Learning how to have fun again without drugs and alcohol is one primary concern for those who struggle with substance use disorder. In addition, learning how to rebuild and create a different lifestyle free from substances is a common question people have in addiction recovery. Fortunately, going through addiction treatment teaches you how to have fun again without substance use.
What if you have been through treatment and are still wondering how you can instill happiness or find new ways to have fun again without substances? Understand that you are not alone. Many individuals are out of treatment and pointing their lives in a healthier direction, but they still struggle with figuring out how to have fun again without substances.
You Are Not Alone
Understand that you’re not alone. You are not the only one that may feel hesitant to let others know that you don’t know what you should be doing or how you should be living life after coming back from treatment. Many individuals hesitate to let other people into that part of their soul, but remember that your journey is your own.
Common Challenges
No one ever said a substance-free life would be easy. Often the ability to have fun without substances is a common obstacle people have that can lead to relapse. When you leave treatment, your friends and family may try to distract you with happier environments like sporting events. However, they may not understand that that type of atmosphere may ignite a triggering event or a challenge for you.
You understand that the atmosphere may be a challenge; therefore, you choose not to attend, and now you may feel like you are missing out on an experience for an event where you used to have fun. Fortunately, thousands of individuals question how life can be fun again without drugs or alcohol, sometimes even years into recovery.
Your Reward Circuit
As you may have learned in treatment, drugs and alcohol alter the way your brain works. Therapy may have also taught you that as you develop new habits and instill new lifestyle choices, life around you starts to change. Your perspective starts to change after you get sober, and your emotional, physical, and mental well-being also begins to change. Therefore, it’s par for the course that the ideas of rewards and desires could change once you get sober.
When you look at what makes you happy, your brain reacts in a way that stimulates a response. Over time, the response stimulates the reward circuit and reward system in your brain. When your brain recognizes you are acquiring desires and happiness, the reward circuits start firing off. When you use drugs and alcohol, this part of your brain starts over-firing. An excess of dopamine is produced, and eventually, you will no longer feel joy from activities that are not using or drinking.
Thousands of individuals don’t understand why it’s so challenging to beat addiction; it’s because the spark of using drugs and alcohol helped fire off the reward circuits in the brain. Now that they are free from the substances, the brain is in the process of healing and trying to find ways to stimulate its reward circuit.
Therefore, finding ways to identify how to stimulate your reward circuit after addiction treatment is crucial. By learning how to do this, you can learn to have fun again without substances. Learning how to have fun again without drugs alcohol and stimulate your brain’s reward circuit without being too critical of every situation can help you in your recovery journey.
Ways You Can Have Fun Without Drugs and Alcohol
If you can relate to the common question of wondering how you can have fun without drugs and alcohol, you might be surprised at the unconventional ways and activities that meet this need. For example, have you recently visited a museum or live theater? Many individuals find that keeping distracted as their brain begins to adapt to a life without drugs and alcohol can instill new happiness and desires.
Finding places that keep your brain moving forward is the key to distraction. This re-teaches your brain that there are thousands of ways to have fun without substances. In addition, the information learned in a hobby class or a volunteering opportunity may teach you something new about yourself and give you something to explore.
Other unconventional ways to have fun in recovery include photography, writing, exercise, getting out, or connecting with your peers from recovery. If you surround yourself with people also pursuing a lifestyle free from substances, you will be more dedicated to establishing and maintaining the fun and re-teaching yourself how to have fun without drugs and alcohol.
After treatment, you may be wondering how you can have fun again without using drugs and alcohol. The reward circuit in your brain has only been firing when you use substances. You must find new ways to stimulate this part of your brain and re-teach yourself that drugs and alcohol are not the only way to enjoy life. Therefore, it is vital to your recovery to find substance-free activities. If you still struggle with learning to have fun without drugs and alcohol, The Guest House wants to help you in your recovery. We believe your participation in activities will help you maintain long-term sobriety and help you move forward in a new healthier direction. As you discover new talents and experiences, the fun in life begins to unfold. If you want to learn more about how to have fun again without drugs or alcohol, call The Guest House today at (855) 483-7800.