Addiction recovery can be a lonely process. No matter how many friends and family members line up to support you, they can only understand your struggle to a limited degree. For those who have not dealt with addiction before, your specific needs and problems can only be seen on an academic level, without the bone-deep understanding an addict has for substance abuse and recovery. But there are groups of people who can understand your struggles as a recovering addict, for they are there themselves. Finding community is possible if you discover the power of support groups in recovery.
We’ve probably all seen support groups for addiction in some movie or another. We think, therefore, we know what it’s like: a group of strangers, sitting in uncomfortable chairs in a church basement or empty rec room, sharing stories while sipping cheap coffee and eating stale doughnuts. We have been inured to their true value by cheap, silly depictions in entertainments that have other priorities than accurate depictions of addiction support.
But addiction support groups are vital gatherings for recovering addicts to develop a sense of community with others who have experienced similar struggles with substance abuse. They are a veritable lifeline for recovering addicts to find like-minded peers who have dealt with the same harrowing experiences of addiction and all its accompanying ills.
Support groups can help bolster weakening resolve, allowing wavering addicts to reinforce their willpower to resist cravings and avoid relapse. They provide the recovering addict with a group of listeners who, when hearing of the addict’s thoughts and struggles, can not only nod sympathetically, but offer actual advice of a practical value and offer true empathy rather than just pity.
Support groups often offer newly recovering addicts assistance in the role of a sponsor, too. This sponsor serves the role of a mentor, advising the newly recovering addict, answering questions, offering moral support, being there when the addict is feeling in danger of relapse and more.
Finding a support group that can lend such aid and community should be a priority for any recovering addict on leaving rehab and moving into the next stage of addiction recovery.
Good Landing Recovery can help with that. As a faith-based addiction treatment center, it also has contacts with many addiction support groups and can help connect patients with groups in their area to help them find a supportive community near them.
Addiction recovery can be a difficult process, particularly in the early stages, and it can be even more difficult when you feel alone and disconnected from anyone who understands your plight and your struggles.
A good addiction support group can put the lie to that isolation and end that loneliness by giving you a community of other recovering addicts who value your recovery as much as their own.
Finding such a community and utilizing the power of support groups in recovery can be invaluable for the newly recovering addict. Good Landing can help you make that connection and find your way to a greater recovery with help from such a community. Give them a call today.