Sober Social Events for Teens and Young Adults
Drug-Free Social Events Every Week
One of the most common fears young people have when they enter recovery is that they won’t have fun anymore. For a young person whose whole world centers around drug use, drug using peers, and media that supports drug use, this is a logical conclusion – drugs are often the young person’s only outlet for fun, relaxation, or enjoyment in life.
At The Insight Program, one of the core elements of our support groups is our weekend sober social events for teens and young adults, called “functions.”
Every Friday and Saturday night, all five of our programs hold social events specifically aimed at helping young people discover fun and connection without having to use drugs.
Recovery That’s Better Than Getting High!
One of our mantras as a program is that for recovery to stick over the long-term, it must be better than getting high.
While this is true for anyone getting sober, it’s especially true for young people. Young people typically aren’t motivated by pain in the same ways that adults are – they haven’t suffered the extreme consequences of an adult entering treatment.
For this reason, we utilize what we call “front wheel drive” sobriety, where we help young people discover a life more fun and rewarding than drug use.
Why Friday and Saturday Nights?
Thought many young people end up doing drugs at other times, we consistently hear that the hardest times to stay sober are Friday and Saturday nights.
For many, these nights are the “party” nights – the times of the week that young people feel the most anxious, and the times where old using buddies are most likely to try and reconnect with them.
We’ve found over the years that giving young people something to look forward to on the weekend serves a few purposes:
- They are able to look forward to the weekend, rather than dread it.
- They have a convenient built in excuse that they can’t reconnect with using friends.
- They get more chances each week to forge positive relationships with their peers in sobriety.
Examples of Sober Social Events Through The Insight Program
- Sports
- Movie nights
- Dances
- Hangouts at our coffee shop
- Game show nights
- Talent shows
- Campouts
- Beach trips
- New Year’s Eve events
- … and many more throughout the year!!