What Is Recovery Capital?
Recovery capital played a huge part in my sobriety. It’s important to have goals in life, and it’s the same with recovery. Sobriety is extremely rewarding after you’ve lived the life of an addict for a prolonged period of time. While sobriety alone can be rewarding, those little extra benefits can help you stay on the straight and narrow. The benefits of recovery capital make me want to stay sober and enjoy the progress that I’ve made. It’s important to celebrate your milestones, especially with your sober support network. Some people don’t, but I prefer to honor the steps that I’ve taken to be a better person.
Recovery capital relates to all of the resources needed to sustain your recovery. So what exactly does that mean? Think of it as all of the assets and resources that you accumulate as you journey through recovery. The longer you’re in it and the more you put into it, the more you get out. It’s sort of like having life experience in a way. As you get older and learn more, you gain a certain amount of wisdom and understanding. There are many different types of recovery capital, and they all mean something a little different.
Personal Capital vs. Recovery Capital
Personal capital recovery refers to the personal gains that you make during your sobriety. This is your physical and personal capital. Your health, your personal skills, and the basic needs that you attain in life. Simply having food and shelter can be seen as personal capital. There is also your family and social capital. Intimate relationships, familial relationships, and the bonds that you build through your recovery community. These are all very important to the process. Going through sobriety alone often doesn’t result in long-term recovery. There are people who have done it, but in my experience, you need some kind of community to get you through the darkness.
Speaking of community, another type of recovery capital is your community recovery capital. This is the work that you put in to help others. The goodwill you show your community in helping other people achieve sobriety. If you set up a recovery meeting or engage in any type of recovery activism, this builds up your community capital. Your community recovery associations are lifelong bonds you will build with the other members of your recovery group.
Accumulating capital in recovery is a slow process, but the entire recovery process is slow and progressive. It takes time to build capital in any situation in life. It takes a long time to build good credit. It takes a long time to build trust in others. These aren’t things that people take lightly. That’s why measuring recovery capital can be a very rewarding and fulfilling thing. Every little piece of capital you achieve is something that you earned and you should feel proud of.
The Economy Of Recovering Individuals
Setting a foundation for recovery capital is something you will begin to build as soon as you begin your recovery. As you build your capital, you will find new and different ways to gain more capital through acquiring recovery resources. The recovery capital index may vary from program to program, but it’s all pretty much the same. The more capital you gain, the more you are capable of gaining. This entire process is something that can really help keep you stay on track. Sober support systems and recovery capital are very much intertwined.
People take note of all the things that you have achieved. I make it a point to congratulate and encourage my recovery peers any time they gain capital or reach a milestone. It’s vital that we all encourage each other and let one another know that the work they put in is noticed and appreciated. Recovery metrics and recovery metrics are difficult to measure completely. A lot of this stuff is subjective, but we all know what we have and how we can continue to build off of it.
Different Ways of Measuring Sobriety
The process of sobriety is difficult to measure in metrics. It’s hard to narrow it down to any direct science. Everyone’s situation is unique. Although addiction looks very similar for everyone, the ways in which we recover may look different from person to person. No matter where you are in your recovery, everyone needs a support system. The recovery communities that exist out there are very compassionate and understanding. It’s difficult to go through recovery with people who aren’t educated on addiction. When you are with people who have a similar story as you, it can help you stay on the right track.
Sobriety is a lifestyle, after all. It takes a lot of practice and work. When you become sober, hanging around with people from your past can be tricky. If you still have friends or loved ones who use drugs or alcohol, they can trigger you without even knowing it. Oftentimes you will need to build new relationships with people who embrace sobriety. Together, you will all encourage each other to gain capital and continue your sobriety journey.
Finding Your Recovery Community
You could very well live right next to a recovery community and not even realize it. When you’re in the thick of your addiction, the whole idea of a sober community is totally alien. You think that it’s a fantasy world. No one can live like that and truly be content, can they? This mindset exists because of drugs. Finding the right sober network is possible and it isn’t all that difficult. If you do even a little research, you will find the right group of people. Everyone has different criteria and ideas when it comes to finding people that you can get along with and coexist with. If you take a little time you will find that there is a lot out there in the way of recovery. There are so many people like you that struggled but got through it because of having a good community around them.
You’re going to have to take it very seriously if you want to be part of a good sober living community. It isn’t easy to get away with slipping up if you are accepted into one of these communities. Overall, sobriety is number one. There is usually a zero-tolerance policy in place. It won’t be easy for you to sneak in drugs or alcohol, and if you do, you run the risk of being asked to leave. That isn’t to say these communities are heartless. If you do relapse, you won’t just be kicked to the curb unless you’ve committed some unforgivable offense. Remember, relapse does not mean failure. A lot of people relapse years into sobriety, That doesn’t mean you can’t get right back on track. Yes, it is an unfortunate misstep. That doesn’t mean all your progress was for nothing.
Taking Ownership of Recovery Capital
I am extremely proud of the sober community I live in. I am proud of every single person I’ve interacted with. My pride for these people and the relationships I’ve developed are a big reason I am still clean today. After all those years of drug abuse, I am at a place where I love my neighbors and care for them like family. They are my extended family. I never imagined I’d be a part of a community like this. It’s pretty tough to envision yourself succeeding in any way when you are in the drug addict mindset. You are insecure and vulnerable. You don’t think you can do anything other than waste away. If only more addicts could be convinced this is completely false.
The mainstream acceptance of the sober movement is very encouraging to me. People are much more educated now on drugs and alcohol. We all know that they ruin lives, families, and careers. People don’t usually lose everything because they are sober. With drugs and alcohol, no matter where you are in your life, you are going to experience some kind of upheaval and test. Life is all about being tested. How you respond to these tests is what builds resilience and shapes the path of your life. How will you respond when things get tough? How will you rise up to the occasion? Being in a sober community allows you to brace yourself for these difficult times and not turn to drugs or alcohol.
Going All In for Your Recovery
Your approach to sobriety determines your outcome. If you are all in on getting clean, and it’s something you want for yourself more than anything, you have a wonderful chance of making it happen. A lot of the work has to be done on your own, but with the right support system in place you will be set up for success. I needed all the support I could get from my peers when I was newly sober, and it paid off greatly. It’s a huge reason I am still a part of the community I am a part of. A lot of problem drinkers like myself made the decision to get clean, and they worked hard to do it. They had the right focus and determination. This is how you can make it work. You go all in with it, just like anything else in life. Problem drinking can quickly lead to chronic alcoholism, which is what I was close to. Luckily, I was able to get out of it when I did. There is hope for everyone to get clean. It starts with you and continues with the people you surround yourself with.
If you find yourself needing a bit more help and inspiration on the path to your own recovery, please don’t hesitate to reach out to the staff at Pathfinders Recovery Centers. Over the years we’ve helped countless people suffering from substance abuse disorders of all kinds into meaningful, lasting sobriety. Call the Admissions team today and begin accumulating your own stores of recovery capital now!
