Unless you live in the Southwest or Southeast, there is good chance that you are feeling the chilling effects of winter weather right about now. If that is the case, it is likely you are already pining for warmer weather which, thankfully, is not far away with the beginning of February knocking on the door. But, for young people who have been hitting their textbooks all winter—the end of the school term, and with it warmer weather, might seem like forever.
Every Spring, thousands of young adults make a pilgrimage in search of more tropical climates, i.e. South Florida or Mexico. For many, the reprieve from studies and less than desirable weather, is needed (borderline mandatory), if they are expected to trudge through to the end of the semester. Those planning to take a week off in the company of better weather, usually do more than just bathe in the sun. Spring Break is notorious for young adults consuming copious amounts of drugs and alcohol.
Naturally, being in an environment surrounded by peers partying all week, would be considered not the best idea for young people working a program of addiction recovery. The temptation to use or imbibe may be too strong to resist, the risk of relapse is extremely high. If you are a young male or female working a program, you may be thinking that you are not able to take part in any sort of Spring Break? Lest you put yourself at risk of relapse.
In a normal Spring Break setting, you would be right to be fearful of beach activities with people not working towards the goal of abstaining from drugs or alcohol. However, over the last 8 years more than 1,000 young people in recovery have been able to enjoy Spring Break without drinking or drugging at what are known as Clean Break events.
A Clean Break This Spring
It may seem premature to discuss Spring Break when February has not even begun. Although, tomorrow is the deadline for you and your recovery peers to RSVP for Clean Break. Every week in March, young people in recovery will be staying at The Sandestin Golf and Beach Resort in Miramar Beach, FL.
If you were thinking that you would have to lay low while everyone else in college heads to tropical weather for a week, that is simply not the case. The Clean Break experience is affordable, fun and puts recovery first. No matter when your school schedules Spring break, you and your friends can head south between: March 6-11, 13-17, 20-24 or 27-31st. The organization states:
A week at Clean Break provides a solution for the college student in recovery who would have to choose between isolating on an empty campus or tagging along with friends who are not sober and hoping they don’t use drugs or alcohol. Clean Break is an affordable peer based recovery event for college students during Spring Break, that creates new relationships, supports recovery, provides new ideas for sober fun, all in a safe group setting.”
Enjoying Life in Recovery
On page 132 in the “Big Book” of Alcoholics Anonymous, it states, “…we aren’t a glum lot. If newcomers could see no joy or fun in our existence, they wouldn’t want it. We absolutely insist on enjoying life.” There is a lot of truth to be found in those words. Addiction recovery is not about turning your back on fun, turning into “shut-ins.” If that were the case, it would seem, that few would be able to stay the course. Alternatively, much of recovery is about building and maintaining healthy relationships with people working towards a common cause. Relationships that are not contingent on drugs or alcohol.
At PACE Recovery Center, we understand the value of having fun in recovery. We are a proud sponsor of Clean Break, and strongly encourage young adults to take advantage of these types of opportunities. If you decide to attend, there is a good chance that your program will become stronger as a result, on top of making friends who you would have otherwise been unable to meet.
