How to Approach Social Media During Recovery
Social media is a great tool that you can use to successfully run and grow a business. Numerous platforms will help you reach and maintain a close relationship with potential clients. For instance,
- TikTok
These networks are familiar to us all and it’s likely you use at least one if not all four. It's essential to understand how social media can affect your recovery journey, whether positively or negatively. This blog provides detailed information on the pros and cons of social media as a recovering addict.
How Social Media Can Be Helpful During Recovery
Recovery from substance abuse can be a long and challenging process. You’ll likely face withdrawal symptoms and other life challenges hindering your sobriety journey. Fortunately, social networks are helpful in several ways to help promote a sense of community with people who share similar experiences with you and create content to support your journey.
It Ensures You Maintain Contact With Family
In most circumstances, recovery facilities restrict the use of technology. This prevents you from contacting a drug dealer or old friends who still use substances. But our treatment center understands the importance of involving your friends and family in your healing journey.
This is why we allow contact with your loved ones during recuperation. The ability to connect motivates you and prepares you for long term recovery providing a shoulder to lean on even if you can’t see them in person.
Gives an Opportunity to Continue Working
Are you the breadwinner in the family? Or the executive professional in your company? The odds of developing work pressures are high to ensure productivity in the organization and provide for your family. This, in turn, increases the risk of substance dependence.
In this circumstance, technology during treatment is helpful since you require access to the internet to continue working and monitor progress at the workplace. Enrolling in an executive treatment program would be best.
Use It to Join Support Groups
As mentioned, recuperation from substance use can be overwhelming. Social platforms will help you join online sobriety groups. In the support community, you hold each other accountable and prevent relapse.
In addition, the groups ensure you prioritize recovery every day. So, you don’t spend time thinking about cravings. Instead, you surround yourself with positive and encouraging individuals fighting similar battles.
It’s Easier to Share and Confide in People
Sharing during recuperation is crucial. It prevents stress because you can share your emotional state with others so that they may offer support. Unfortunately, it may be difficult to open up to the people around you due to fear of judgement.
It is easier to strike up conversations virtually than to talk to people face-to-face. Thus, you will be open to sharing your emotional and personal struggles on your journey to sobriety.
Sharing Your Successes Helps Get Positive Encouragement
Getting positive feedback and encouragement during the healing period gives the emotional boost you require to keep going. Individuals will provide encouraging feedback if you post sober milestones and new things you are doing in your recovery.
This will help you continue to grow in recovery. It'll encourage you to commit to a life of growth and evolve from substance dependence towards a future of sobriety.
It Helps You Stay Connected Post Treatment
It’s no doubt that you made friendships and connections after spending a considerable period of time in a treatment facility Maintaining this friendship is vital. This is because you will likely face challenges reintegrating back into the community. And sharing your experiences with people in similar situations is helpful.
After leaving the facility, consider reconnecting with the peers you met through social platforms if that would support your recovery.
You Get to Read About Recovery
There is access to so much information online. Reading about the stories of individuals who have embarked on healing from drug dependence can be helpful. Following their journey would help you gain insight and a sense of hope about recuperation.
Support
After getting out of rehab, you might not get support from the same professionals. In addition, you may lack access to the resources you previously had in the treatment facility. Luckily, social media is a constant presence with a multitude of free resources to support your health and recovery.
Therefore, you can access help at any time and from anywhere. Consider following accounts that provide advice and support. Moreover, you can follow expert websites for more information on recovery.
How the Use of Social Networks Can Be Harmful During Recovery
Despite the advantages of using social platforms during healing, it could just as easily have a negative affect. This happens in the following ways,
Social Isolation
Excessive use of social platforms leads to loneliness and isolation. This results in low self-esteem and can directly lead to setbacks.
Comparisons
Comparison among individuals is common in the online community. Individuals always share their best photos and videos, most of which are digitally edited. This leads to feelings of envy that may trigger you to use drugs to feel good. Consequently, you could likely experience relapse if you’re in recovery.
Taxing on Your Mental Health
The use of social platforms is known to cause unhappiness in individuals due to peer pressure. This leads to anxiety and depression. Dealing with substance dependence is hard on its own. Adding the pressures and unrealistic standards of social media can trigger you to relapse or simply affect your mental health in a negative way.
Temptations Are Everywhere
Social media provides platforms where people share their daily experiences. So, it is common for people to post when indulging as a way of having fun. It's easier to avoid bars and clubs but challenging to resist the temptation when it comes to your screen.
If you’re in the initial stages of recovery, those images can cause you to miss the old days of substance use in a social setting.
Triggering Negative Memories
It would help if you made friendships with people in similar situations when recovering from addiction. This can be challenging, especially if you are still in touch with old friends. Furthermore, you’re advised to avoid triggers during recovery, like associating with people who are still abusing drugs even casually.
Avoiding these factors on social media is difficult. Memories will always pop up on your timeline. Starting fresh and creating a different profile would be best. Knowing your addictive nature would be helpful when beginning the journey to a sober lifestyle.
Social Media Can Become a New Addiction
As you recover from drug and alcohol use, you will focus your energy in a new direction. It is important to be cognizant of the addictive nature of social media as it provides instant gratification and escape from reality. You could easily find yourself looking for validation on your posts and scrolling mindlessly to distract from how you feel, which is the same cycle addicts experience with substance abuse.
Although this may not adversely affect your recuperation, it prolongs the ability to find more healthy avenues that promote long-term sobriety.
Sleep Deprivation
Getting enough sleep is crucial when healing from substance dependence. It allows your mind to recharge and your body to heal. But it’s incredibly easy to fall into the habit of reaching for your phone in bed each night before falling asleep, and this is proven to have negative affects of sleep cycles because of the exposure to blue light and the neuro-chemicals triggered by social media.
Increased Stress Levels
Using social platforms can lead to stress, a major relapse trigger. They increase “FOMO” and dissatisfaction. As a result, these feelings impact your mood and increase your stress levels.
Also, you may post something that attracts negative feedback. You’ll likely perceive this as a sign of rejection of your recovery, thus triggering a setback. It's hard to deal with stress in the initial stages of recovery. Thus, giving in to your cravings becomes easier, impacting the healing journey.
Social media can be a tool or a vice, depending on how you use it and it’s up to you to decide. Keeping in mind the benefits and risks, we hope you can approach social media with more awareness and intention as you continue your recovery journey.
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