Addiction Recovery Tip #3 – Change Your Patterns

By Dusty Lindemann

Have you noticed any patterns in your life that have contributed to your addiction? Are you doing something week after week that almost always leads to trouble? Then here is an example of how you can change your unhealthy patterns.

Go bowling on your “regular drinking night.” If you’ve spent every Friday or Saturday night for the last ten years (before recovery) drinking at a local bar, venture out for a night of bowling instead. Bowling is one of those “sports” that you don’t have to be good at. If you’re a parent, drag your kids along and make it a family night of fun. Chances are you’ll create a new tradition to replace the way you’ve spent your time the last decade. A great bonus is that you will be with your kids and to them it’s going to mean the world.

If you can’t see yourself donning bowling shoes and hitting the lanes, pick another activity that you enjoy more. Mini-golfing is great fun as is visiting an amusement park. The main idea with this recovery tip is finding an activity that will replace your unhealthy pattern of behavior. If you instead sit at home alone on the night you devoted to getting drunk or high, you will be much more likely to fall right back into that pattern of behavior.

It certainly doesn’t need to be the same activity week after week either. Make it a fun night and change up the routine. Maybe take in a movie at the local theater or go see a play. You can also watch a little league baseball game or cheer on the local soccer team. Just be sure that on that night of the week, you aren’t alone with too much time to think.

Dusty Lindemann writes for SOBRIETY TV at www.sobriety.tv If you or someone you love is suffering from addiction, please visit this website to learn about recovery and what you can do to stay clean and sober.

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