How hobbies can save your sobriety
The uncomfortable truth that nobody prepares you for is that early recovery can be boring. Really, really boring. While finishing rehab should bring some much-needed peace after the chaos of drug addiction or alcohol addiction, those first days and nights can seriously drag. It is only then that you realise how much of your time was consumed by feeding your addiction, and now that’s gone, there is a lot of time to fill.
This extra time is a huge opportunity to build a happy, healthy life in sobriety, but it can also be a dangerous period. Taking part in hobbies is a great way to stay busy and prevent old thoughts or habits from creeping their way back in.
Why early recovery can feel so empty
Substance use hijacks your brain’s reward system, so ordinary pleasures can feel muted for a while. Scientists call this anhedonia—the inability to feel pleasure from things that used to bring it.
On a chemical level, anhedonia happens because your brain spent months or, in many cases, years being flooded with artificial dopamine from drugs and alcohol. When you quit substances, your brain needs time to remember how to produce and respond to normal levels of dopamine again.
There is also a psychological gap that can contribute to anhedonia. Addiction fills a lot of time, as you need to acquire money for substances, go through the routine of drinking or using, manage the hangover or comedown, and then do it all again. For many people, addiction even provides a kind of routine or purpose, albeit incredibly unhealthy ones. When all that is gone, you are left with a vacuum that needs filling, and that is often when relapse risk peaks.
How hobbies in recovery can help
Hobbies in recovery aren’t just about killing all your newfound time (though there is nothing wrong with that). They are also about rebuilding a life that feels worth living. Some of the biggest benefits include:
Structure
Hobbies provide structure without rigidity, and when everything else feels uncertain, just having a plan for how to spend your time can be a huge help. Inpatient rehab is intentionally busy to ensure you get the most out of your stay and to keep your mind and body occupied.
As the old saying goes, “The devil finds work for idle hands”, but a packed rehab treatment schedule keeps you engaged and distracted from cravings and triggers. When you leave drug rehab or alcohol rehab, picking up old hobbies or trying something new can do the same thing, creating a rhythm to your day that rehab, and addiction before that, used to provide.
Emotional release
Hobbies can help you manage or work through difficult emotions that you may have previously masked through substances or addictive behaviours. These feelings won’t all just disappear because you’re now sober, but hobbies offer a way to process them differently. A long run may not solve all your problems, but it can be a great way to relieve anxiety and stress. An hour of painting won’t heal all your past pain, but it can give you a calm way to express what you’re feeling.
A new identity
In active addiction, your entire identity can become wrapped up in substance use or addictive behaviours. Recovery asks you to figure out who you are without substances, and that can be very hard if you’ve lost sight of who you are. Hobbies give you something to build on, and you become someone who paints, who runs, who plays guitar badly but still enjoys it. These become new identities and help restore the self-confidence that addiction destroys.
The best hobbies for recovery
Anything that gives you pleasure and supports recovery is a worthwhile hobby, but certain activities can be particularly beneficial. Some of the best hobbies in recovery provide healthy dopamine in sustainable doses to level out the highs and lows of substance abuse. Creative work, physical activity, and activities that teach you new skills can all help your reward system recalibrate gently without artificial stimulation.
There is also something particularly powerful about activities that involve progression. Getting slightly better at a hobby, even slowly, gives your brain regular small rewards. When you nail a piano chord change you’ve been struggling with, or cook a meal for your family, these tiny victories can really start to add up.
Hobbies that offer social connection without pressure are also excellent for addiction recovery. Early recovery can feel isolating, as your old social circle may have revolved around substances, and making new friends as an adult is awkward at the best of times. Some rehab programmes offer yoga therapy as part of their holistic treatment plans, and joining a yoga class after you finish rehab is a great way to stay healthy and make some new friends. Running clubs, book groups, church choirs, and team sports all do the same: help you form new connections while having fun.
A word of caution
Transfer addiction is real.
Exercise, gaming, collecting, even “healthy” pursuits can become compulsive, and some people do swap substances for extreme fitness regimes or obsessive hobbies that become just as consuming in their own way. The difference between healthy passion and dangerous compulsion, however, is whether the activity adds something to your life or takes away from it.
The most important thing is to look out for the same warning signs of addiction that you learned about in rehab. These include feeling anxious when you can’t do your hobby, neglecting relationships and responsibilities, hiding how much time you spend on it, or using it to avoid emotions rather than process them.
Balance matters, as recovery is about building a whole life, not swapping one fixation for another. A good hobby fits into your life alongside everything else. It doesn’t demand more and more of your time, become the only thing you think about, or start causing problems of its own.
Check in with yourself honestly, and ask people you trust for their perspective. The goal of any hobby in recovery is sustainable engagement in something that benefits you, not a new way to escape from what you are feeling underneath.
Finding what works for you
The great thing about finding new hobbies in recovery is you don’t have to love the first thing you try. If you want to get active, try walking, swimming, cycling, or martial arts. If you want something creative, then writing, painting, music, or cooking can all be excellent pastimes. If you want to spend more time in nature (British weather allowing, of course!), fishing, gardening, hiking, and camping are all perfect ways to get some fresh air and relax.
Think about what you enjoyed before addiction took over. Many people find that reconnecting with old interests, even things they abandoned years ago, can bring unexpected comfort. You may even be surprised that you aren’t as rusty as you thought you might be!
You should also think about what you need right now. If you’re feeling isolated, prioritise social hobbies even if they feel awkward at first. If you’re overwhelmed by people, then choose more solitary pursuits, at least for now. Match the hobby to the need, and as those needs change, branch out.
Most importantly, give yourself permission to be bad at things. You have already achieved so much just getting to this point, so remember that when you trip over your feet at your first salsa class! Participation is more important than how good you become, and with the same dedication you have shown during rehab, you are sure to see improvements if you stick with it.
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(Click here to see works cited)
- Hatzigiakoumis, Daniele Stavros et al. “Anhedonia and substance dependence: clinical correlates and treatment options.” Frontiers in psychiatry vol. 2 10. 17 Mar. 2011, doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2011.00010