Activities to Stay Sober?

If you're looking for a social activity then you might want to look into frisbee. It's great since it doesn't cost that much and it's very accessible to anyone so you could even just invite a random person and they can automatically get into it since it doesn't take that much special skill and even if you aren't that good the worst that happens is you pick it up a lot off the ground. It's also a great way to exercise so you get a lot out of it.

Keep an eye on the schedule at your local art museum - they often times host lectures where they will bring in a famous artist to speak, and it's either free or only a few bucks. I've seen some great ones over the years, Robert Raushenberg, Linda McCartney shortly before she passed away, Paul Jenkins and others... They may even offer some adult art classes if you want to dabble in drawing/painting or some art history lectures.

For something kind of silly, there might be a local "Ghost Hunters" type group in your neck of the woods. I met up with one in the Cleveland area many years ago and went on a few "hunts" with them. It helped to go with a larger group than to try and explore these places on your own where you could get hurt and nobody would be there to help you. I don't personally believe in ghosts, but it was more fun to check out historical locations and buildings and learn about some of the darker histories behind them.

Or if you do in fact want to go at it alone, and ditch the whole supernatural thing, you could maybe go "Urban Spelunking" and sneaking around abandoned locations to take pictures.

I agree with you about music. It can tame a troubled soul, give a person energy, uplift a mood. Music truly has healing properties.

Music is good, but how is music occupying your time? If we are learning an instrument, that can occupy our time and we learn a skill, or eventually if we are part of a band.

Volunteering never hurt anybody too.

Volunteering is in fact a good idea Tournique, I just don't know if it's too demanding from someone just recovering. I guess it depends on the time of volunteering.

I don't mean dedicate your entire day to volunteering. But going to help for 3-4hours/day can be pretty rewarding.

I enjoy photography as it's something you can do on your own when not feeling social but you can also be part of a photography group and be more social when you feel like it. You could even start out on your own and then join a group when you feel more comfortable. Any simple camera will do too when you first start out, and there are heaps of great tutorials on youtube to get you started on the basics.

Otherwise if your feeling braver I'd recommend rock climbing if it's available near you. It's great for improving fitness and confidence. Feels good to achieve small goals and you don't need to be super sporty to give it a try (I'm definitely not! But I really enjoy it).

I'd very much love to start rock climbing but it's not that easy for me. It's not about fitness condition but only about the fact that there are no close areas to do so in my vecinity.

There's a certain experiment where a rat is in a cage with nothing but a bottle of plain water & a bottle of opiate laced water. The rat chooses the opiate laced water more often than not. Another rat is also in a cage however this cage is filled with everything a rat could want: other mating rats, coloured balls, wheels, cheese. The rat also has an option between the opiate laced water & the plain water. THIS rat almost solely chooses the plain.

The reason I share this is because humans are similar in a certain way. If we are isolated (whether we do it to ourselves or not) we're always more likely to go back to the thing that makes things seem different.

Going out to listen to a local singer, or getting together with some friends to go listen to a local group somewhere, maybe once or twice a month is a good social activity if one is a music person. That social outing and interaction with like-minded people can occupy your time.

Learning to play an instrument is a great thing and can occupy your time, but it can be stressful. For instance, trying to master playing the guitar is enough to make me drink.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_hobbies....

Blur92, this list I provided got me exhausted just trying to read them all . You have enough to choose from here that could last you a lifetime. The only reason I really checked was because you said you wanted something out of the ordinary. If something out of the ordinary isn't found here I would be more than surprise.

Thanks for raising the subject. It causes me to look at other things for myself as well. The other posters offered lots of suggestions. Your options are endless. Enjoy whatever you choose.

Church is a very good suggestion. If you enjoy sports, join a recreational team. Use your hobbies and find a group of like minded individuals who regularly meet together.

New activities will always be of help distracting the mind from other protruding detrimental behaviors. Something to ponder or learn maybe even earning money while keeping busy. Even though this keeping the mind busy must at times be forced in this way it works and has greater outcomes and influences on recovery.

Speaking of volunteering, how about you also try to volunteer in your local animal shelter? It's like hitting two birds with one stone. You help the abandoned and stray animals, and you have the chance of meeting some new friends over there.

I agree that being with people is the best and that might be the main issue with many people, when we quite consumption all our friends are back in that world, so we need new ones.

I've always thought that an involved hobby is the best for keeping yourself out of trouble. If you do something that is more involved you tend to need to have a clear head to get things accomplished. Also once you have succeeded then you have a feeling of satisfaction and gain self esteem from seeing something come from your own two hands. They say idle hands are the devil's playground, and I would have to say it helps to just keep busy.

I would have to say that I would like to go to church more. When I was going to church before I found a great support system that helped me in kicking the habit. Now I am able to get this support network back and if I start to falter I am able to rely on my support system to help me out.

Maybe taking up a hobby or a class would be nice. Good distraction plus learning new productive things is always good.

Exercise! It is proven to help with depression that may be induced by withdrawal. You will also feel so much better about yourself and your body. I recommend jogging and weight lifting, but mess around a bit to find your favorite physical activities.