As you wrap up your residential or intensive outpatient rehab program, you maybe wondering what your next step should be. Ask your counselor about volunteer opportunities at the center and in your community, and they can steer you in the right direction. Volunteering in the addiction recovery community is a great transitional step from rehab to real life, and everyone can benefit from it.
Working Step 12
Step number 12 of any 12-step program asks us to help others who are struggling with addiction. A great way to work this step is to volunteer within the addiction recovery community. This will put you in touch with people who are in need of the message you have to share. Working with other recovering addicts also keeps your perspective focused on how much progress you’ve made since the early days of rehab.
Feeling Good About Yourself
Addiction is a self-esteem killer, and we all need some boosts to our confidence periodically throughout recovery. Most of us experience a substantial dip in self-confidence when we finish up rehab and head back into our normal lives. So many things are uncertain, and we’re wondering how we’ll manage sobriety in the real world. Giving back to those in need gives you a reason to feel good about yourself. It makes your feel productive and useful, which will fuel your recovery.
Connecting With Others
There’s a good chance that the social circles you belonged to before rehab aren’t going to be appropriate for you anymore, but how are you going to make new friends without falling into the wrong crowd again? Volunteer work is the answer! You can form some great connections with the other volunteers you work with. Your work will also fill up some of your time and give you something healthy to look forward to as part of your regular schedule.
Easing Back Into the Workplace
You have to head back to work sometime and that can seem like a pretty scary proposition. If your old job is waiting for you, your workplace skills might be a little rusty. If you’ll be searching for a new job, you’re most likely looking for ways to beef up your resume and add some value to your employee profile. Volunteer work looks great on a resume. It shows potential employers that you’re responsible and committed to living a healthy life. It is also a great place to start flexing some of your administrative muscle to apply to the workplace.
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