When I started my journey of recovery from alcoholism, I was determined to stay on a positive life path despite not knowing how to cope with loneliness in recovery. I also knew that if I wanted to make real and lasting changes, it would take dedication and hard work. So, in order to help me stay focused, I adopted the acronym HALT – Never get too Hungry, Angry, Lonely or Tired. This was a reminder for me to stop and think before acting whenever these emotions threatened to overwhelm me. It was a simple but powerful tool in my recovery journey that kept me grounded and focused on the future. With the right support, you can overcome loneliness, maintain sobriety and find a life worth living.

What Is Borderline Personality Disorder?

Treatment programs for addiction are standing by to help you take that first step. Contact The Recovery Village Ridgefield today to discuss your treatment options. More importantly, going to these meetings will help you build up a strong social network outside your family. It’s essential to remember that you’re not alone in these feelings, but more importantly, to forgive yourself. Self-care, whether through exercise, meditation, or art, can help you prioritize your emotional and mental health.

Why Is Social Connection Important for Addiction Recovery?

Whether you’re struggling to overcome loneliness in addiction recovery or anything else, our center is here for you. To refine our screening process, we defined individuals experiencing homelessness as those lacking stable, safe, permanent, and appropriate housing, or the immediate means and ability to acquire such housing [25]. This definition encompasses individuals who are marginally housed or at high risk of eviction, including individuals who are «doubled up,» couch surfing, or living in overcrowded conditions [26].

Accelerated Resolution Therapy vs EMDR Therapy

If you are experiencing significant feelings of loneliness or isolation, talk to a healthcare and/or mental health professional. Support is available to help you reduce feelings of loneliness and improve your overall quality of life. While social media can offer a sense of connection, excessive use may lead to feelings of isolation and inadequacy. Balancing online interactions with real-world connections is crucial for maintaining mental health and fostering genuine relationships​​. Confronting and accepting your emotions is a vital step in overcoming loneliness.

Those suffering from an SUD turn to substances to combat feelings of loneliness, and taking away these substances can make a person feel more isolated. While you were using drugs or alcohol, your friend group was most likely made up of people who did the same. However, when you start an addiction recovery https://ecosoberhouse.com/ program or decide to stop using drugs or alcohol, you may find that the people you used to spend time with are no longer conducive to your recovery journey. Some of the quantitative studies used subscales or single questions from measurement tools that were not primarily designed to measure SIL.

The rapid development of information and communication technologies (ICT) has drastically changed human communication and interactions leaving many behind and out of communication flows. The search strategies had a broad range of subject headings and keywords, adapted for each database, for the two core concepts of SIL and homelessness or social housing, combined with the Boolean operator AND. The searches were limited to articles in English, loneliness in recovery French, and Spanish published between January 1st, 2000 to October 27, 2021, followed by an updated search to January 3rd, 2023. The publication languages were chosen for feasibility purpose, considering the linguistic capacity of the research team. There were a total of 8,398 results from these two rounds of searches prior to de-duplication (7,356 at search one and 1,042 at search two) and the records were compiled in EndNote.

What Are The Three P’s in Addiction Recovery?

Sign up for classes or join groups that revolve around these new interests or hobbies. All of these new experiences present chances to connect with people around you. Many people feel lonely during addiction recovery as their normal social circle is stripped away.

• That’s why it’s incredibly important to find people to connect with in recovery in order to build a healthier social network.
• Giving support and receiving support is another way to deal positively with loneliness.
• Recovery faces you with the challenge of processing a rush of emotions without the previous coping mechanism.
• At Relevance Behavioral Health, we strive to create a supportive environment where individuals can learn how to manage their addiction and develop healthy coping mechanisms.
• Small gestures of kindness can go a long way toward making people feel good being around you.

How Do You Deal With Isolation in Recovery?

• But it’s important to remember that isolation during addiction recovery is only temporary.
• Many of these things require deep, uninterrupted focus, which makes alone time perfect for working on them.
• Mindfulness practices, including meditation and prayer, teach you how to ground yourself in the present.[3] These practices build self-acceptance and emotional resilience, helping you reframe and fight against loneliness.
• By the time you get to number ten, we’re confident you’ll have a plan to manage your loneliness that will work.
• If you’re curious about a finding a sponsor, ask anyone at an AA or NA meeting, click the link above, or talk to your therapist or counselor.

• Building a network within the recovery community offers you assistance, validation, and useful coping tools.
• We know you can, because we’ve been lonely, followed these steps, and felt better.
• Six of the studies in this review used the UCLA Loneliness Scale or a revised version.
• These solid connections help you combat loneliness and give you a new community.
• You may also find that meeting people with whom you can form close bonds is a slow, challenging process.
• If you have an interest in art or music, taking up a hobby such as painting or playing an instrument can give you something to focus on that improves your mental health.