Recovery for women is a unique experience. They generally carry a lot of the mental load f care taking. Part of being in recovery is also learning how to navigate space for themselves, outside of caring for others. This can be challenging with being a caregiver for aging parents, a special needs child, other children in the home, even being a single parent. There are so many ways women navigate these spaces; adding recovery to it can feel overwhelming. Travel can be a great way to step back, spend time alone, or find a group of other sober women to travel with who can help encourage recovery principles.
New Perspectives
One of the great things about travel is exploring new places. Visiting a new neighborhood, town, or city can be transformative for the mind, body, and spirit. Whether women visit alone or with other women, there are ways to travel and not stress about sobriety. For women in recovery, if they traveled to a new place for treatment, they might be able to stay a while afterwards to explore or make note of places to see another time.
Women who are at home and want to visit somewhere new may want to keep a list of the places they’d like to visit and what to see while there. It can also be helpful to find a list of sober communities, recovery groups, and spaces to check in with during your trip. There is no need to disconnect from the sober community while traveling. Meeting new sober women might even open up different points of view.
Make New Discoveries
Recovery is all about exploration. Women can give into their sense of exploration by opening up to discoveries. Making a list, planning, and executing a trip — even for just a day or weekend is no small feat. Throw family, kids, or friends in the mix, and it can make things quite interesting very fast. This is all a learning process. Don’t let the curve balls throw off the balance of finding peace, serenity, and joy in the trip. Some things to consider:
- Visit places where family or friends can play tour guide (as long as they support sobriety and are not toxic to recovery)
- Bring contacts for sober companions and mentors back home to check in with on the journey
- Stop by yoga or mindfulness spaces and intentionally plan to be in spaces where they exist
- Consider a road trip versus flying to get something new from the experience
- Make a point to see nature and explore botanical gardens or local attractions
New Recovery, New You
Everything changes in recovery. There is no easy pathway out of addiction to health. To feel restored is to find peace of mind for the journey. Recovery is an everlasting journey, one that will always grow with women as they wander through life. Why not take that wanderlust and experience of recovery to new depths. Pack up for spiritual retreats or silent spaces to find quiet. If life and recovery have been nothing but hustle and bustle, seek solitude.
If isolation and quiet have been too prominent, find out what it might be like to go into spaces with more activity happening. Realize new likes and dislikes. The joy is in the discovery. Today is a new day, and the things that were present before may be shifting or falling away. Leave room for that to happen naturally and just notice what happens. Embrace this as a positive step towards change.
Ever Forward
Don’t spend too much time looking back in recovery. Although there is plenty of time and space for that, travel and experiencing new spaces is not the place for it. Think about moving forward and growing into this new self. She will look very different day to day from the person who began the journey. From the exhausting early days of detox and recovery to now, embrace this new road to recovery.
Honor the way mind, body, and spirit have gotten this far. Whether a person travels to new countries, states, or just within their home boundaries, there are new ways to engage the experience that will not feel stressful. Let this space open the mind to possibilities and help open things up to embrace a new way of living from now on.
The road to recovery continues. On and on it goes while women are seeking new depths and new heights. Travel is a great way to deepen these experiences, feel encouraged, and find like-minded communities outside of their own. Along the way, women can learn about themselves and the journey in ways they would not if they stayed home and comfortable.
Don’t be afraid to disrupt the routine and think outside the box. That is the best way to grow in recovery. Even if now is not the time, get ready. That time will come to set sail into the great unknown and take that long-awaited trip on that goal sheet. Plan, save, and prepare for it. Soon enough, it will be here and there will be no looking back in regret.
Casa Capri empowers women to find their voice and hope in recovery. We offer a safe space to explore recovery without worrying about what others think. You can come as you are, be vulnerable, and find new friends here that support your journey. Call us today to get started: 844-593-8020
