you have to feel comfortable with your drug rehab counselor but you must also be accepting and willing to work together on your addiction treatment. The experience….
Heroin rehab treatment provides addicts with the tools and guidance needed to take back their lives from addiction. During rehab, recovering addicts go through an intensive process that’s designed to lay the foundation for living a drug-free life. Once a person completes rehab treatment, he or she enters a new stage of the recovery process…..
None of them choose to have this dangerous disease, but suffer from it nonetheless. Fortunately, there are rehab centers that specialize in this type of addiction and the treatments for it. There are several treatments that you may find at an opiate rehab center. Medication Assisted Treatment There are two traditional treatment approaches for opiate….
It can be very troublesome to watch your husband, the absolute love of your life, drink his life away to mere disaster but how can you help? Many wives struggle with the idea of trying to find help for an alcoholic husband who has simply spiraled out of control and, although some do muster up….
For many people, alcohol rehab marks a turning point in their lives. During treatment, a person unlearns destructive, addiction-based behaviors and replaces them with healthy ways of thinking and interacting in the world. After completing alcohol rehab, those in recovery must learn to navigate around the people, places and things that trigger old drinking behaviors…..
The effects of addiction on the brain and mind create an obsessive mindset that “naturally” leads to criminal type behaviors when drug supplies are lacking. Trends on drug abuse and crime reflect this pattern of behavior and account for a good percentage of the prison population in general. It’s no secret how addiction takes over….
Calls to numbers on a specific treatment center listing will be routed to that treatment center. Calls to any general helpline will be answered or returned by one of the treatment providers listed, each of which is a paid advertiser.
By calling the helpline you agree to the terms of use. We do not receive any commission or fee that is dependent upon which treatment provider a caller chooses. There is no obligation to enter treatment.