Building a Support Network for Long-Term Recovery

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Building a Support Network for Long-Term Recovery

Traditional treatment programs focus on eliminating substance use. While sobriety is an important part of treatment, long-term recovery is not just about the addiction itself. Various components of your life must be addressed and supported to help you thrive in your life. One area of importance in recovery that is overlooked is the value of a support network during and after treatment. When you only focus on getting through treatment, you miss out on the opportunity to build tools that support independence.

Access to rehab centers that address your specific needs beyond treatment can be vital to recovery. At Rancho Recovery, we know how important a continuum of care is for lifelong recovery. Therefore, we are a rehab committed to giving you the tools you need to build a support network during and after treatment. With access to an individual, family-focused, and robust alumni support network, you can truly thrive in your daily life. We are truly with you on every step of your recovery journey to be the healthiest version of yourself.

Yet, you may have questions about how important a support network is for your recovery. Questioning the importance of a support network is understandable if many of your relationships have been tied to other people who misuse substances. Moreover, unhealthy relationships, whether the other person has a substance use disorder (SUD) or not, have likely contributed to the distress you feel in your life. 

However, a support network based on mutual respect and support can provide a wealth of tools for your well-being. Increasing your understanding of the value of a support network for recovery starts with understanding recovery. With a better understanding of recovery as a whole-person process, you can gain insight into your needs for a support network.

What Is Recovery?

According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), recovery is a process in which you:

  • Strive to improve your well-being
  • Live a self-directed life
  • Lead a fulfilling life

Another guiding principle of long-term recovery is hope. Hope in recovery encourages you to believe that you can overcome the challenges and conditions life throws at you. Recovery is a process of continual growth and self-improvement. Through recovery, you learn how to build resiliency to adapt to the ever-changing world and respond to challenges with healthy coping strategies. 

Moreover, as a holistic approach to care, long-term recovery treats your addiction and supports healing every part of you. With whole-person care and your support network, you can uncover the right path for healing that makes sense for you. The value of a holistic approach to recovery is the recognition that recovery is a deeply personal journey. 

Various pathways to recovery meet you where you are rather than try to fit you into a box. The individualized nature of recovery can support you in finding the path to recovery that fits you. As the Vermont Department of Mental Health (DMH) notes, ten fundamental components of recovery that support sobriety and a higher quality of life include:

#1. Self-directed

  • You define your life goals and work in collaboration with clinicians to design a path toward those goals

#2. Individualized and person-centered

  • Recognize that there are multiple paths to recovery based on your unique strengths and resiliency
  • Through person-centered care, your specific needs, preferences, experiences, and cultural background are integral parts of your recovery journey
  • Recovery is an ongoing journey that changes with you throughout your life 

#3. Holistic

  • Focused on healing the whole of your parts in mind, body, soul, and community
  • Addresses every part of your life, from your employment and education to your spirituality and support network
  • Recognize the role your support network plays in creating and maintaining meaningful opportunities for support

#4. Non-linear

  • Helps you recognize that recovery is not a step-by-step process
    • Rather, recovery is a continual path of growth, occasional setbacks, and learning from your experiences
  • Recovery starts the moment you realize that positive change is possible
    • With increased awareness that recovery is possible, you are empowered to become fully engaged in the work of recovery

#5. Respect

  • Engaging in systems and a support network that helps remind you of your rights and value as a person
  • In the deconstruction of stigma and discrimination, you have a support network to help foster self-acceptance and belief in yourself

#6. Hope

  • The notion that a better future is possible is internalized and fostered through your support network
    • You learn that you truly can overcome barriers and obstacles to lead a healthy and fulfilling life
    • In recovery, you uncover that you are a valued member of your community and society

#7. Empowerment

  • Empowered by choice as you can determine for yourself what options and resources make sense for you
  • You are in control of your destiny and influence the organizational and societal structures of your life

#8. Strength-based

  • In recovery, you learn how to value and build on your multiple capacities, resiliency, talents, coping abilities, and inherent worth 
    • Through the building of these strengths, you learn to let go of life roles that have hindered you and engage in more fulfilling life roles
      • Friend
      • Caregiver
      • Partner
      • Student
      • Employee
    • Through your support network, the process of recovery moves forward with supportive interactions and trust-based relationships

