The Love Month is here, and for most people, this is the time for them to be more showy and step up their game in the romance department. However, for those who are just fresh out of rehab, it’s best for them to just stay on the sidelines. At least, this applies to single, newly sober addicts.
Single, newly sober addicts, or people who have just come out of an addiction rehab, shouldn’t date or start a new relationship in early recovery. This should be for at least a year, as many addiction professionals would also agree.
Why Newly Sober Addicts Should Avoid Dating for a Year
This is because the first year out of rehab and into recovery can be a volatile stage. Newly sober addicts may risk finding a replacement to their “old” addiction, such as sex addiction or even love addiction. This is because while the addictions are different, the underlying issues behind these can still be a driving force to lead one into relapse or change in addiction.
Furthermore, a new relationship can be a distraction to the work you need to put into yourself in order for you to achieve lifelong recovery. A new relationship can be a huge stressor that can put pressure on your self-care. And if a relationship fails, the emotions and situations can trigger a relapse.
Then, if their partner also drinks or uses drugs, or engages in problematic and addictive behavior, then that can also pose problems. One simple example is, if the new partner drinks, then there’s the issue of tasting alcohol when they kiss on the lips. That can easily be a relapse trigger especially for someone trying to overcome alcoholism.
The time spent attending aftercare and 12-step meetings, or meeting support groups, may also be diminished. A new relationship, especially one in its honeymoon stage, can easily take top priority over everything else, even the newly sober addict’s self-care.
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