At Avalon Malibu, we know addiction can be isolating. Due to this, in recovery, we want to try to break cycles like isolation. You can work towards breaking isolation by finding support and commonality with your peers. It can be important to support your peers for a multitude of other reasons. We want to ensure that you do not feel responsible for your peers’ recovery; however, supporting your peers has the potential to benefit you and the other individuals involved.Â
Appropriate Ways to Support Your Peers in Recovery
As previously mentioned, supporting your peers in addiction recovery can benefit you and your peers. There are also many different ways you can provide support appropriately. An important piece to supporting a peer can be asking what specifically they feel they need. It can be empowering in difficult moments when you can name what you need. We know you want to help your peers and want what is best for them so it can also be helpful to keep empowerment in mind.Â
In addiction treatment at Avalon Malibu, we believe everyone can recover when they are ready. A crucial component of helping peers in their recovery could be something as simple as remembering you are not able to fix your peers. You also need to remember you can not recover from addiction for your peers, and vice versa. Another appropriate tip for supporting your peers could include remembering ways in which you’ve needed support before. Sometimes it can be in ways as simple as needing someone to talk to, but not necessarily having someone solve the problem for you.Â
Remembering that you can’t fix your peers or their problems can be vital. The urge to want to try to fix the problem at hand for them can happen. We want to make sure you do not feel responsible for your peers’ recovery. Again, it is important for your peers to feel empowered in their recovery. With this in mind, remaining transparent with your peers can be an important piece to supporting each other. If a situation arises and you feel pressure or responsibility, it could be vital for both of you to talk about it. From there, the next appropriate step could be to talk to a staff member. Staff or a therapist could then provide proper guidance moving forward.Â
How to Support Your Peers Through Difficult Times
In addiction treatment, you and your peers have the potential to bond. This can allow you and your peers the opportunity to make connections. Connecting with different people who understand what challenges you may have faced can help. Bonding over being in treatment together can also be beneficial. Our staff at Avalon Malibu is always a great resource, but having peers that you can connect with can be just as important. Some ways you can support your peers through difficult times can include reminding them to utilize skills they have learned. Treatment with us offers many different therapies and effective methods to treat addiction. Reminding your peers that there are different skills they could try could be helpful.Â
Other helpful ways to support peers could include engaging in activities together. We understand that when difficult times come up, the urge to isolate can be strong. But we know that people don’t want to feel alone, especially when going through a difficult time. Participating in therapeutic activities like yoga or art therapy could be a way to encourage each other to continue moving through the hard times without isolating.
One other helpful tip you may want to keep in mind in addiction recovery is to make sure you take care of yourself. Your well-being and recovery from addiction need to come first. It may sound harsh, but your recovery is important, too. If a peer is ever struggling and you do not feel you can support them, being honest with yourself and your peer about that is key. Â Â
Benefits of Proper Peer Support
Substance Abuse and Rehabilitation published an article on September 29, 2016, which provided evidence that peer support in combination with counseling and other therapy can be effective in helping treat addiction. Peer support also has evidence of preventing relapses. Peer support is not only an effective way of helping people treat their addiction. It can provide other benefits that you may not think of. One of these benefits could include providing healthy relationships to those in recovery who have similar goals. Having people in your life who respect and understand your recovery is important.Â
Some other benefits of proper peer support could include learning good communication skills in the relationships you build. As mentioned above, empowerment is important in addiction recovery. Speaking to your peers about how you are doing in your recovery and communicating together about what your needs are can fulfill the need for healthy relationships and help you both feel empowered.Â
At Avalon Malibu, we understand addiction can be isolating. Seeking help for your addiction was a brave first step. In treatment, you can work towards breaking isolation habits by talking with your peers. You may come to find that supporting your peers is beneficial for many reasons, including friendship. Supporting your peers can also prevent relapses and even build other skills like communication and give you a sense of empowerment. All of these benefits can be important in addiction recovery, but remember, your recovery is important, too, and you don’t need to feel responsible for the recovery of your peers. Call (844) 857-5992 today for more information on how we can help.
