Sober Saturdays: Importance of Recreation

Odds are anyone in recovery will tell you that staying sober involves more than just avoiding alcohol and drugs and reading The Big Book. Being well and staying sober requires a lot of lifestyle changes. This can include cutting ties with unhealthy relationships, avoiding triggering places, people, and events, as well as finding new ways to stay occupied and feel purposeful while in recovery. Addiction is exhausting - physically, mentally, and emotionally, and for some it can mimic a full time job. Because of this, people often find themselves with a lot of new free time now that they’re no longer engaging in using behaviors.

As a Recreational Therapist, my job is dedicated to helping people learn they can have fun in recovery, while teaching them that purposeful activities are critical to staying well. Its common for clients to say "I can't socialize unless I've had a couple drinks." or "I've never been bowling sober." My role is to assess client’s interests and use those to determine what recreation activities they may enjoy trying while in treatment. 

When talking about recreation activities and leisure time, the definitions are important to consider. Recreation "is an activity that is done for enjoyment when one is not working.” Leisure Time "is time when one is not working or occupied; free time.”  Basically, this means the things you do when you're not occupied with obligations like employment, taking care of children, or attending to personal needs like showering, going to a doctor appointment, or grocery shopping. 

Just as someone may take a daily vitamin or an antidepressant each morning to stay well, it's my philosophy that people need to have recreation activities they do on a regular basis to stay well. This can include going on a daily walk, weekly coffee dates with a friend, or if you're like me, watching an episode of Parks and Recreation for the 100th time after the kids go to bed. In addition to these regular activities it's important to have "PRN" or "as needed" recreation activities (aka coping skills) to use when we're having a particularly challenging time - similar to how someone may occasionally take ibuprofen for a headache.  Examples of these PRN activities/coping skills include deep breathing exercises, guided meditation, listening to music, mindfulness, and grounding techniques. While this philosophy holds true for everyone, it's especially important for people in recovery. If we don't find ways to live an enjoyable and fulfilled life and establish ways to cope with our symptoms and urges to use, it is easy to fall back into our old using habits.

It can be overwhelming trying to decide where to start when making a leisure lifestyle change. But, try to not over think it. My advice is this: just TRY something, ANYTHING, and see how you like it! Ask family and friends what they do for fun, then ask if you can join them. Use resources like Pinterest and YouTube to get inspiration and tutorials on how to try or learn new things. When deciding what to try, its important to consider a few things:

1) Just because you used to like doing a certain activity in your leisure time, doesn't mean it's fulfilling you now. It's okay to stop doing something if it no longer gives you joy.

2) Contrary, just because you didn't enjoy trying yoga that one time three years ago, doesn't mean you can't benefit from it now! Our leisure interests evolve, so don't immediately dismiss things you've tried in the past. Sometimes it takes a few attempts of a new recreation activity to determine if it's therapeutic to you or not.

3) Consider your triggers and early warning signs and make a safety plan if needed. If your new gym is next to the old bar you used to go to, consider exercising in the morning while the bar is closed. If you're attending an event where you may be around old using buddies or other toxic people, plan a quick way out if need be (if you didn't drive yourself) or bring a sober friend with you. 

4) Remember: recreation activities are things we do in our leisure time. Make sure these activities don't impact you negatively - like missing out on sleep because you binge watch an entire season of your favorite show in one night, or forgetting to feed the dog (and yourself) because you're too busy playing the new Animal Crossing. If our recreation activities impact our ability to take care of ourselves or our responsibilities, it's no longer therapeutic. 

If you're someone that enjoys the 12-Step format, consider ordering the "12 Steps to Sober Leisure" workbook by fellow Recreational Therapist Abigail Bernard. This workbook "incorporates the concept of leisure into the Twelve Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous and brings to light the devastating impact Substance Use Disorder has on a person's leisure, and, conversely, the restorative impact that healthy leisure activities can have on a person's recovery."  

If there is anything positive to come out of the Covid-19 pandemic, I believe that it has helped (or in some cases, forced) people to put a pause on daily life and reevaluate how they spend their leisure time. Chances are, most people’s lives and leisure time have been affected in one way or another, by being forced to work at home, losing a job, or not having access to community supports and activities they once enjoyed. Many people have had to be creative in finding new ways to occupy their time - Netfilx and Disney+ subscriptions skyrocketed, puzzles, books and outdoor games were flying off the shelves, and people are getting outdoors to enjoy nature now more than ever.  During these challenging times try to practice mindfulness and gratitude, and focus on the good. For my family, this pandemic has forced us to find new ways to connect with one another. We now end our day with a video chat with our extended family (Thanks, Facebook messenger!). Despite having loved ones out of state, we've coincidentally became closer than ever, and plan to continue this new ritual long after social distancing ends. 

Author: Andrea Tatge, Certified Recreation Therapist — Care Team Supervisor