One of the phrases that have been trending for months is social distancing. Staying six feet away from others so someone does not have to go six feet under can be difficult to endure for many.
As a human, you may thrive with human touch being an integral part of your life and live to welcome newcomers into their recovery. You can still be a part of the newcomer’s course. You just may need to alter your approach to reach them in this new social landscape.
Use a Physical Distancing Approach
Yes, the term that is being used by the media is social distancing, but you should simply change the literal meaning. You may not be able to see others in physical proximity although you can see them in a social setting other than face-to-face.
Use video chat, email, text, or make a phone call to get the social aspects, aka unity, you both need in your recovery. Allowing yourself to be relatable while being engaging gives you the advantage to socially help a newcomer when they are ready to get sober.
Use an Online Approach
Being open-minded to new platforms gives you the ability to expand your reach when necessary. Inviting newcomers to online meetings, adding them to private groups as a social media contact, or FaceTiming them can help some newcomers feel comfortable using multimedia networking.
If you have the capabilities to expand the horizons of technology to connect to a newcomer, do it as long as their anonymity is still honored. The language of the heart should still be enlarged even if it across a screen instead of in person.
Use an Old School Approach
If all else fails, stick to what you know. Call newcomers on the phone. Sign up to be a person to conduct 12-Step calls when newcomers call into the central office.
Better yet, commit to answering the 24-hour hotline where newcomers call into. Do whatever you can without wasting your time to help them stay on the path of their recovery.
Try to get as creative as you did with finding drugs and alcohol when you needed them, and you will be certain to find a creative way to connect with newcomers.
The newcomer is an important part of recovery because they remind us of what it is like out there. They also give us a way to practice a loving and kind approach by creating unity under any circumstance.
Offering a full range of recovery and mental health services, Detox Center of Colorado offers “Expanded Recovery” to enrich our clients’ lives in mind, body, and spirit. Through evidence-based therapy options and the endless adventure of Colorado, Detox Center of Colorado fosters connection, encouraging clients to get connected to themselves, their peers, their families, and their higher power. With the power of recovery, clients are restored to full health and experience life-changing healing. Call us today for more information: (303) 536-5463.
