Finding Fun Sober

You’re newly sober. First, congratulations! That is an amazing accomplishment that should be shouted from the rooftops.

Now what?

The rest of your life awaits, and you have so many questions. Will I ever have fun again? Will I lose my friends who still use what I gave up? How will I celebrate holidays and birthdays? Am I boring now? Will people still like me?

The answers to most of these questions depend on YOU and your individual circumstances. But I can guarantee you one thing: you will have fun again as a sober person if you want to. That’s the key: you must make the effort to find things that you enjoy doing without the “assistance” of drugs and/or alcohol. These things could be new hobbies or sports. You can join new groups for specific types of workouts or take classes in something you’ve always been interested in. Volunteering is another great way to meet new people with common interests.

But this isn’t what you’re worried about, is it? You’re wondering if you’ll ever have fun at a party with people who are getting hammered. You’re worried you’ll never have as much fun as you did at the club or bar, or a New Year’s Eve party. I’m here to tell you that you CAN, and you WILL, if you make the effort.

When I quit drinking thirteen years ago, I worried about the same things. And for almost a year, I avoided parties, bars, and group celebrations of any kind. I knew I needed to be strong in my sobriety to enter back into “normal” social activities.

Now that I work in the area of recovery, I know that there are a lot of sober people out there to have fun with. To achieve long-term sobriety, it is crucial to find those people and celebrate recovery with them. Twelve-step meetings are a great place to meet new friends. Here in Houston, we are lucky to have the Party Sober Partnership (partysober.org). This group of 14 nonprofit organizations is dedicated to hosting fun, sober social activities for people like you. In fact, their next event on February 25^th is a Sober Chili Cookoff, and it’s free to attend. Check it out here!



Also, if staying active is part of your recovery, you should get familiar with The Phoenix (thephoenix.org). This incredible nonprofit provides a monthly calendar of free workouts for all fitness levels and activity types across Harris County. From rock climbing to yoga and CrossFit to pickleball, these activities and many more are free to those with at least 48 hours of sobriety.

So, are you going to have fun again as a sober person? That is entirely up to you.