It is easy to feel stuck while in recovery, not knowing what path to take or what your next step should be. Likewise, it is hard to notice progress while remaining in the same environment. Changing your environment can benefit your recovery.
There are many reasons why this may be. For instance, you may feel like you are in an unstable environment, one that negatively affects your mental health or recovery journey. You may also be hesitant to change your environment, not knowing where to go, how this new place may impact your recovery, or what resources there will be to support your recovery journey.
It is important to remember that you are in control. These are all external factors you are capable of controlling. If an environment does not benefit you long-term, you are able to take yourself out of it; and there are many virtual resources and individual practices you can start to support your journey.
Benefits of Changing Your Environment While in Recovery
A community is vital to recovery, meaning your environment should be supportive. This can mean your home life, your recovery environment, or even your workplace.
As said, there are virtual resources available, especially when starting out in recovery. These virtual resources include virtual group meetings, guided meditation or yoga practices, and connecting with others online to create a supportive community.
If you are hesitant about moving environments entirely, there are also small steps to take that can benefit your recovery. For example, finding a drug-free workplace can be one of these steps. Workplaces like these will require drug tests, motivate your recovery, and provide resources to help you. Many offer toolkits and supervisors to assist employees as they enter the workplace.
There are also many resources for homelessness in recovery. Many of these resources help assist you in transitioning from homelessness and finding accessible recovery options.
The environment you put yourself into has a great impact on your recovery journey, so it is important to find a community and area that is not only supportive but actively benefits you throughout this process.
How Your Home Life Impacts Your Recovery
Your home life is vital to your recovery. This environment should be comfortable and supportive, not triggering. For many, home life can be difficult, especially if childhood trauma is involved. However, it is possible to create a more encouraging home life without removing yourself from the environment.
A strong first step to take is finding a community in your surrounding area that you can rely on. Though this support does not directly come from your physical home, knowing there is support around you is encouraging.
Another step to take when creating a more positive, caring home life for your recovery is implementing personal practices. These would include journaling, meditation, and other breathwork that you can do on your own time. By doing so, you create a peaceful environment, even if it is just your bedroom. This peace is supportive in your recovery journey, allowing you to be patient and move at your own pace, even if the environment you are in is not ideal.
Therefore, if you are unable to change your home environment, there are ways to alter it to benefit your journey.
Benefits of the Right Environment During Your Recovery
Supervision and Structure
When in the right recovery environment, you will find yourself in a better-structured environment. In this domain, you will have a team – a community and supervisors – you can rely on. You will feel and know that you are not alone.
This supervision is put in place to help you and keep you on the right track, encouraging you to continue forward and keep breaking habits that pull you back. The structure and supervision should be a comfort, something that eases your mind and comforts you.
Community
The right environment will provide you with a supportive community. This community can include family members, friends, and, most likely other people in recovery.
Your community is an essential aspect of your recovery, as these are the people you will find the most genuine support from. Building an encouraging community aids your recovery and should be part of your motivating factors to continue on this journey.
Control
While in recovery, your environment should remind you that you are in control.
The right environment will give you constant reminders that your choices are entirely in your control and no external factors can waver you from your recovery. If your environment displaces you from taking control of your journey, it is wise to venture out and find a community and different surroundings that keep you in control and comfortable.
Mental-Emotional Well-Being
Long-term, a stable and strong environment for your recovery will improve your mental and emotional health. It is easy while in recovery to find yourself experiencing anxiety, depression, and feelings of loneliness or isolation. The proper environment will understand these feelings and provide support and resources for you.
Your environment, therefore, will support your journey and encourage you to continue. If your environment does not provide you with enough structure or motivation, you should not feel hesitant about switching domains. You are entirely in control, and you are aware of what does and does not work for you.
This domain is everything, reminding you of the positive lifestyle awaiting you and encouraging you without judgment. Long-term benefits of the right environment include relapse prevention and overall stability of mental-emotional health.
Here at Destiny Recovery Center, we provide resources for those in recovery. This includes, but is not limited to, providing resources about home life and one’s surroundings. With a supportive community and environment, an individual’s journey in recovery is smoother. We offer resources for those in recovery who are homeless, unable to move from their home environments, looking for facilities with recovery, supervising, and treatment plans, and who prefer virtual resources for their recovery plan. We look to support individuals during recovery and help transform their physical, mental, and emotional lives. Our goal is to help prevent relapse and encourage a clean lifestyle during and after their treatment plan. Call us at (909) 413-4304 to learn more about our resources.