It Takes A Village: A Connected Recovery Community Helps Maintain Sobriety

Social withdrawal within addiction is not uncommon. “Battling addiction to drugs or alcohol can leave people feeling as though they are completely isolated,” writes Erica Smith, a National Certified Counselor specializing in addiction treatment.

The lack of support from family and friends can leave these people stuck in the insidious cycle of substance abuse and addiction. When people make the brave decision to seek treatment to overcome their addictions, however, they are freed from this world of isolation.

Getting to treatment, however, requires overcoming significant obstacles both inherent to addiction itself and, for some, very specific barriers inherent to your personality. Often, the very characteristics that propel your accomplishments within your chosen field can also construct a wall between you and recovery; your independence, self-sufficiency, and success suddenly serve to keep you locked in a state of addiction.

But recovery is not a solo venture. As sober coach Patty Powers likes to say, “A network is the key to getting sober because an addict alone is in bad company.” Nor does need for support end with residential treatment; the journey toward recovery is ongoing and should be richly populated by support sources, a concept that can be difficult to negotiate with your feelings of self-sufficiency.

However, Granfield and Cloud note, “Though we live in a society that glorifies a meritocratic ideology of ‘pulling oneself up by the bootstrap,’ it is largely a cultural myth.” This concept can feel counterintuitive for those for who perceive their success as being rooted in meritocratic individualism and, indeed, counter to whom you believe yourself to be. But research shows us again and again that people with strong, connected recovery communities are more successful in attaining long-term sobriety and that it truly takes a village to heal.

Your recovery community should begin to take shape from your first contact with your treatment facility and continue to be fleshed out during and after your time in residential care. Ideally, this community will consist of:

A Residential Treatment Team

Your treatment team will create the foundation for everything that comes after your time in residential care. It is vital to seek out the best professionals available to you to make that foundation as strong and resilient as possible. Your treatment should be grounded in a medical approach that integrates a variety of empirically supported treatment modalities, holistic therapies, and 12-step peer supports to give you multiple avenues toward recovery.

Friends and Family

Your friends and family are an invaluable resource both in treatment as you reintegrate back into your everyday life. The love, empathy, and sense of belonging you have with those closest to you give you strength and nurture your spirit as you embark on this new chapter in your life. Often, however, friends and family can be the most difficult to reach out to due to fear, shame, and the damage addiction may have done to your relationship. Some relationships may have to rebuilt slowly and you may want to seek out family or couples therapy to facilitate that process. Others may surprise you with their willingness to offer immediate support.

Physicians and Individual Therapists

If your time in residential treatment has uncovered underlying mental health disorders or you have started a course of relapse prevention medication, transitioning your medication management to an outpatient physician is imperative to maintaining your care. Your residential treatment team should work with your outpatient physician to ensure that this transition is seamless. An individual therapist allows you to continue and build on the therapeutic work you have engaged in while in residential care and gives you continuous, one-on-one monitoring as you navigate sobriety.

12-Step Support Groups

12-step support groups are the cornerstones of many people’s recovery journeys, serving as a welcoming space where you can find support and community virtually anytime, anywhere. While you may worry that you will not fit in at a 12-step support group, chances are that you will quickly understand why so many turn to these meetings as a way of continuously rededicating themselves to sobriety. Over time, you may take on a mentoring role within these communities, a step that can be particularly healing as you are able to share your own wisdom and experiences to contribute to others’ sobriety, enhancing your sense of purpose.

In addition to meetings, 12-step groups can introduce you to a broader social community of people who, like you, have struggled with addiction. Some groups organize outings, dinners, and parties, allowing you to have enjoyable social experiences without drugs or alcohol and helping to forge bonds with others who understand what you are going through. These can be particularly important if you have had to remove yourself from your pre-treatment social group in order to avoid triggers and relapse.

Sober Companions and Coaches

For some, sober companions are an essential part of the recovery process, particularly if you have multiple relapses in the past or are returning to an environment with overwhelming triggers. Sober companion services are tailored to your unique needs, from spending a few hours with you on a daily basis to 24-hour care, and these arrangements may change over time depending on where you are in your healing. You may also want to enlist the services of a sober coach, who can work with you in-person or remotely on a timeframe that suits your individual needs and schedule. Sober coaches have often been where you are and can serve as a powerful source of support as you return to your personal and professional life, with some offering assistance specifically for executives and others in high-stress professions.