Using the New Year to Start Anew in Recovery

The New Year is a time of change for many. However, for those in recovery, the New Year can be both a stressful time as well as a time of opportunity. While alumni of Hawaii Island Recovery’s dedicated addiction treatment programs are still working to maintain their hard-earned sober transformations, using the New Year to start anew in recovery can always be a powerful experience. Knowing how to approach this time of year and how to set new expectations is paramount for approaching the New Year with renewed goals and a newfound perspective for a continued and healthy sobriety. 

The New Year is a time to look back on the journey of each alumnus throughout the previous year. For some alumni, this time can be filled with triumph and feelings of accomplishment, while other alumni may look back on the challenges and turmoil that addiction has brought into their lives and the lives of friends and family. However, both can be a potent force for change.

Using the New Year for its transformative potential can be difficult. Approaching this time of year with the right perspective and goals to make the most out of such a time of change is crucial for starting the year with the best possible plan for continued sobriety.

It can be difficult for many alumni of Hawaii Island Recovery’s dedicated addiction treatment programs to look back on life before navigating their sober change. However, this may also be a necessary practice to adopt a newfound perspective in life as an alumnus. While it can be difficult to face mistakes and feelings of guilt, shame, depression, and more, it can also be an important step in recognizing how far each individual has come in their recovery journey and their accomplishments along the way. 

Working with professionals and family can help each alumnus starting the New Year to look back on both accomplishments and mistakes and recognize how they have changed. For some, this can be their first sober New Year and something that should be celebrated. Others may look back on how they have overcome challenging urges and cravings while maintaining their sober transformations and pursuing personal and professional goals.

The stresses of continued sobriety throughout the year can make it difficult to truly recognize and celebrate the hard-earned accomplishments of each alumnus. Each new year is an amazing opportunity to draw attention to these accomplishments, reflect on how a person’s goals have changed, and celebrate changing perspectives and milestones for continued motivation and sober success. 

Just as looking back on past accomplishments can add a new perspective of achievements to each alumni’s life, using New Year’s resolutions can also be a powerful approach to the new year. New Year’s resolutions can often be overlooked. However, for those in recovery, they can also be an opportunity to truly sit down and set effective goals for the year to come. 

For many alumni, New Year’s resolutions can provide a clear structure for daily life and help focus further recovery efforts. While many New Year’s resolutions may focus on setting goals for their next sober milestone, others may also set goals for personal success, such as in professional life, or the pursuit of personal endeavors. 

However, using the New Year is a learned skill, and effective New Year’s resolutions should be carefully crafted to promote the best chances of success. When making a resolution, ensuring that each alumnus’s goals are realistically attainable within a year, can be accurately or objectively measured, and having smaller goals and milestones along the way that highlight progression toward these overarching goals is paramount. Family, loved ones, and professionals can all be instrumental in helping each alumnus set effective and realistic goals in their New Year’s resolution. 

A lot can change in a year. For many alumni, changing social groups, relationships, and more is not just common, but is a crucial part of establishing a sustainable approach to sobriety. Using the New Year to revisit plans and relationships can ensure that each alumnus begins the New Year with the best possible plans and up-to-date information based on their progress and continued recovery efforts. 

Working with family and professionals to update relapse prevention plans, update contact lists, and be complete with new and effective coping strategies, emergency contacts, and more is crucial. 

Using the New Year to start anew in sobriety also comes with personal endeavors. Exploring new hobbies and interests is a constant throughout our Hawaii rehabilitation, and the New Year is a great opportunity to try a new hobby or explore another interest, social group, or community opportunity. While this doesn’t mean that each hobby or interest will necessarily resonate with each alumnus, beginning each sober year with something fresh and new can reinforce feelings of change, motivation, and more, setting a positive tone in recovery for the year to come. 

Starting each year feeling motivated and refreshed is paramount to continuing to navigate the challenges of maintaining sobriety. Sobriety and recovery are lifelong endeavors, and we at Hawaii Island Recovery are prepared to help you maintain the profound changes made in treatment for a sustainable sober life. Our unique approach to recovery empowers each alumnus to make their own decisions on how to best approach their continued healing, both inside and outside of our walls. Our dedication to curating a community of peers and support also permeates each of our programs, ensuring that there are always supportive and sympathetic people helping you begin each year in sobriety right. For information on how our Hawaii rehabilitation can help, call (866) 390-5070.