The Importance of Getting Out There!

Professional therapy is a necessary step in addiction recovery in order to help someone learn to deal with all of the different ways that addiction has affected their lives. Addiction recovery enables someone to establish a safe and supportive environment while they navigate all of their emotions and vulnerabilities that come with addiction to drugs or alcohol. There are many perceptions in one’s life that have to be challenged and there needs to be time for someone to both deconstruct and subsequently rebuild their relationship with the world around them. These are complex problems that demand comprehensive therapy in order to address effectively. However, it is just as important to explore the “real world” at large while in recovery in order to understand how one’s progress is taking shape, as well as to inform the direction that someone wants to take in the future.

What Is the Recovery Bubble?

Recovery itself is a very structured, curated environment that enables someone to explore vulnerabilities, as well as experiment with various new therapeutic techniques and practice important coping and life skills. However, the nature of this recovery can inherently be limiting. The recovery bubble is an essential part of the recovery process, as it is necessary for someone to begin practicing the important life skills that they will need going forward.

By design, it is intended to be devoid of triggers that may inhibit the recovery process, in addition to being an understanding, supportive space. While the recovery bubble is important for someone beginning to explore their own recovery path, it is also necessary to be able to leave this bubble and understand the other trials that may await them during their reintegration into the world at large.

Why It Is Important to Explore the Real World

The “real world” continues to turn, even while someone is in recovery. While the safety that the recovery bubble provides is essential as a coping strategy and place of acceptance, it is important for someone to explore the real world in order to get a better understanding of how far they have progressed in recovery and how adept someone is at utilizing the appropriate grounding or coping skills in the moment of an unforeseen situation.

While it can be dangerous and stressful to experience triggers, it is also very important to know exactly what triggers someone responds negatively to in the real world so that they can be addressed while someone still has a consistent support system in place. Getting out also allows someone to put their various life skills to the test, from utilizing their voice to practicing conflict resolution and accountability.

These are all key elements that someone will deal with at some point in their recovery, so addressing their progress is important in establishing the strongest possible framework that someone can have before they wholly reintegrate into society.

Exploring Identity

Recovery is a communal effort, with established groups all supporting each other through each step of the recovery process. This companionship is necessary not just for keeping motivation high through the difficult times of recovery but also helping to prevent the feelings of isolation that can come with addiction, or even lead someone to relapse if their feelings of isolation become too pronounced.

However, exploring one’s identity to the fullest involves a real-world dimension as well. It is important to know who someone is through their recovery journey, but also who they are in the world at large. It is paramount to be given the opportunity to try new hobbies and establish one’s self in social groups and activities outside of the recovery bubble.

Bringing these social successes back to the recovery group can then help other people find their own places of belonging, and thus help the group as a whole explore who they are as an individual while also strengthening their own community in the process. Recovery as a whole is about challenging a lot of one’s self. It is challenging one’s relationship with drugs or alcohol and the connotations therein.

It’s about challenging the perceptions that someone has of themselves and of the society around them. Challenging one’s self to get out of the recovery bubble from time to time and get a grasp on where they are in recovery, as well as what triggers may be dangerous or what skills need more practice, is a valuable part of the process.

Each experience is important in discovering one’s own identity and progress through recovery, and being able to get out while still participating in a supportive, caring community environment during recovery can help someone dictate each of their next steps towards their own goals in sobriety.

Brighton Recovery Center takes pride in establishing an effective, supportive community at every stage of the recovery process. Each person in recovery can benefit from finding their own group of people with which they can share their goals and express their individuality. Brighton’s large, 6 building campus gives each person the opportunities to explore their own recovery. From social detox services and sober living to outpatient therapy and a comprehensive recreational center available to anyone either in treatment or who have graduated to alumni, Brighton Recovery Center provides a safe community for you to begin your own journey in sobriety. If you or a loved one are struggling with an addiction and are ready to take the first step, Brighton Recovery Center is available to help you through your unique situation. For more information about the programs offered, or for help with your own questions about recovery and the options available to you, contact Brighton Recovery Center today at (844) 479-7035.