I wasn’t excited to go to an alcohol rehab center. Few people are. I recall feeling ashamed, guilty, and scared. Angry, too. But not excited.
The fact is that I anticipated four grueling weeks in which I’d be reminded of every mistake I’d ever made and forced to resist cravings. I also didn’t expect it to work.
This is how many people perceive alcohol rehab. It’s something they have to get through rather than a positive life experience. However, rehab can be an extremely welcoming place. By the time you leave, you know that you’ll miss it.
One of the most powerful reasons for this is that many strong friendships are forged in rehab. This not only makes the experience even better, but also helps with recovery.
The Psychological Benefits of Friendship
Friendship is not just powerful in rehab; it has psychological benefits no matter where it is formed. Throughout a person’s life, friendships are a huge factor in maintaining our mental and emotional well-being. Friends can be a source of comfort and understanding and you don’t have to feel isolated when going through challenges.
One of the primary psychological benefits of friendship is stress reduction. Many aspects of life are stressful, from work, to family, to personal issues. Friends can offer a reprieve from that stress by providing an easy, relaxing environment. Alternatively, they can offer a safe space to share concerns and anxieties, which helps relieve some of the burden.
Research also shows how crucial friends are in mental health. Loneliness and isolation can lead to or exacerbate symptoms of anxiety and depression. Having friends to talk to, laugh with, and rely on can improve a person’s mood and overall mental well-being, helping to counteract the more difficult emotions.
Finally, humans are social beings and we all seek a sense of belonging and community. Friends provide this by creating a support network that we can lean on during tough times. It is important to know that someone else truly understands and supports you while having your back.
Friendships in Alcohol Addiction Recovery
That last factor is particularly relevant to the discussion of friendships in rehab. More than in any other field of mental health, addiction experts have recognized the power of community. Even outside of rehab, support groups are the most consistent form of treatment accessible for addicts for this reason.
While it may seem like you need to hang onto shame and guilt in order to ‘be better’, the reality is that this can do the opposite. Shame can be very demotivating, sapping energy and leading to a sense that there’s no point in trying.
Guilt is a more active emotion, and it is certainly necessary to feel it, but acting on your guilt does not always have positive results. The instinct to fix things makes it easy to miss that it takes time to heal – and that some things can’t be fixed. Guilt can lead a person to make matters worse by pushing for a resolution that will not come, harming others in the process.
When you are dealing with addiction alone, it is difficult to go easy on yourself. The sense of belonging when you are with a group of people who have all been addicted to alcohol enables you to see the mitigating factors. You can hold yourself and each other accountable but recognize that addiction does not detract from your inherent worth.
Friends in the Rehab Environment
Platonic relationships play a role in rehab right from the start. Before you have had a therapy session or participated in a group, you meet the people who are there to recover with you.
This is exciting for some and intimidating for others. The good news is that the rehab environment facilitates friendship. Most people hold a humility that is uncommon in the outside world, and are ready to be vulnerable.
Friends in Therapy Groups
These relationships are so important that many sessions in alcohol rehab happen in groups. In a group, you grow together with others. You hear their stories and tell them yours. You see how they are both similar and different to you. You learn from each other how to overcome certain obstacles and what it means to be vulnerable.
Addiction also has a major impact on your historic relationships, as it can lead to lies and manipulation, as well as codependency. Working through issues with a group gives you the opportunity to relearn how to engage in relationships in a healthy way. In fact, you are likely to leave rehab with a better sense of how to relate to others than before you started drinking.
The Power of Friendships in Recovery
Addiction can make a person feel very isolated and damage relationships that are very dear to them. Healing requires you to find a sense of belonging once again. Friendships built around mutual care and growth are the best way to do so.
Alcohol rehab centers provide the perfect environment to make friends while offering a platform to grow together. Friendship is a powerful component of alcohol addiction recovery.