#9. Responsibility

  • You recognize and learn how to engage in your personal responsibility for your self-care and recovery journey
    • Actively participate in taking steps to set and achieve your goals
    • Work to understand and give meaning to your experiences 
    • Identify coping strategies

#10. Peer support

  • Building a support network with your peers gives you insight into lived experiences, knowledge, and skills
  • Through a peer support network, you encourage and engage each other in recovery
    • A peer support network
      • Sense of belonging
      • Supportive relationships
      • Valued roles
      • Community

Looking at the components of recovery highlights the value of independence, choice, purpose, and community in a support network. Although the thought of living independently in recovery may feel daunting, you have already been doing the hard work. The moment you realized that treatment was necessary, you started doing the work to build a healthier you. 

It is also important to remember you are not alone on this journey. Your peers in your support network are taking their version of this recovery journey, too. As SAMHSA notes, 50.2 million people in the United States consider themselves to be in recovery from SUD and or other mental health disorders. Remember that recovery is a process that can help you embrace the value of building a strong support network to continue growing.

Understanding the Value of a Support Network in Treatment

When people think of isolation and loneliness, it is often associated with older adults. Isolation and loneliness are still a concern for older adults, but it has expanded to other age groups, too. As noted by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), social disconnection has become a concern following the COVID-19 pandemic. Moreover, as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) states, social isolation and loneliness can harm your mental and physical health. Some of the increased physical and mental health condition risks associated with social isolation and loneliness include:

  • Heart disease
  • Stroke
  • Type 2 diabetes
  • Dementia
  • Depression
  • Anxiety
  • SUD

It may be difficult to imagine social isolation and loneliness having such a devastating impact on your life. However, understanding the definitions and differences between social isolation and loneliness can give you more insight into their impact. Social isolation can be defined as a lack of relationships with others and little to no social support or contact. Moreover, you do not have to feel lonely to experience social isolation. 

Loneliness is the feeling of being alone or disconnected from others. It disrupts your sense of belonging as you feel like you do not have any meaningful or close relationships. Your challenges with loneliness are a reflection of the difference between your actual and desired level of connection with others. For example, you can feel deeply lonely even if you have a lot of friends or are surrounded by people. 

The increased risk for SUD, along with anxiety and depression, highlights the significance of social isolation and loneliness. Challenges with isolation and loneliness are not only a risk for SUD but also for relapse. Your sense of belonging and sense of self are fractured by the loss or lack of social connections. Building a support network is a vital part of recovery and relapse prevention. The value of a support network can be seen in other recovery practices for resilience and independence in your life.

  • Building Resilience and Independence in Recovery

According to the Indian Journal of Psychiatric Social Work, resilience is your ability to engage in positive adaptation despite significant adversity. Resiliency allows you to mediate the harm of a stressful or adverse experience with your biological, psychological, and social resources. Listed below are some of the protective factors you can utilize to support your resiliency and independence in long-term recovery:

#1. Practicing acceptance

  • Flexibility and adaptability in the face of change equip you to more effectively respond to stress and adverse experiences throughout your life
    • Acknowledge that change is inevitable and out of your control
    • Focus on the things you can control
    • Allow yourself to feel those distressing feelings and move through them
      • Use this time to reach out and lean on your support network
    • Reflect on all of the times you have had to cope with stress, uncertainty, and change and made it through

#2. Engage in self-care

  • Difficulties managing stress can convince you that taking care of your needs and wants, like exercising and sleeping, is pointless
  • When you are feeling stressed, lean into self-care and make time for activities you enjoy
    • Participate in regular physical activity
    • Spend time in nature
    • Build a sleep routine
    • Eat nutritious foods
    • Build a meal schedule
    • Stay hydrated
    • Engage in mind and body relaxation practices
      • Yoga
      • Meditation
      • Mindful journaling
      • Prayer

#3. Building a support network

  • Reach out for support from your mutually supportive network
  • Being surrounded by caring and supportive people during difficult times reminds you that you are not alone
  • Your support network gives you a safe space to share your feelings and build adaptive solutions
    • Make time to spend time with and connect with your loved ones
    • Maintain your social connections and activities during difficult times
    • Remove negative and unhealthy connections from your life
    • Build new positive and healthy relationships with new friends
  • Participate in your community support network
    • Volunteer or join a civic organization
    • Join a faith-based community

