Every day people wake up, get dressed, brush their teeth, go to work, and start their day the same way. In other parts of the world, it may look different. They may not have the same access to clean water, a house, or even food. When thinking about the blessing of recovery, it is easy to lose focus, but giving back to others, and not focusing on what you can get, can really help build a hope-filled recovery, rather than one that is lacking in hope or faith that things will get better.
Why Giving is Better
A guiding principle of 12-step programs, along with most of the recovery, is about working better with others. People who have the gift of recovery make it a priority to give back. This may be in small ways at first, like hosting people at their house, getting together with people and organizing that, working with others in a team to move forward in sobriety. Working with others is going to help boost confidence, but also stretch the imagination to think about ways to find hope and healing in recovery that is not focused just on you. Working with another sponsor to help someone who is new to recovery can be helpful to you and them. Guidance is key early on to success in recovery because it shows someone cares.
How to Get Started
When you think about ways to give back, there are myriad ways to do this in recovery. You can help point people towards hope in recovery by telling them they can survive anything if they survived addiction. Relationships are more meaningful in recovery and, even with a struggle, there is hope. Working with people helps remind them you are allowed to get outside yourself. Some ways to focus on others might include:
- Volunteer with others struggling in recovery (or not yet in recovery)
- Give back in the community
- Seek opportunities to spread positivity to the elderly or animals, who tend to be most neglected
- Share space with others who just want someone to talk to
- Go find a hobby that lets you interact with youth or young people struggling in their lives and try to encourage them to stay away from drugs or alcohol
- Speak about your story, write, and share so others know about your journey
There is hope and healing on the other side of addiction recovery. It all depends on your point of view. If you want to feel hopeless, you will. If you struggle with hopeless thoughts or feelings, maybe you need to check in with a healthcare provider who can help you navigate recovery better with different medication or change of therapeutic support. Don’t let despair from addiction keep you from going out and serving others. Let it boost your confidence that your story matters and you can use it to inspire others still struggling.
The Guest House is based on a Therapeutic Communty model. We help people learn how to live free of addiction. Our community support provides structure while trained counselors offer life skills training and therapeutic techniques to help you move past addiction. Our program provides special focus for professionals including chiropractors, nurses, doctors, lawyers, and more who need help with addiction recovery. Call us to find out more: 855-483-7800.