Relationships are a part of our everyday life. Whether it’s our relationships with ourselves, our significant others, our coworkers, or even the mailman, relationships are part of what defines us and make us who we are.
Unfortunately, when battling addiction, many of these relationships become fractured, including our own relationships with ourselves. Repairing those broken relationships as well as forming new ones is an integral part of the overall recovery process.
Developing healthy relationships in recovery, whether it be with ourselves, others, or both, is just one of the many things that we can do in order to help us be successful in our recovery journey.
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Why Healthy Relationships Are Important
It’s not just important to have a relationship with both ourselves and others, it’s important that those relationships we have are healthy ones. This is even more so in recovery.
Creating healthy relationships not only helps us grow and evolve, but they also give us a purpose. While getting clean and sober is important for our own overall health and well-being, it’s nice to be able to share the journey and accomplishments with those around us.
In order to have a healthy relationship with others though, we first have to have one with ourselves. Our relationship with ourselves determines how we go about life and, in turn, how we have relationships with those around us.
How to Set Healthy Boundaries
Boundaries are an important part of any relationship, especially in early recovery. While having healthy relationships, whether they be romantic, plutonic, or both, are important, it’s also important to not allow those relationships to take priority over your sobriety and recovery journey.
Jumping into a romantic relationship, or a toxic relationship, too soon after getting sober can actually be detrimental to your recovery and can increase the risk of relapse. That’s why many treatment professionals recommend not entering into a romantic relationship for at least the first year of your sobriety.
When the time does come to have a relationship of any kind in recovery, setting boundaries right away is important for both parties. For you, setting boundaries can help avoid situations where old triggers or unhealthy habits can arise. For your new friend or romantic partner, it can help with their expectations as well as help them better understand who you are as a sober person.
How to Remain Accountable In Your Relationships
Formulating new relationships, or even repairing old ones with family members can be an exciting time during recovery. You get to show everyone this new person you have become and get to have a fresh start. It’s important to remember though that in order to be this new person that you are enjoying being, you have to work every day at it.
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While it might be easy to get lost in your relationships as a newly sober person, you can’t allow those relationships to get in the way of your sobriety journey and prevent you from continuing to work on yourself.
You need to make sure to stick to your recovery plan and continue to hold yourself accountable. As you continue to progress in your new, sober relationships you can even enlist those around you to help keep you accountable for your sobriety should you need the extra help and motivation, or even just as another way to take those closest to you on the journey with you.
Building Healthy Relationships in Recovery
While relationships are an important part of our lives, it is also important to make sure you are forming healthy relationships, especially in recovery. Unhealthy relationships, or forming relationships too soon, can be detrimental to your mental health and addiction recovery.
If you or a loved one is suffering from substance abuse or addiction in Anaheim or throughout California, and are looking to start the recovery process, look no further than Restorations Health Care.
We are a drug and alcohol inpatient detox and residential addiction treatment center serving Anaheim and the greater Southern California area. For more information on the treatment options and treatment programs that we offer, call us at 877-578-0708, fill out a contact form on our website, or speak to one of our live chat representatives.
