With the onset of summer comes a wealth of new opportunities for alumni graduating from their residential program at Hawaii Island Recovery. However, this season also brings many unique stresses, expectations, and other challenges. Planning for a sober summer, whether it is a person’s first sober summer or not, is necessary to address and overcome the season’s unique challenges while using its advantages for continued healing as an alumnus.
The Challenges of Summertime for Those in Recovery
Alumni of Hawaii Island Reocvery’s professional addiction treatment programs are not “done” with their sober journey after leaving the facility, and many will still be tasked with overcoming stress, making changes, and furthering their sober goals while navigating urges, cravings, and other challenges. However, the changing seasons can also bring additional challenges that must be addressed.
For many, summertime can hold any number of deeply-held expectations. Thoughts of cookouts and barbeques can be ingrained in a person’s mind, many of which may come with expectations surrounding alcohol or drug use. Trips to the beach, parties, and any kind of social gathering can come with these expectations, each of which can bring stress, urges, cravings, and more.
The increased amount of daylight can also further these challenges. Although this increased daylight can have a myriad of positive benefits for those in recovery, the changing amount of light can also make it difficult to maintain an established schedule or routine, with an individual staying up later and needing to fill this time with new activities that can romanticize past substance use.
Planning for these challenges and a sober summer is always possible. Knowing where to begin can empower alumni to navigate the season and continue to benefit from its advantages while maintaining their sober goals.
Creating a Plan for a Sober Summer
Summer can be a time of change and opportunity. Preparing for the challenges of summer can ensure that alumni of Hawaii Island Recovery can continue to explore the benefits of the season while preparing for a healthy sober summer.
Create a Sober Social Network
Summer and social gatherings often go hand-in-hand, with many social functions and opportunities throughout the season. While alumni should not feel ostracized from social functions, an individual will have to be selective about which social groups to engage with, with some groups or cultures no longer conducive to a healthy and sober lifestyle. For some, working to establish boundaries and new expectations with established social groups can facilitate this sober change. Others may need to distance themselves from previous social groups and engage in sober communities. Continued outpatient treatment can be a great way to meet sober peers and develop a sober social network this summer.
Host Your Own Sober Summer Functions
Finding social opportunities for a sober summer can be difficult. Rather, some alumni may benefit from creating this sober culture themselves. Being the host of a social gathering, party, cookout, or any other kind of function can empower alumni to set expectations themselves, with clear guidelines on the absence of drugs or alcohol. This can also be a great way to explore new opportunities this summer while ensuring a safe and sober environment.
Alumni can especially benefit from hosting social functions around summer holidays, helping to redefine the cultures surrounding these days and establish new norms for sustainable sobriety for future celebrations. Hosting a celebration focused on a person’s sober milestones can also be a great way to embrace this new and transformed mentality, not only continuing to focus on sobriety and a person’s accomplishments but also further distancing themselves from unhealthy past practices.
Embrace Self-Care Opportunities for a Sober Summer
Self-care is a crucial part of healthy and sustainable sobriety. While summertime can bring stress and expectations, it can also bring new self-care opportunities. Embracing nature-based self-care outlets like hiking, swimming, walking, or running can be exceptionally beneficial. Furthermore, practicing meditation outside or engaging in spiritual routines in a natural environment can bring feelings of peace, freedom, and more to facilitate effective self-care this summer.
Avoid Social Media
Social media can be an intense source of stress for alumni of any treatment program. However, throughout summer, these stresses can be greatly exacerbated. Not only can social media feeds be filled with people attending non-sober functions and further romanticizing the use of addictive substances but even commercials for alcohol can be at their most frequent, bringing additional stresses and expectations that can be difficult to navigate. Avoiding unnecessary use of social media can be crucial for maintaining healthy expectations for a successful sober summer.
Sobriety takes constant effort, and an effective and robust plan for a sober summer is necessary to navigate this time. While there may still be challenges ahead, navigating a summer in sobriety can bring new opportunities for activities, self-care outlets, and cultures that can celebrate sobriety. Staying connected with sober peers, outpatient treatment facilities, and the professionals at Hawaii Island Recovery’s alcohol and drug rehab programs in Hawaii can empower each alumnus to celebrate their sober accomplishments and contextualize their challenges this season by working alongside sympathetic peers for a fulfilling sober summer.
The summer season can bring many exciting opportunities, but also many stresses, unhealthy expectations, and more. We at Hawaii Island Recover understand the need to have a dedicated plan to challenge and overcome these expectations while reshaping summer with new experiences. Our unique approach to recovery empowers you to not only explore your best options for establishing healthy sober practices this summer but also helps you prepare for navigating its stresses for sustainable sobriety. Our alcohol and drug rehab programs in Hawaii can also be personalized to address your unique concerns throughout summer or any other time of year. For more information on how we can support your continued sober change, call to speak to us today at (866) 390-5070.
