Physical exercise helps us to maintain good mental and physical health. It may seem a lot of hard work exercising on a regular basis, but being physically active can boost your overall well-being. This is why America’s Rehab Campuses utilizes an integrated approach to treat addiction recovery which includes exercise and recreational therapy.
What Is Recreational Therapy?
Recreational therapy also referred to as therapeutic recreation is a type of therapy that involves using social activities to help promote the overall health and wellness of individuals with disabling conditions, addictions, and illnesses.
It may not seem like it can have much impact especially when it comes addiction recovery. But we have come to understand that it plays an important role in boosting not just the overall health of our clients, but also their mental well-being.
We have come to recognize that people who have been struggling with addiction for long find it difficult to socialize with other people or participate in social activities without being high. Recreational therapy helps free addicts from this dependency and teaches them how to engage socially and take part in fun activities without being intoxicated.
Our Programs
The exercise and recreational therapy program at America’s Rehab Campuses is designed to focus on the needs of the clients. Our program is diverse and is designed to include a wide range of activities that clients can enjoy taking part in without feeling intimidated.
Our team of recreational therapists works together with clients to teach them how to overcome social anxiety, which is often characterized by feelings of inadequacy, failure, humiliation, depression, self-consciousness, and inferiority.
Many of those who suffer from addiction have experienced trauma in their lives, which has led to substance abuse. Once they start down this dark path, it takes over their lives and consumes them to the point where the effects of addiction manifest physically as well as mentally.
And when our person has been dealing with addiction for a long time, it takes a while before they can fully recover physically and mentally, which is why at America’s Rehab Campuses we combine holistic therapy interventions and addiction treatment to help addicts achieve sobriety.
Since the focus of our exercise and recreational therapy program is geared towards self-healing physically and mentally, we ensure that most of our activities are group-oriented. We have seen that when our clients engage in group activities they become more open and more social.
Recreational therapy helps reduce stress, which can cause mood disorders such as anxiety and depression. By lowering a recovering addicts’ stress levels, recreational therapy reduces the risk of a relapse during addiction treatment. Our recreational therapy program focuses on the person as a whole because the damage caused by addiction is both physical and psychological.
What our program entails
Our exercise and recreational therapy program offers a wide range of activities. These activities include sports, yoga, community outings, meditation, hiking, and more.
The goals of our recreational therapy program include:
- Improving the client’s communication skills
- Fostering self-confidence and encouraging independence
- Helping participants strengthen their bonds with others
- Helping clients face and work out their issues
- Helping clients to have a deeper connection with their emotions
- Teaching clients team-building skills
Achieving long-term sobriety with recreational therapy
When clients walk through our doors seeking help, they are usually depressed and broken on the inside. Using effective addiction treatments and therapies, we provide the care that these clients need and this goes beyond just achieving sobriety. We have programs much like our recreational therapy program to help our clients live and enjoy productive and addiction-free lives.
But before they can get there, they also have to put in a lot of hard work. Achieving sobriety is a long and difficult journey. What we have done is try to make it easier and fun by including recreational therapy in our addiction program.
Some of the strategies we encourage our clients to use to help them achieve long-term sobriety with recreational therapy include:
- Developing positive and healthy habits
By engaging in recreational therapy activities, you will be able to develop positive and healthy habits. Most addicts require help creating routines that will help nourish their mind, body and soul. By participating in social activities, you’ll be able to find ways to stay sober. The more you get involved in recreational activities, the less interested you’ll be in drugs or alcohol.
- Getting more involved
You will become more involved if participate in social activities. Rather than sitting down and watching television all day, you can engage in outdoor activities that are enjoyable and which will encourage you to socialize with other people in the community.
- Creating and building solid relationships
You will be able to develop healthy friendships. When you participate in recreational activities, you get to meet new people and foster good and healthy relationships. If you spend most of your time alone, you are likely to go back to your old ways, so getting involved in social activities can help you build the kind of friendships that will help you live a productive life free of addiction.
Staying active can help you overcome the temptation to go back to your old habits. It can help you promote your physical and mental wellbeing. At America’s Rehab Campuses, we provide you with the tools and resources available to ensure that no matter what challenges you are facing during your recovery, you will have the support you need to succeed.