#4. Increase self-esteem

  • Reminding yourself of your strengths and accomplishments helps you build confidence in your ability to cope with the stressors of life
  • Recognize negative thoughts and replace them with positive thoughts
    • For every negative thought, find a positive in it
      • Negative thought
        • I’m a bad friend
      • Positive thought
        • I make time for my friends, and I care about their thoughts and feelings

#5. Engage in optimism

  • Maintaining a hopeful outlook on different situations and life helps you understand the challenges and setbacks you experience are temporary 
    • Take things one step at a time
    • Remember to take pride in the small wins
      • Example: you did not get everything on your to-do list done, but even making the list is a step in the right direction
    • Be kind to yourself and give yourself some grace
      • It is okay to make mistakes
    • Engage in gratitude
    • Take a step back from the thing causing your distress or negative thoughts and try to see things from another perspective

#6. Foster meaning and purpose in your life

  • Helps you keep your challenges in perspective and keep going as you find value in other parts of your life
  • Meaning and purpose are different for everyone, so invest in figuring out what brings you satisfaction
    • Be of service to others
      • Volunteering
      • Donate to charity
      • Participate in a march for an important cause
      • Donate blood
      • Pick up trash
      • Help out in your community
    • Make time for your hobbies and interests
      • Making art, crafts, or music
    • Learning new things
      • Cultures
      • Languages
      • Recipes
    • Investing in your support network

#7. Establish reasonable goals

  • Break situations into smaller, more manageable chunks
  • Brainstorm solutions
  • Break those solutions down into manageable steps
  • Do not get stuck focusing on the things you still need to accomplish
    • Focus on planning for the next step

#8. Build on your healthy coping skills

  • Continue practicing your problem-solving skills

Looking at the ways you can build resilience and independence showcases the importance of connection in recovery. With more resilience, you can improve your self-confidence, help-seeking behaviors, support network engagement, and relapse prevention. With a deeper understanding of the value of a support network, you can learn how to build a healthy support network for lifelong recovery.

Fostering a Healthy Support Network After Treatment

As the HHS states, social connection matters as the structure, function, and quality of your relationships
with others are vital to your life. A healthy support network contributes to your health, your community’s health and safety, resilience, and prosperity. Listed below are some of the ways you can build a healthy and mutually supportive network:

  • Think about the type of positive people you want to have in your life
    • Listens when you need to talk
    • Appreciates you for who you are
    • Helps you think through and problem-solve decisions
  • Be clear about your needs
    • Share your goals and the needs you would like support with
  • Engage in self-education and support your network education on SUD and your needs
  • Give yourself and your loved ones grace as you learn together
    • Building and using healthy coping skills does not make you a perfect person
    • Learn to be effective and thoughtful communicators with each other
    • Acknowledge your past behavior when reconnecting with loved ones
  • Stay connected with your support network
    • Be responsive when people reach out
    • Thank your loved ones for reaching out
    • Be vocal about your appreciation for your support network
    • Engage in healthy activities together
    • Offer your loved ones support 
      • Be a good listener
      • Support their successes

Building a healthy and mutually supportive network starts with you. With the tools you learn in treatment, you can reenter the world and build those meaningful connections for your lifelong recovery.

Finding a Support Network at Rancho Recovery

At Rancho Recovery, we know supporting lifelong recovery starts with offering comprehensive services with person-centered care. Our mission as a luxury rehabilitation center is to provide a personalized, full continuum of care plan that matches you. No matter where you are on your recovery journey, there is a support network available to you. 

Through our comprehensive treatment, you have access to aftercare and robust alumni services where you are embraced by a supportive community. Whether you need support rebuilding connections with your loved ones or insight on how to approach a new challenge after treatment, we are your rock. Our deeply connected rehab community is here to help you navigate and thrive in your new independent life.

A lack of a positive support network can be detrimental to your well-being. Without mutually supportive connections, you increase your risk for social isolation and loneliness. When your sense of belonging is disrupted, it becomes easier to engage in unhealthy thinking and behavior patterns that contribute to things like SUD, depression, and anxiety. Building a healthy support network is a vital tool for lifelong recovery and relapse prevention. A healthy support network can help foster self-esteem and self-identity to support a fulfilling life. Through our commitment to personalized and comprehensive care, you have access to aftercare and a robust alumni community to help you thrive in every part of your life. Call Rancho Recovery at (877) 484-1447.

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