Brandon Duncan

How important is it to practice hobbies in recovery from addiction? You might be surprised to learn that this is a crucial part of many addiction treatment programs. People who have made the positive life decision to break from habitual drug or alcohol use look forward to a big change in lifestyle. But what will that lifestyle look like? That’s a question that can make some people feel nervous about living in recovery. Thinking about practicing old hobbies or developing new ones is a great way to remove some of the uncertainty and fear about living a sober lifestyle. In fact, there are quite a few reasons why having hobbies in recovery can make anyone’s lifelong commitment to sobriety more successful and enriching. Let’s consider five of those reasons in this post:

Hobbies in recovery help prevent boredom

Who doesn’t like having free time? The truth is, too much free time in recovery from addiction can lead to a common relapse trigger: boredom! During active drug or alcohol addiction, substance use might have been one’s normal reaction to feelings of boredom or unrest. On top of that, those who have completed a program of residential addiction treatment are exiting from a highly structured lifestyle of planned groups and activities. Transitioning back into a lifestyle in which you have to create your own routines and activities can be tough, and having too much undirected free time is a recipe for falling back into old habits. Taking up new hobbies is a healthy, proactive way to have a solution to boredom that doesn’t involve thinking about drug or alcohol use.

Hobbies in recovery help with addictive thinking

Feelings of boredom go hand in hand with many kinds of addictive thinking that can lead to relapse. Being aware of the kinds of thoughts we have is crucial to relapse prevention. Thinking about and working on hobbies helps in this area in two ways: it helps keep our thoughts directed towards definite objects and goals, and it minimizes the amount of time that our minds are left to wander. If left to yourself, without anything to work on, it’s easy to fall into the traps of negative thinking, obsessing over things you can’t change, feelings of frustration or dissatisfaction, and other kinds of addictive thoughts. Learning a new skill, making arts or crafts, or participating in group activities are all useful tools for learning to keep your thoughts positive and productive.

Hobbies in recovery keep your brain’s reward system healthy

Another important aspect of recovering from a substance use disorder is promoting a healthy reward system. (Looking for info about addiction and the brain’s reward system? See our previous post.) In early recovery, the brain’s reward system is usually still damaged from the effects of addiction. That means it’s difficult to find a feeling of satisfaction in things that aren’t related to addiction. However, the reward system can heal. Actively practicing hobbies while in recovery helps people to reach the goal of rediscovering what it feels like to have a healthy, functioning reward system. It’s also important to understand that you might not see immediate results. Being proactive about practicing a craft or sport, for example, can go a long way toward helping your brain begin to provide that feel-good dopamine release that is supposed to accompany fun and productive activities.

Hobbies in recovery help you make new connections

Relapse prevention is largely about avoiding personal triggers for substance use. Triggers are the people, places, or things that are closely connected with one’s old habits of using drugs or alcohol. They’re called triggers because they “trigger” memories, feelings, and thoughts about using an addictive substance. Naturally, people who seek education and treatment for addiction learn that they need to be able to recognize and avoid their personal triggers. But it’s easier said than done, and people triggers can be the hardest to change.

That’s where the importance of hobbies in recovery comes in again. There are a lot of hobbies out there that help people connect to new social groups—think community sports leagues, book clubs, volunteering opportunities, or mutual interest groups. Connecting with new people gets us out of our heads and our old friend groups—reducing the chances of isolating behavior or falling back into old patterns of addictive behavior.

Hobbies in recovery help rebuild self-worth

It’s extremely common for one’s sense of self-worth to have hit a low point during an active addiction or in the early stages of seeking help. Addiction is often a continuing series of negative consequences that can have a debilitating effect on our self-esteem and general mental health. Recovering from addiction means not only acknowledging a brain disorder and mistakes made—it also means relearning how to have a sense of self-worth.

Practicing hobbies is a really effective way to rebuild this vital aspect of one’s life. Whether you’re finishing reading a book, putting the finishing touches on a craft project, or participating in a team sport, any of these kinds of activities can provide a feeling of accomplishment that makes life in recovery internally satisfying and full.

Opportunities to feel accomplished are like landmarks in a lifelong journey of recovery from addiction. It might be a challenging road, but practicing hobbies and pursuing new activities helps you to not feel lost.

The winter holidays are upon us, and for many people, that means more time to spend with family. That goes especially for parents with school-age children on winter break or older ones returning from college. It’s true that this can be a hectic time of the year, but many parents will want to carve out some quality time to connect with their kids. Although it might seem daunting to discuss addiction with your kids, the extra time over the holidays provides an opportunity to do just that.

