When the relationship with your son becomes strained, it can be easy to lose sight of the things that once brought them happiness. It makes perfect sense to not prioritize fun family activities if you are in crisis just trying to make it through the day. Moreover, it may have been a long time since you had fun with your child while trying to get to the root of the problem. If the problem has escalated to the point of needing next level care like residential treatment, where does finding happiness in recovery fit into the picture?
Does My Teen Need “Fun” in Recovery?
When you learn to see residential treatment as help from pain and addiction, and not a punishment for bad behavior, you may re-evaluate your answer to that question. Teens and young adults in residential treatment need interaction and enjoyment just like anyone else. The only thing that is or should be different in recovery is how we define fun or happiness.
Redefining Fun
In our experience, many of our clients define “fun” as an absence of pain instead of a genuine presence of joy. When spiraling in addiction, we often see young men enter a battle between pleasure and pain until they reach a breaking point. As a result, this often looks like partaking in unhealthy coping skills to “have fun”, feel a faux sense of happiness, or not feel at all. This can look like:
- Pornography
- Excessive screen time (i.e. streaming, video games, binge watching for days, etc.)
- Substance abuse
- Alcohol abuse
- Sexual compulsions
- Excessive partying
- Wreckless, harmful behavior
Before chalking this up to silly teen behavior, try to understand how these behaviors really do serve a purpose for someone who is hurting, battling addiction, or seeking relief from life’s struggles. In many cases, telling someone in this instance to stop these behaviors is like telling them to “stop having fun”. This is why it’s important to redefine fun in recovery instead of STOPPING fun.
Here is what we do know – young men are not going to be able to focus on all-day lectures every day. They need to break up their days with experiential activities, interactive learning, play and exercise as well. Let’s explore how to begin a fulfilling life that includes finding happiness in recovery.
What Does Fun in Treatment Look Like?
Naturally, teens and young adults are concerned about what they’re missing out on when beginning mental health treatment, especially residential treatment where they will be away from home for an extended amount of time. To remedy this, at Capstone Treatment Center we incorporate fun throughout our program with weekly adventure days – exploring the adventure Arkansas has to offer, holiday family time and activities, and ropes course elements built into our weekly groups.
5 Ways to Incorporate Happiness in Recovery
- Fun Family Visits: Remember, not every family conversation has to be about the issue(s) at hand. Reincorporate regular family conversations about interests, feelings, dreams, and needs. If your child is in residential treatment, most treatment centers have visiting days and hours. If allowed, bring board games, questions cards, or even their favorite food from home. This will likely inspire moments of finding happiness in recovery.
- Cultivating New Healthy Friendships: There are few things more comforting than knowing that “someone else gets it”. So, one potential opportunity in treatment is meeting an individual or family who has been where you’ve been or are where you are. Developing new relationships with people who understand and support your journey can benefit your recovery journey.
- Adventure: Trials have a way of pushing us beyond what we thought we could endure or would even be interested in exploring. One thing that recovery can invite is adventure. When exploring new and healthy ways to release dopamine and get relief from life’s stressors, give adventure a try. At Capstone, when our clients engage in adventure therapy, our goal is to help the clients learn how to do some of these activities and have the ability to continue them after graduation, displacing old behaviors that were not healthy.
- Developing New Life Skills: It is human nature to desire a sense of achievement. One way to fulfill that desire is to learn a new skill. Learning new skills accomplishes a few things for us, like:
- Helping us to properly utilize our time
- Giving us something to look forward to and invest in
- Potentially enhancing career opportunities
- Boosts brain health
- Increases confidence
- Encourages personal growth
- Reduces stress and anxiety
- Exercise: Exercise invites dopamine, strengthening, endurance, resilience, and confidence into your recovery journey. Whether it be in the form of walking, dancing, running, hiking, yoga, or the traditional gym route, the benefits of exercise far outweigh the temporary discomfort we may experience in the process.
Capstone is a top rated residential treatment center for young men. We focus on helping young men ages 18-26 and teens ages 14-17 who struggle with self-destructive behaviors, mental health struggles, and compulsive behaviors. Get in touch today to learn more about our expert team and our approach to helping young men overcome their hurts. Learn how we can help you here.
Tell Us About Your Situation
If you or your loved one’s need matches the level of care and support offered at Capstone Treatment Center, we hope to be that answer for you. Call 866-729-4479 and learn how we can be your partners in healing.