Having Fun in Recovery

Overcoming Feelings of Anhedonia and Reinventing What It Means to Have Fun While Sober

When individuals initially begin recovery they tend to experience anhedonia, a feeling that pleasure is scarce or non-existent. Biologically speaking this makes sense, as most abused substances quickly multiply the normal amount of dopamine inside the brain. Depending on the length of use, rebalancing these chemicals can take some time.

Building a new sober social circle is vital, especially when coming into recovery. All humans are social beings; people need people. There have been countless studies correlating depression and isolation. People who are recovering from the disease of addiction especially need people. Specifically, like-minded people or people with similar experiences. Having a group of people who can relate, empathize, and understand your experiences is undoubtedly one of the most understated benefits of being in recovery. 

When entering recovery, you may think I’m never going to have fun again now that I’m sober. However, this is not true. Think about whether it was actually fun blacking out, feeling sick every day, constantly worrying about getting the next drink, or being told all of the embarrassing things said or done while inebriated.

Learning how to have fun in recovery is a learning process. It is not something that everyone innately knows how to do once clean and sober. Most newly sober individuals have a hard time deciphering what their favorite tv shows are, or what their favorite food is, let alone what they like to do for fun. Life was previously consumed with getting and using a substance, there was no time for fun and games. More likely than not, trying new hobbies and activities were not a priority while dealing with active addiction.

While in recovery, you may realize that you are a brand new person, one that you are still getting acquainted with, and one who has the potential to be everything you’ve always wanted. Experiencing anhedonia can make this difficult for some. Not feeling pleasure in even the simplest of things can be discouraging enough, let alone trying something brand new. However, if new things are not attempted and experienced, the sense of dysphoria will linger, as nothing will have been done to change those feelings. Remember, the fun is in the trying, and the joy is in the ride, not the destination.