Mental health and addiction recovery aren’t confined to just a single, dedicated recovery space. While recovery facilities may provide a safe and curated environment for an individual to best explore their own recovery opportunities, it is also crucial that an individual creates their own space outside of the recovery sphere to continue maintaining their healthy lifestyle.
However, creating a recovery environment in one’s own home is much more than just making oneself physically comfortable. Instead, designing effective recovery environments involves addressing the people, objects, access to hobbies and interests, and even the sounds that may populate the space at any given time.
Choosing the Right People
There is a reason that many recovery facilities utilize group therapy as a core part of the recovery process. Having like-minded people supporting each other throughout recovery is a great source of motivation, helping each person continue to chase after personal goals while also learning to break through feelings of isolation resulting from one’s substance use or mental health disorder.
Creating one’s own recovery space at home means looking for this kind of trust and support with those who share one’s living space. Family members and close roommates have a great deal of impact over every day in one’s life following a recovery program. If they are not supportive or do not act in a way conducive to a sustained sober living space, then one’s recovery is at risk. Talking with these supports to create an open dialogue, setting reasonable expectations, establishing methods of support and accountability, and having meaningful conversations are all hallmarks of great people that can help define one’s sober living environment.
Sentimental Objects, Imagery, and Motivational Keepsakes
One’s feelings of physical and emotional safety are critical following a recovery program, especially as an individual begins to translate many of the elements of residential treatment or a sober living facility into their own homes. While one’s physical safety can be defined by the people who make up one’s environment and structural security, one’s emotional safety will need to be reinforced in other ways. Even as an individual graduates from a recovery program, that doesn’t mean that the battle with addiction or mental health disorders has stopped. An individual will want to fill their environment with objects that can continuously reinforce a calm mindset and emotional safety.
Being sad or anxious is to be expected at times, though it still needs to be addressed regularly. Keeping photos of one’s friends and family can imprint the idea of support in one’s life, especially if such photographs are in places where a person will be exposed to them frequently throughout the day, such as on nightstands or on the walls of one’s bedroom. Others may find that filling their living space with calming imagery can greatly affect one’s mood while dealing with the daily struggles of recovery and may find success in using nature-themed decorations throughout their house, whether in posters, paintings, or paintings or even silk or live plants.
Keep Hobbies Accessible
Boredom can be challenging to overcome in recovery as an individual may not know how to cope with the extra time, and previous destructive practices can resurface as a result. Keeping hobbies accessible means that an individual should have access to hobby materials and have the support to engage in these activities without feeling judged while practicing them.
Access to these hobbies can mean having willing and interested supports engaging in the activity with an individual, dedicating a place to store one’s art, music, or craft supplies in the living space, or even working with supports to arrange transportation to interesting classes or sports clubs. This also means working out times for an individual to engage in these activities, ensuring that they have access to them throughout the day, such as allowing one’s music to be played between certain agreed-upon hours of the day.
The Role of Sound and Light in Recovery
Sound and light are something that many may not consider when curating their recovery space on their own. However, one’s proximity to these things can significantly influence their recovery, with unwanted sounds or lights making it difficult to sleep or focus during personalized therapeutic practices. Mitigating these unwanted sounds and light is important to ensure that an individual is taking care of their own needs by getting good rest and mental respite from the stressful happenings of each day.
Light and sound can also be used to one’s advantage, and setting up natural and soothing noise speakers can create a sense of serenity within one’s living space, helping to further detach oneself from the anxieties that may populate any given day. The use of lightboxes or timers for one’s lighting systems can be used to address feelings of depression or difficulties and help continue to reinforce healthy daily living routines.
Creating a safe and effective recovery environment at home requires some preparation and planning. However, the professionals at Everlast Recovery are ready to help show you how effective and safe recovery environments can work to reinforce the best recovery practices. Offering detox and residential treatment, Everlast Recovery champions the idea of the facility itself as a recovery tool and will work with you to provide the necessary comfort and amenities to help you continue to explore your best sober lifestyle. Offering psychotherapy, art and music therapy, mindfulness practices, and much more, we are ready to help you understand your needs and work with you to help you translate these skills to creating your own safe recovery environment as an alumnus. For more information on how we can personalize your recovery experience, or to speak to a caring, trained staff member about your unique experience, call us today at (866) 338-6925.