Why use the holidays to discuss addiction?

So why bring up a subject that might make your kids uncomfortable, however briefly? For starters, your kids have probably already heard some things about the ongoing national addiction epidemic. The crisis of opioid and heroin use and drug overdose regularly makes headlines, and social-media-savvy teens and young adults are probably aware of the national discussion on the problem of addiction.

This is an opportunity to begin to discuss addiction with your kids. Having the subject so extensively covered in media makes it a little easier to have an unforced discussion about the risks of drug use. You might broach the topic simply by asking your adolescent children what they think about all the stories in the media about an addiction epidemic or the increases in prescription opioid and heroin use.

Even if it still isn’t easy, it is urgent and important. While many communities are trying to expand prevention and treatment resources, we’re still very much in the middle of a crisis of addiction. In the last decade the number of young adults (18-25) using heroin has doubled. Addiction does not discriminate by age, and people are encountering deadly drugs at ever younger ages.

And the risks are far worse than many people know. Drug overdose rates are still rising and becoming more fatal with extremely potent synthetic opioids like fentanyl on the streets. Those who use injection drugs often don’t realize the other kinds of health risks they’re exposing themselves to, like hepatitis or bacterial infections targeting vital organs. It’s dangerous stuff that can dramatically alter a young person’s life. So why not use an opportunity like the Christmas break to talk to your kids about drug use?

While any starter conversation opening up the topic of drugs and the addiction epidemic would be beneficial, let’s look at three specific reasons that some people might find it even more urgent to have this discussion.

If your family has a history of addiction

If there is a history of drug abuse or addiction in your family, there’s every reason to make sure your kids know the risks of addiction. That’s because they might have a predisposition toward addiction. Addiction is a brain disease, and inherited genetic factors can make a person more likely to get addicted if they use drugs. Having a family history of addiction makes it vital to know a little bit about the science of addiction. If you’re new to the subject, take a look at our post about why addiction is a brain disease—and don’t forget to share what you learned with your kids. Addiction education is one of the most important aspects of both prevention and treatment.

If you’ve seen some signs of potential addiction

The conversation we’re talking about is an urgent one if you’ve already seen some signs of a potential drug problem in your teen or young adult. This might be a reason not only to talk about addiction, but also to start thinking about treatment options. But let’s back up a bit. Are you confident that you would know if your kid was starting to abuse drugs or alcohol? Here are a couple of signs that something might be up:

• Behavioral changes: Any drastic changes in your kid’s behavior could be an indication of a developing drug problem. Some examples include changing friend groups, spending more time outside the home (and being vague about the details), falling school grades, or an inability to meet other responsibilities. Remember that these don’t necessarily equal a drug problem; rather, they can be signs of a potential problem.
• Personality or mood changes: Because addiction causes changes in the brain, you could expect to see changes in how your teen feels or expresses themselves under an addiction. Young people with a drug problem might seem more moody, angry, agitated, anxious, or depressed.

If your kid has had a past problem with drug use or addiction, it’s also a good idea to be aware of signs of increased risk of drug overdose. You can read about those signs in the previous Stepworks post, “Drug Overdose: 4 Signs Your Loved One Could Be at Risk.”

If your kid is entering a new environment

Transitions like entering high school or college, living on one’s own for the first time, moving to a new city, or starting a new job can expose your kids to new risks. There are a few reasons why, and they’re probably pretty obvious. New social environments might mean more exposure to recreational drug use. That’s a common anxiety that parents have when sending their kids off to college. But it’s increasingly a concern even for those entering high school or middle school.

In addition, the stress that can accompany major life changes can also make your kids more susceptible to drug use. Young people struggling to adapt to new living, educational, or work settings might turn to drug or alcohol use in an attempt to escape the stress. Take advantage of the holidays to check in with your kids to see how they’re coping with the changes in their lives. Make sure they’re aware of the resources available to them to help with stress, too. For example, college students can usually go to their campus student health center for physical or emotional health needs.

Have a conversation about addiction. Any conversation.

The kind of conversation to have with your kids over the holidays depends on what they’re experiencing. The three scenarios we’ve talked about in this post can provide some direction. However, the really important takeaway is to have some kind of conversation about drug use and addiction. Stigma still makes it difficult for some people to discuss addiction, so think of the holidays as an opening to check in on this important subject with your kids. When you know what’s going on in your kids’ lives, it’s a lot easier to spot a problem with addiction as it’s developing. Helping your kids avoid falling victim to the prescription opioid and heroin epidemic is a gift you can’t put a price on.