“The sober fun our young adults are experiencing while in treatment is not just sober fun, it is life skills training on a larger scale. Our young adults are learning first hand that anything they used to do when they were in active addiction, they can also do sober.”
Last Thursday and through out the holiday weekend, Sober College students, like other college students, were on Thanksgiving Break were there unknowingly practicing life skills like communication and cooking, and knowingly having a great time. Like other colleges, the Sober College Learning Center and all Woodbury University classes were cancelled and students that stayed in town over the break were able to stuff themselves with home cooked turkey, play basketball, frolf, and mini-golf, go to Thanksgiving marathon 12-Step meetings, and just take load off and spend time with their family here at Sober College.
The holidays, especially one centered around spending time with family, can be difficult for anyone, but it is especially difficult for many young adults in early recovery. Off-duty Sober College staff and alumni showed up to the Thanksgiving festivities not just for the great food and fun, but to support the students and serve as an example of what staying sober and living a sober life can be.
On Friday and Saturday, Sober College students played mini-gold, frolf, flag football, watched movies, and more. Some clients were hesitant at first about “playing games”, but once they arrived, and eased up they learned that spending time with their friends, no matter what you are doing can make sure a really fun time. While students were practicing tolerance, communication, and working as a team, they were also learning that even simple activities can be fun, and they had a great time and were able to bond with each other.
Getting sober as a young adult is hard, and staying sober long-term is even harder. Sober College’s drug rehab program focuses not only, helping young adults get sober, but also on preparing them to lead healthy, happy, and successful sober lives long after they leave treatment. Experiencing the feeling that come up during holidays, like Thanksgiving, while they are in treatment, will better prepare young adults for the many Thanksgivings, Birthdays, and Anniversaries to come.
Maybe next year, the students that were in rehab at Sober College this year will come back as alumni, or if they are at home, maybe they will call a friend and ask them to play basketball rather than picking up a drink. The sober fun our young adults are experiencing while in treatment here is not just sober fun, it is life skills training on a larger scale, our young adults are learning first hand that anything they used to do when they were in their addiction, they can do sober.
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