What if I’m Not an “Outdoors Person”?

With the Rocky Mountain National Park literally in our backyard, Choice House has taken full advantage of the surrounding nature setting by promoting a unique therapeutic modality involving physical activities in the outdoors and wilderness. Being outdoors and engaging in physical activity are both exercises that have been proven to decrease depression and improve the overall mental health of addiction recovery patients. Our outdoor wilderness therapy utilizes both of these natural treatment methods for mental wellness to our advantage while also giving men the opportunity to bond over hikes or bike rides in the great outdoors.

This may all be well and good for an outdoor enthusiast or even just a casual nature explorer, but what happens if you are not an outdoors person? If, as we have heard several times before, you just don’t “get “nature or don’t like being in the wilderness, what then?

If you are of a firm mindset that you detest being outdoors or in the wilderness, then maybe Choice House’s 90 day inpatient treatment program is not for you, and that’s ok. If this is the case, we would gladly suggest and help you find a more indoor appropriate inpatient service, or better yet, guide you to one of our intensive outpatient programs. 

However, in our experience, the more likely scenario may just be that nature, kayaking, hiking, and similar activities are not your preferred therapeutic modality for addiction recovery treatment. A big part of recovery is learning to adapt to new situations while trusting in the process even when it is not “your thing.” You may not be thrilled about every therapeutic method provided, but that does not mean those methods have no value to you in addiction recovery. If you are willing to give it a chance, we feel that you might find that there are plenty of other benefits that you can gain from experiences that may not fit into your ideal vision of treatment.

The Benefits of Outdoor Therapy, Even If you Don’t “Get” Nature

So, you are not into nature and staring at the beautiful vista’s of the Rocky Mountains does nothing for you. That hardly means you cannot gain from the benefits that Choice House’s outdoor wilderness therapy provides. The physical activity alone will create endorphins that support a healthier mental disposition and simple tasks like completing a hike can offer a rewarding sense of completion afterward. For many recovering addicts, these little wins may be the first taste of success that they have felt in a long time. Our outdoor wilderness therapy provides some much needed encouragement for patients, especially those in early recovery. 

The main take-away that we hope you gain from this therapeutic modality is a sense of community within the addiction recovery world. Being outdoors with fellow recovering addicts helps create a genuine camaraderie among men and opens them up to the opportunity to create lifelong friendships. Heck, you may even bond over not liking the outdoors. Whether you like the outdoors or not, the purpose of these activities is not simply to become one with nature. Rather, they are meant to help individuals in recovery reconnect with their humanity by making connections with fellow addiction recovery patients.

Alternative Therapeutic Modalities

Unfortunately, there is no clear cut treatment for addictive disorders and co-occurring mental health issues. There is no cure-all pill or one particular method of treatment that works close to 100 percent of the time. Each addiction recovery patient is different, their addiction disorders and mental health issues are also very different. Therefore, treatment methods and their effectiveness will vary from patient to patient. This is why at Choice House we do not rely on just one therapeutic modality.  

If the great outdoors and our wilderness don’t call out to you, we hope that you are willing to remain open to the process, but we also understand that everyone learns about self-care and addiction recovery differently. In addition to our outdoor therapy treatment method, we offer meditation and mindfulness instruction that can help patients better manage their emotions and our art therapy is a proven method for improving communication among addiction recovery patients. We have also seen men make great strides in opening up after experiencing our wolf/animal therapy. We are not here to convince you into becoming a nature lover and outdoors enthusiast, but if you trust in the process, we will convince you that long term sobriety is an attainable goal.

If you are seeking treatment for substance use and addiction disorders, Choice House is here to help with our variety of therapeutic modalities each designed to effectively provide men with the necessary tools to create a foundation of love and empathy on their path to long term sobriety. Located in Boulder County, Colorado, we offer a 90 day inpatient service, an intensive outpatient program, and a sober living campus for men transitioning back to their daily lives. Our focus is on providing a treatment program that best suits each individual in addiction recovery while also laying the groundwork for a community of addiction recovery patients to help one another along the way. Since the Rocky Mountain National Park is literally in our backyard, we are afforded the opportunity to provide unique treatment methods with our outdoor wilderness therapy. Even if you are not an outdoor person, we feel you will benefit from the sense of camaraderie, friendship, and accomplishment that naturally develops from our wilderness therapy sessions. The variety of alternative and traditional therapeutic modalities also includes indoor activities with recovery patients having access to art therapy, instruction in meditation and mindfulness, as well as group and individual therapy sessions. For more information on Choice House addiction recovery programs, give us a call at (720) 577-4422.