Making friends as an adult can be a challenging but critical part of your recovery. School friends no longer surround you, so you have to explore other avenues. Forging new, healthy friendships helps your mental health and keeps you away from people and places that trigger you to drink or use. Here’s how to start building new sober connections.
How To Make Friends as an Adult in Recovery
Humans are social creatures! It may be hard to put yourself out there at first, but everyone needs the emotional support and accountability offered by other people. You don’t have to talk about your recovery if you aren’t comfortable. You may find that a mix of friends from in and out of recovery groups gives you the right sober support network.
Find Local Meetups
Online sites such as Meetup let you find people and groups with similar interests. You can start your own group if you have a specific interest that will keep you away from old behaviors and allow you to meet new people. You can also use groups, upcoming events, or other functions on social media sites to meet new people.
Get Into New Hobbies
Take up an instrument, start collecting things, or learn to cook healthy meals. Once you figure out what interests you, throw yourself into it and look for groups of people interested in the same things. Post pictures of your hobby across your social media accounts and connect with the people who respond.
Find an Exercise Group
If you can join a gym, that’s a great way to meet people. But you can also find individuals that get together to do yoga, go on hikes, or offer co-ed softball leagues for little to no cost. Finding sober friends through exercise helps you build a support system, and the exercise itself can help in your recovery.
Volunteer
Find something you feel passionate about. Animal shelters, food banks, and other community organizations always need help. The people you meet when you volunteer are like-minded, and relationships in a volunteer setting can quickly become solid friendships.
Share Your Story
When you are ready, put it out there that you are in recovery – maybe to your “Close Friends” on Instagram. While others may not want to share publicly, they might reach out via a direct message to tell you about their own situations. Your shared experiences can lead to a great friendship, even from across the country.
Find Brotherhood and Sobriety at PACE Recovery
The importance of building new connections starts at the beginning of your recovery. At PACE Recovery Center, we offer mental health and substance use disorder treatment while helping you forge bonds with other men in the community.
We offer inpatient and outpatient treatment rooted in evidence-based medicine. Each client receives an individualized assessment, followed by treatments such as individual and group therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, and specialized programs for men with dual diagnoses of mental health and substance use issues.
Get the treatment you deserve surrounded by other men fighting to regain their lives by contacting PACE Recovery Center. The first step is the hardest but can lead to strong new bonds and a healthier, happier lifestyle.
