Within the addiction recovery community, there are many who like to help others in recovery. Some even make helping others through treatment and recovery their jobs. There is a lot of passion surrounding helping others through the process that they once went through. Why is it that so many people in recovery are motivated to give back? Even beyond the requirements of 12-step and other programs, people commit their lives to help others. Why do those in recovery give back?
Giving Hope to Others
One of the greatest benefits of helping others is to give hope. When you are established in your recovery, others can watch and interact with you. They can see that those in recovery are not perfect, but they are committed to their own recovery. So much so that many others are committing themselves to their recovery, as well as to a volunteering lifestyle. Seeing a realistic, humble, generous soul in recovery gives hope to those still in treatment or even other peers in recovery.
By giving hope to others, you may also find that someone else gives back to you when you are having a bad day. The more people in recovery are committed to giving back to the recovery community, the more hope there is amongst everyone.
Connecting With Others in Recovery
Recovery friends are the best friends. They have “been there,” and they’ve “done that.” Now they are on the other side and can bring a collective strength to friendships. The more people who have experienced recovery, the more friends there are to choose from. Making these connections in recovery can be a tremendous blessing for someone who has recently moved to a new area or just needs more sober friends.
The commonality of life experiences creates immediate bonds between all in recovery, including those who give back. It becomes a situation of who is serving whom? Even if altruism led you to give back, the ability to connect with others is a mutual benefit of that effort.
Focusing on Others Instead of Your Problems
Focusing on other people instead of your problems may not be your impetus for giving back, but it is certainly a benefit. There will always be someone who has had it worse than you, and that can help you put your life into perspective. There is also something healing about setting aside your own problems to help other people with theirs. Realizing that you are not alone, recognizing the mutual struggles of other human beings, and putting others’ needs before your own can help reinforce your recovery while helping to build other people’s recoveries.
Giving and Receiving Gratitude
Gratitude can be another healing force in your life. By sharing it with others, you give others the opportunity to learn how gratitude can heal old wounds. Sometimes, you may forget to be grateful. You may forget how grateful you are to be in recovery, to have been given a new life, and for all of the people who have been placed in your life.
Expressing gratitude can also be healing, and spreading gratitude amongst others in recovery allows others to heal as well. Gratitude offers optimism, mental strength, more life satisfaction, better mental and physical health, among other things. By sharing the message of gratitude, again, you heal yourself while helping others to heal as well.
It Feels Good to Do Good
The simplest reason to give back is that it feels good to do good. Rather than sit alone feeling sorry for yourself or trying to avoid triggers, why not spend some time helping others? The motivation may be to help others, but the result is that you feel good. Serving others helps your self-esteem, gives a sense of fulfillment, and helps to develop a deeper love for your fellow human beings.
Completing the Cycle
One of the reasons people give back is to complete the cycle of healing from substance abuse. The cycle begins with a decision to get treatment and the people who are helping through that process. As you grow stronger in your recovery, you can then give back to others in the same way others helped you.
Some people even change their careers in recovery. That gratitude for the help they have received inspires them to make helping others not only their passion but also their job. Giving back fosters a sense of community and support in recovery that can last a lifetime and create an improved, happier lifestyle.
Giving hope to others, showing gratitude, and feeling good are just a few of the reasons that we give back to the recovery community. In addition to changing our focus from ourselves to others, we are completing the recovery cycle when we give back. That cycle can be infinite, offering healing to generations. While self-interests may not be a motivator, we all reap benefits when we give back. At Rancho Milagro Recovery, we know about giving back. Most of our staff have been through recovery themselves, and have chosen to make helping others their life. You can learn the power of giving back by starting your own cycle of recovery or helping others yourself. Call us at (951) 526-4582 to find out about our alumni program. There are always ways to give back and show gratitude for those who have helped you. Step outside of your own life and start helping others today.