Ideas for Your Sober Spring Break

Heavy drinking and drug use are the stereotypical ways to spend spring break for far too many young adults. When you are in recovery, however, you’ll need to find alternative options to enjoy a break from a stressful semester and discover fun things to do that don’t jeopardize your mental and physical health. Here are some of our top suggestions.

1. Volunteer

Volunteering is an ideal activity for people in recovery because it allows people to feel like they’re part of something larger than themselves. You can also explore your interests in a brand-new way. For example, if your passion is literacy, volunteering with a program that helps teach adults to read can allow you to change lives for the better. Or, perhaps being around animals is a great stress-reliever for you. In that case, see if your local homeless pet shelter needs a spare pair of hands.

2. Take a Class

Though spring break gives you time off school, that doesn’t mean you should stop learning new things. Pursue a passion such as painting, cooking or modern dance. Learn an instrument or a craft. Giving yourself a creative outlet and practicing your self-expression is excellent for your mental well-being and your sense of personal freedom.

3. Practice Mindfulness

Any activity that creates mindfulness can be an integral part of your addiction recovery. If you’ve already established a meditation habit, what can you do to bring more mindfulness into your daily activities? Fortunately, there are plenty of ways to accomplish this goal, from meditating while you are waiting somewhere to paying attention to how you feel in the moment as you’re doing routine chores around the house. If you have downtime during spring break, use it to your advantage to hone your mindfulness skills.

4. Get Away From It All

Just because you’re sober doesn’t mean you have to deny yourself the fun of a good old-fashioned spring break getaway. You’ll just have to get a little bit more creative about how you do it. Instead of the typical overindulgent beach trip, go hiking in the mountains with a group of sober friends. Or, find a yoga retreat. Any vacation that supports your recovery can help you return home feeling refreshed and inspired.

Preserving Your Sobriety on Spring Break

Spring break is an opportunity to try new things and enjoy the warmer weather and longer days. However, it doesn’t mean taking time off from your recovery routine. You’ll need to continue to follow your aftercare plan, even if you go out of town. That includes attending group meetings, writing in your recovery journal and making time to exercise.

If you are looking for a new, sober solution, explore the options we provide at Hope Academy. Our California young adult treatment center not only helps people ages 18 to 26 achieve lifelong sobriety, but we also teach our clients valuable life skills that will help support their recovery process. Reach out to learn more today.

Tips for Enjoying a Sober Winter Break

Every year, students from coast to coast look forward to their holiday break from school. Whether you are anticipating having more time to visit with friends, or enjoying the opportunity to put last semester behind you and not have to stress about your studies for a little bit, winter break is your chance to do so.

If you are in the early stages of recovery from substance misuse, you may be unsure what this holiday will hold for you. However, your sober winter break may be one of the most enjoyable holidays you’ve ever had.

Shift Your Perspective

Often, newly sober people find one of the most challenging parts of the holiday season is feeling left out of the activities they once enjoyed. You might know people who are going to a different party every night this winter break, while you are trying to avoid exposure to common addiction triggers. Unfortunately, this mindset might leave you feeling angry or resentful, which isn’t conducive to your successful recovery. You’ll need to change your outlook on a couple of things.

Firstly, it’s crucial to realize that not everyone you know is out partying and drinking during winter break. Some students may do that, but others might be taking the opportunity to spend quality time with loved ones or stay home indulging in the hobbies they don’t get a chance to do when school is in session.

Also, “fun” is not synonymous with getting drunk or high. As you will discover, there are many other ways to enjoy life once you get sober. By being open to alternative ideas for spending your free time, you can find new ways to feel happy and fulfilled on your winter break.

Plan a Sober Getaway

Just because you are working on your recovery, that doesn’t mean you can’t go out there and make the most of your winter break. Substance use is common at many winter break destinations like ski resorts, but there are also many ways to refrain from drugs and alcohol on a trip. Imagine traveling without having to worry about losing control of yourself, or waking up with hardly any memories of anything you did the night before. Sobriety allows you to enjoy your vacation to its fullest.

If you feel ready to take a new step in your recovery, plan a sober vacation this winter break. Invite family members and friends who support your recovery, or ask someone you met while you were in treatment to join the fun. Here are some ideas to get you started.

• Spiritual retreats
• Sober tours
• Volunteer tourism: Is there a cause that’s near and dear to your heart, like working with endangered animals or saving coral reefs? Eco-tourism can help you see the world while you donate your time to a worthy reason.

‘Tis the Season to Recover

Winter break is an excellent time of year to focus on your sobriety because it gives you more opportunities for stress-relieving self-care activities as well. Be good to yourself this holiday, and welcome the chance to reset your recovery routine. You will be glad you did.

If you’re looking for addiction treatment tailored to the unique needs of younger people, Hope Academy is your starting point. We provide services for young adults aged 18 through 26 to give them the resources they need to recover. Contact us today to learn more about our structured programming.

College Students Suffer Secondary Exposure to Opioid Addiction

Do you know someone addicted to opioids? If you answered, yes, you’re not alone A new study by researchers from Penn State University Lehigh Valley found that roughly one in five college students know someone who was addicted to opioids. And, of that number, roughly one-third knew someone who had overdosed on painkillers.

Here’s a breakdown of some of the findings: 

• 20.5 percent said they currently know someone who is addicted to pain meds.
• 32.5 percent said they knew somebody who overdosed on either painkillers or heroin.
• 15 percent reported worrying that someone they knew may be misusing pain medication.
• Women were twice as likely to report having intimate ties to those who misuse or overdose on opioids.

These findings confirm what many addiction experts already know: family members and friends of loved ones of those addicted to painkillers are also feeling the effects of the opioid epidemic. 

"Since the beginning of the opioid epidemic, public debate and prevention strategies have focused on the primary victims, misusers themselves, while surprisingly little attention has been paid to the burdens felt and experienced by those who are intimately or socially tied to them," said lead researcher Jennifer Parker, who is an associate professor of sociology at PSU Lehigh Valley.

The researchers hope that these findings will encourage others to delve deeper into how secondary exposure to the opioid epidemic will impact the students’ mental and physical health as well as academic performance. "It makes me sad to think that so many [students] are carrying around this worry because being a student in today's world is already hard enough," Erica Hughes, an undergraduate student in Health Policy Administration, said in a statement.

Sobriety College at Hope Academy

If your friend or family member is a college student struggling with opioid addiction, we can help. At Hope Academy, we provide the safety and support students need to succeed in school and at sobriety. To learn more about our sobriety college, call today: 866-930-4673.