Dating can be great in recovery but it can also be a threat for relapse if you try to get into a relationship before you’re ready. Here is why:
- You’re Not Sure Where You’re Going To Be In A Year: Recovery can take us places. We discover our likes, our dislikes, and feel worthy of following our dreams. That being said, once you’re in recovery, the world opens up to you. Anything is possible now that you aren’t being held down by drug and alcohol addiction or the debilitating effects of any co-occurring issues. Instead, you are thinking ahead, but only getting there one day at a time. You’re not tied down to anything but the present moment and looking steadfast toward the future.
- You’re Getting To Know Yourself: Getting to know someone new is an adventure. Recovery in its beginning stages is having that adventure with yourself. It is hard to be in a relationship with someone and get to know them when you’ve only just started to be in a relationship with yourself. Who we are when our lives are consumed by the pain of addiction and who we are when our lives have been freed in recovery are typically two different people. For the first year, you are going to be changing, learning, growing, and evolving, every single day.
- You’re Becoming More Spiritual: Creating a foundation of spirituality in your life is one of you main motives right now. Spirituality is different to everyone. Most often, relationships seek a shared spirituality, or at least having a concrete understanding of one another’s. In recovery, you are encouraged to find a higher power of your own understanding. You’re not only creating a relationship with yourself, you’re creating a relationship with spirituality, which can be incredibly intimate. Having your own spiritual foundation is critical to having a healthy relationship with another person.
- You’re Still Working Through Some Stuff: The past hurts. Addicts and alcoholics tend to have “a past” when it comes to significant romantic relationships. Relationships of any kind, familial, friendly, or romantic, need to be unpacked and sorted through during treatment. You might not know what it means to be in a relationship, what kind of person you want to be in a relationship with, or what being in a healthy relationship might even be like.
- You Need Time: Recovery is one day at a time. It takes time to add that time up until you reach that first year sober. Addiction might have taken a lot of time from you in your life. Now, in treatment and/or recovery, is your time to work on yourself.
LEAD Recovery Center helps clients work toward achieving a simple goal in recovery: autonomy. Our transitional multiphase program eases clients through the rest of their treatment into fully independent living. For more information call us today at 1-800-380-0012.
