Many people enjoy the summertime festival season, but festivals can be tough for a newly sober person.
Festivals are often filled with triggers that can lead to relapse, which is why many patients avoid festivals after completing drug and alcohol detox. After finishing your full treatment program, you may be looking into attending festivals. Our team at Banyan Detox Stuart shares tips for how to enjoy festival season sober.
Going to Festivals After Getting Sober
Before going to a festival sober, you need to ensure that you’ve built strong tools for lasting sobriety. You should not step foot onto festival grounds if you have not completed the full continuum of care, which typically includes drug, alcohol, and dual diagnosis treatment. Only after completing your full treatment program should you consider going to a festival or concert sober. You want to make sure you’ve developed effective tools for lasting sobriety.
How to Go to a Festival and Stay Sober
Many former patients are wondering how to enjoy festival season sober. It can be done! Before going to a concert sober, make sure that you’re aware of any potential triggers that may be present. Knowing your triggers or challenges ahead of time can help you develop a game plan for facing or avoiding these situations.
We also suggest heading to the festival or concert with friends who are also sober. This can include friends you make at a facility for drug detox and treatment, along with friends you make outside of the recovery community. The goal is to surround yourself with individuals who are also focused on sobriety and fun.
Many festivals have support groups and communities focused solely on sobriety as the unifying factor. For example, Bonnaroo has Soberoo, which is a group of music lovers who stay sober at Bonnaroo. Soberoo participants are able to attend multiple meetings each day at tents throughout the festival. [1]
Resisting Triggers and Staying Sober
Festival season and sobriety can coexist with the right planning and commitment to recovery. Joining sober groups at festivals and concerts along with building your own sober support system can help you enjoy the show while sticking to sobriety.
At Banyan Detox Stuart, we’re here to support our patients in their recovery. Contact us today to learn more, 888-280-4763.
Sources:
- Bonnaroo – Activities
