Why Community Is Crucial To Addiction Recovery 

Updated on August 15, 2022

Addiction treatment experts believe that three types of motivators usually drive a person’s successful recovery journey. The first type is the patient’s internal motivation to succeed, such as a desire to change their quality of life or fulfill a dream. The second type of motivator is based on social connections, such as wanting to start a family or reconnect with loved ones. The third type of motivation comes from the community the patient belongs to. If the patient belongs to a community that gives opportunities for them to heal from addiction and start anew, it becomes a strong motivation for them to take action.   

Among the three factors, having a supportive community is the most challenging for many patients recovering from addiction. For one, it can be difficult to cope with the societal stigma of substance addiction. Because of this stigma, recovering patients commonly face challenges when it comes to gaining the trust of employers, neighbors, and other members of the community. It can also be challenging to receive support from family, loved ones, or friends because of the negative image associated with substance addiction.   

If you’d like to know more about how having access to or being among a supportive, welcoming, and understanding group of people can significantly improve a person’s addiction journey, continue reading this article.   

  1. A Change In Environment Is Beneficial To Recovery  

Experts on psychology and human behavior believe that environmental influence is a significant factor contributing to a person’s habits, mindset, character, and outlook. A person’s quality of life is formed based on the opportunities and hindrances surrounding them and the influence of the people they regularly interact with.   

Because of its influence, a change in environment can be used to help a patient recover from addiction. For instance, joining a recovery community while receiving treatment for substance misuse disorders allows the patient to have new experiences, form new habits, and meet people with whom they can interact positively and build healthy relationships.   

On the other hand, moving to a safe, healthy, and supportive environment can help a patient avoid negative influences or stressful situations that can hinder recovery. At times, a person’s interactions with their social circle cause them to feel negative about themselves, which can adversely affect their healing process. A change of environment may be the best solution for patients to avoid harmful interactions or break away from toxic relationships.   

For many patients, joining a recovery center is one of the safest, most effective ways to have the change of environment that they need. These treatment centers offer all-inclusive packages to patients who want to receive continuous treatment, counseling, and therapy while staying in a facility that supports substance addiction recovery. It’s also easy to find one based on location by using the keywords ‘recovery center near me,’ which shows options of treatment centers nearby.   

  1. A Safe Community Allows People To Heal And Thrive  

While recovering from addiction, patients need to feel safe, heard, and supported by the people around them. Moreover, they’ll also need to be reassured that they can freely express their thoughts, emotions, and life experiences without judgment or prejudice. By being in a safe environment, people recovering from addiction can discuss their problems and get the help they need.   

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Joining a recovery community, for instance, allows participants to mingle with other patients who may have the same experiences, making it easier to build trust and feel a sense of belonging. Being with a community of people with the same goals can also help patients stay on track and motivated to work on their personal healing and recovery.   

  1. Making New Connections Have Health Benefits  

Do you know that making new friends can help improve a person’s health? Positive social connections, such as friendships and relationships, can strengthen the immune system, reduce anxiety and depression, and boost self-esteem. Because of its positive effects on physical health, joining a community where one can build healthy relationships and interact positively will be beneficial to overcoming substance addiction.   

Besides the benefits to physical health, the new connections a patient can build within the community can boost their social health. Making healthy connections and relationships with others is as important as physical healing because these connections fulfill the human need to socialize and interact with people around them. Moreover, positive interactions contribute to a person’s self-confidence, which can also be beneficial to recovery.  

  1. A Healthy Environment Allows Patients To Make Lasting Lifestyle Improvements  

A significant part of substance addiction recovery includes making lasting lifestyle changes. These adjustments to a patient’s habit, behavior, and decision-making help them unlearn destructive patterns that contribute to addiction. Furthermore, making lifestyle improvements helps patients restore their physical, emotional, and mental health, which are crucial to full recovery from addiction.  

For example, a recovery community that helps patients overcome addiction facilitates activities in which patients can participate. Through these activities, they can learn new skills, interact positively with instructors and other participants, and create a new lifestyle supportive of healing and growth.  

Here are some examples of activities that can help patients make lifestyle improvements that they can adapt to attain lasting recovery:  

  • Meditation classes  
  • Cooking classes and lectures about health and nutrition  
  • Physical exercises such as yoga, running, cycling, and others 
  • Sports and physical games  
  • Recreational activities  

Being in a healthy, supportive environment helps make a sustainable recovery while minimizing the risk of relapse in the long run. For one, patients will spend most of their time with people who can positively influence them, such as coaches, counselors, and therapists. By being around people who promote wellness and healing, patients can form new habits and feel more motivated to stay on track with their healing journey.   

  1. A Community Can Provide Moral And Emotional Support  

One of the biggest challenges of recovery from substance addiction is social isolation. It can seem daunting for recovering patients to open up to people and share their struggles, experiences, and thoughts related to addiction because of the social stigma associated with it. Some may feel shame, embarrassment, or fear and choose to self-isolate.   

As they choose to deal with their daily struggles silently, it’s common for patients to feel overwhelmed by the lack of support and connection with others. Because of this, some of them fail to resist temptations. People may choose to misuse substances to cope with unexpressed emotions despite their harmful effects. After a relapse, it can be challenging for patients to get back on track with their recovery plan without outside help.   

To reduce the risk of relapse, patients need access to a supportive social network where they can share their struggles or ask for help when needed. With a supportive community, patients won’t feel they need to handle everything alone, especially when experiencing difficulties. Instead, they’ll have people who can help them overcome challenges and stay determined to achieve full recovery.   

  1. The Right Environment Allows Patients To Be More Accountable And Consistent  

Consistency is key to forming lasting habits, which also applies when learning behavior that would help patients overcome substance addiction. However, remaining in the same environment that supports substance abuse and other activities harmful to a person’s well-being can make it challenging to stay on track with recovery. For this reason, patients can consider moving to a new environment that motivates them to remain consistent and take accountability for their healing.   

Being around people who receive the same treatments or attend the same classes can help patients remain focused and motivated to reach their goals. Also, being in a community that supports healing and recovery allows participants to hear real-time feedback if they’re observed to be struggling with temptations or urges related to addiction. When this happens, getting another person’s perspective can help the patient understand their behavior and work on the issues.   

Finally, recovery centers also encourage participants to interact while doing other activities unrelated to treatment or therapy. For instance, community members can play sports, paint, swim, or do various exercises for fun. These activities create balance essential to a healthy lifestyle, which is what participants are trying to learn and apply to their daily lives even after treatment. Moreover, as they spend time having positive interactions and fulfilling activities, patients will also have a sense of belonging to a supportive and loving community, which can help improve their mental and emotional state.   

Conclusion  

Patients recovering from addiction need a healthy environment that supports healing, growth, and learning. They also need to avoid triggering situations or people that can negatively impact their recovery process. For these purposes, it’s essential to have access to a safe, healthy, and supportive community that can provide patients with the help that they need to overcome addiction. Moreover, a recovery community should be where patients feel motivated to do the work necessary to restore their health and reclaim their life.   

Recovery from addiction can be considered a lifelong process, and patients can experience relapse. A treatment program may end, but the journey continues for the patients. Hence, building a solid foundation to facilitate long-term recovery and complete freedom from substance addiction is essential. To do this, patients should be given a chance to heal and thrive in an environment that fully supports their recovery.