by Recovery HQ, May 15, 2022

Are you enjoying life in recovery? Here at Recovery HQ, we hope so! In fact, if we didn’t fully enjoy life in recovery, we wouldn’t be here. Imagine if when new people arrived at the door of any recovery program. Whether it be Narcotics Anonymous, Alcoholics Anonymous, Refuge Recovery, SMART Recovery, or any other recovery program, and the people said “welcome to recovery, the fun is over, life is boring, but we’re glad you’re here”. No one would stay!

Yes, we all thought the fun was over when we got here. Many of us even believed you couldn’t have fun unless you we’re “partying”. But, if that had been the reality of it, we would have left a long time ago and never came back. But we do keep coming back. So, if you’re new to recovery, welcome!

“We absolutely insist on enjoying life.” That comes right out of The Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous. A little six-word sentence that’s one of my favorite lines in the book. My first sponsor showed me that line early in my recovery because I didn’t believe you could have fun being clean or sober. How wrong was I!

In my first 90 days in recovery, I did the 90 meetings in 90 days, but I also, went bowling, played miniature golf, raced go-karts, went to a clean & sober dance, played clean & sober softball, went to a sober beach party, sang karaoke clean & sober, and much more. Not only did I do these things clean and sober, but I also had fun. I even remembered everything I did, didn’t hurt anyone, and didn’t feel guilty or remorseful over anything I had done, like I had before I got to recovery. In fact, over the years, all those things I thought I had to do drunk or loaded to do, I’ve done while 100% clean & sober, and had far more fun doing them than ever before.

Sure, there’s plenty of groups and people that may not be enjoying life or having as much fun in recovery as you and I want to have. But that’s not the recovery community I want to be a part of. This weekend, just in my little recovery community there was a beach party, an anniversary celebration, dinner parties, movie night, clean & sober golf, sober surfing, sober poker, clean & sober hiking, a baby shower, a sober wedding, and more.

And that’s just the general “fun” type of activities people think of. In recovery we even find enjoyment doing regular everyday things that many people may not classify in the F.U.N. category. We enjoy working late, going to the dentist, filling our jury duty commitments, missing the party to sit with someone at the hospital, answering the phone in the middle of the night, and taking time to help people we don’t know. By taking the actions outlined in our recovery programs, we enjoy the grand and little things in life.

Some fun, clean & sober people even started The Phoenix, a national sober active community that “fuels resilience and harnesses the transformational power of connection so that together we rise, recover, and live.” This recovery community has weekly hiking, mountain biking, water sports, camping, basketball, arts & crafts and so much more. They’re enjoying life to the fullest, operating on all cylinders and helping people overcome their addictions with a fun, active community.

Every week recovery communities across the United States and around the world are enjoying clean and sober campouts, parties, dances, music, social events, water sports, winter sports, summer sports, retreats, roundups, conferences, bonfires, athletic events, arts & crafts, cruises, yoga, mindfulness & meditation, and so much more.

If you’re struggling to find your group and fun things you can do in recovery, please visit the NA Events page, AA Events page, or other recovery program events websites. You can also visit the recovery events page on Recovery HQ or, feel free to contact the Recovery HQ team directly. and we will help you find fun activities in your local recovery community