In the early stages of addiction treatment and recovery, individuals may not have time to think about giving back. Their focus needs to be on establishing and maintaining sobriety. To that end, they work to foster habits of wellness in their lives. They take recovery one day at a time.
Giving Back as Meaning and Purpose
As people progress in recovery, they begin to feel more confident about their sober habits. They may find themselves reaping the rewards of regular exercise, a healthy diet, and proper sleep. Hobbies they enjoy and a supportive social network may also improve their well-being and daily happiness.
Achieving well-rounded wellness, however, requires more than simple habits. It requires individuals to discover deeper meaning and purpose for sobriety in their lives. Fortunately, the process of giving back to the recovery community can provide this meaning and purpose.
Pathways Recovery Center provides a plethora of addiction treatment and recovery services. Additionally, we offer many opportunities for individuals to give back during treatment and long after.
The Benefits of Giving Back
Simply put, the action of giving back involves returning assistance or a good deed to someone or something that has given something to you. In the context of addiction recovery, giving back to the recovery community is an incredibly rewarding experience. Whether it’s showing appreciation for a therapist or providing volunteer services before support group meetings or other events, the experience of giving back has well-researched benefits for well-being.
Improves Well-Being
For example, according to an article by Frontiers in Psychology, “Research consistently suggests that individuals giving their time and money tend to report higher life satisfaction, fewer depressive symptoms, and better overall psychological well-being.”
Such benefits may surface from the experience of feeling better when an individual behaves in a way that aligns with their inner values. As the article states, “Helping others grants our lives a sense of mission, purpose, and meaning.”
Enhances Relational Trust and Self-Worth
Further, the article also highlights the incredible value of volunteering. Being a volunteer creates and enhances relational trust. It also builds a sense of security for those who volunteer.
As the article explains, “In many cases, benevolent acts allow us to take pride in our skills and strengths and promote the sense of self.” The social interactions that an individual often experiences as they volunteer can provide emotional warmth, which can be especially important for sustaining recovery.
Provides Many Other Benefits
Another article by BMC Public Health summarizes the additional benefits of volunteering. These include but are not limited to:
- Improved mental and physical health
- Reduced psychological distress
- Improved self-esteem
- Increased feelings of happiness and contentment
- Improved social support
- Increased opportunities to identify life meaning and foster gratitude
Giving Back in Addiction Recovery
For those who are struggling to find stability in early sobriety, giving back can seem daunting. There is no doubt that a person may feel insecure about their ability to provide for or assist others, especially when they struggle to do so for themselves. It may not be time to give back just yet. Still, it can be beneficial to identify ways of giving back in addiction recovery so that, when an individual is ready, they can have a framework for how to begin.
Just as with any pursuit, giving back provides the most benefits when it is done regularly and consistently. Implementing regular acts of service or planning ahead for volunteer opportunities can be especially valuable. This provides something to look forward to while in recovery.
Take Advantage of Volunteer Opportunities
There are plenty of volunteer opportunities that individuals can take advantage of, both in and out of addiction recovery. Some examples of volunteer opportunities within the realm of recovery include:
- Setting up or taking down chairs before group therapy and support group meetings
- Becoming a mentor or a sponsor to someone in early recovery
- Organizing sober events hosted by a treatment facility or recovery organization
- Offering advice to peers
- Being an advocate and spokesperson for mental health and addiction recovery
Other examples of volunteer opportunities within the greater community include:
- Serving at a local soup kitchen
- Assisting at a community shelter
- Offering dog-walking or animal foster services
- Assisting at a pet shelter
- Cleaning up trash at a park
- Donating money or wellness items to charity
Show Your Appreciation
In addition to participating in volunteer opportunities, individuals in recovery can give back by showing their appreciation. This appreciation may be directed toward professionals, friends, family, and other loved ones.
Social support often plays the most critical role in treatment entry and engagement. Therefore, it is necessary to extend gratitude back to those who have enabled an individual to get the treatment that they need to recover.
Some ways to show appreciation include:
- Saying “thank you”
- Writing a letter or note
- Giving a thoughtful gift
- Offering help when needed
- Complimenting them
Giving Back With Pathways Recovery
At Pathways Recovery Center, we are well-versed in the benefits of giving back for well-being. We can assist clients in finding the volunteer and other service opportunities that they are looking for as they work to establish lasting sobriety.
From detox to residential treatment, outpatient treatment, aftercare, and more, we have the professional treatment services that individuals need to heal effectively. Start reaping the benefits of giving back today!
Giving back to your recovery community can have profound benefits for your well-being. Not only can it increase your psychological wellness, but it can also foster deeper meaning and purpose for your sobriety. It is important to find ways to give back while in addiction recovery and beyond. Utilizing local volunteer opportunities and showing your appreciation to those who have helped you grasp sobriety can be great places to start. Pathways Recovery Center is an addiction and mental health treatment center that recognizes the invaluable benefits of giving back. We offer a wide range of treatment services and programs to meet clients where they are in their recovery. To learn more, call (888) 771-0966 today.
