For a lot of people, a part of recovering from their addiction is rediscovering who they are without the substances that they used to rely on. Some people might feel like they need to find a whole new identity outside of drugs or alcohol. This process can take time and be incredibly difficult.
That’s especially true now, in the middle of a pandemic, while many people are self-isolating and finding themselves struggling with loneliness and boredom. However, if you can find the motivation to be productive through all this, the downtime is a great opportunity to rediscover parts of your personality that never had a chance to shine while you were dealing with an active addiction.
The Importance of Hobbies in Recovery
Many addiction recovery programs encourage participants to find a hobby as part of their overall lifestyle change. Experimenting with hobbies to find new things you love to do can help strengthen your sense of self-worth, prevent boredom, and help you connect with new people who have similar interests.
Finding an at-home hobby can be especially important if you’re worried you may be susceptible to relapsing while in self-isolation.
Hobbies give you a definite goal to work on. This helps with recovery in a couple of ways – first, it gives your mind less time to wander, helping to eliminate boredom (a common relapse trigger). Secondly, working towards a specific, measurable goal can help your brain’s reward system to recover by promoting healthy feelings of satisfaction.
Finding A New Hobby
What are you already good at? Maybe you were a soccer star back in high school or perhaps you’ve always had a natural talent for drawing. Now’s the time to learn how to improve these areas you’re already skilled in. Head outside to practice kicking a soccer or look up online tutorials to master the art of drawing.
What are you interested in? Ever watch shows like Cake Boss or Ace of Cakes and wish you could decorate a cake half as good as they do? Or maybe you’ve always thought it would be cool to write a book. Even if you have no prior experience with a particular skill or art, an interest is all you need to get started. Finding an in-person class to take might be difficult now, in the age of social distancing, but instructional YouTube videos, how-to blog posts, and good old-fashioned books are amazing tools for self-teaching.
All in all, whatever it is you decide to pursue, hobbies aren’t just a source of fun – they’re an excellent tool for your self-development in recovery.