Recovery in Albuquerque: Joining Alumni Groups
When you begin substance abuse recovery in Albuquerque, you may have anxiety around the idea of meeting the other people in treatment there. If you’ve already begun your journey toward sobriety, do you remember how distant you felt from the others at your treatment program the very first day? There may have been no initial bond of kinship but rather an apprehension about interacting with other people about having to talk about you and your life.
What Help Comes From Peers? Getting to know the people in intensive outpatient and in alumni groups introduces you to other men and women who are also working on recovery in Albuquerque. Maybe they live in different parts of town, work at different types of jobs, and come from diverse socioeconomic levels, but everybody shares one driving characteristic: The burning desire to live a life free from drug or alcohol addiction. They share a compelling need to make their way back to a life without drugs and/or alcohol and reintegrate into their homes and communities.
That’s why peer support at recovery alumni groups is so important. The people who go have been in your shoes and understand the struggle on the path of recovery. They offer the conviction that life is not static and things can change. It’s a comforting notion that helps you get through hard times.
Alumni help you to realize that recovery is not a one-way process. Constantly we give and take, sharing our knowledge, our energy, and the worries we have about communicating with our family members and friends who sometimes do not understand recovery. We validate, strengthen and hold one another accountable.
People in a recovery alumni groups work together to maintain their commitment to abstinence, for themselves, their friends and family, and for people who are new to recovery in Albuquerque and throughout the Bernalillo County area. It goes beyond just sharing the old war stories: We form new friendships and even network professionally. We shake hands, laugh, and enjoy the social lives that we develop there. Where else but an alumni group for alcohol and drug recovery in Albuquerque could you meet a teacher, a lawyer, business owner or nurse who shares your dedication to sobriety?
The Key Ingredients: By attending an alumni support group event as someone who hasn’t yet reached the rank of alumnus, you learn from others that you can achieve a life as a contributing member of the community without letting your addiction run the show. You offer something to the alumni who provide leadership at these groups: With a mutually co-responsive relationship, you perpetuate recovery for one another. You lend your strengths and insights to one another, and you bolster each other’s vulnerabilities.
If you’re the old-timer alumnus who’s thinking about attending, you’ll learn how to offer support to someone who’s new to recovery. You’ll benefit from taking personal responsibility to help others who are walking where you have already been. Empowerment comes from sustaining your recovery and building hope in others. You can advocate for others by helping them learn about resources available for people in alcohol and drug recovery in Albuquerque.
Alumni support groups provide a way to stay on track with your recovery. Your counselor at your program for alcohol and drug recovery might plant a spark in your mind that requires further development. Interacting with either an alumnus or a “newbie” can fan that spark into a full-blown flame that ignites a better understanding of how addiction affects you.
Talk to your substance abuse counselor about the recovery alumni group available at the rehab center or in your community. Recovery is a journey that you take through life, and it’s more fun when you have someone to walk with.
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