This Is How You Can Make Ends Meet in Recovery

This is a guest post by Rufus Carter. Rufus has been in recovery for nine years. For the past six years, he has worked as a personal trainer. His website, recoveringworks.com, organizes resources for anyone in recovery who is trying to choose their career path. With the site, he hopes to help those in recovery create fulfilling and lucrative careers.

Are you trying to find ways to make money that won’t make a negative impact on your recovery? Recovering from addiction can be a long, stressful process, so you definitely do not need the added stress of worrying about your finances. Still, expenses and bills need to be paid, so how can you make it all work? If you need to make ends meet while you are in recovery, you may want to read through these helpful tips.

Don’t Take the Focus Away from your Recovery

Before you begin exploring ways to make ends meet during recovery, you need to ensure that you will be able to focus on yourself. Engaging in self-care is essential for staying sober, as well as maintaining your physical and mental health. While professional well-being can definitely be considered a form of self-care, taking basic steps like getting enough exercise, improving sleep, and reducing stress are much more important in your journey right now. So, keep your mental and physical health, as well as your recovery, a priority as you look for work. After all, contributing to recovery is one of the most effective ways to make it work.

Look for Work That Helps You Reduce Stress

If you are in recovery, you may have already learned about triggers. Triggers are elements in your life that can lead you to use drugs and alcohol and can range from a familiar smell to mental health issues. However, stress is a trigger that many in recovery have a hard time dealing with. It may seem like it is impossible to find a way to generate income that does not involve stress. You can, however, try to find work doing something you love to avoid adding more stress to your life. Spend time with animals by being a part-time dog walker or earn extra cash teaching painting classes, for gigs that may actually help reduce stress.

Start Small and Keep Your Work Comfortable

Now is not the time to push your limits or take on a task that forces you to change too much. You should start your work slowly with tasks you are fully comfortable taking on, and then work up from there. If you love to make crafts such as jewelry or even macrame, you could try selling items on Etsy for a simple way to earn money. Selling online is a good option if you are not very comfortable talking to people, and it also allows you to pretty much work at your own pace. As you rebuild your life and begin building your confidence, you can help your business grow by venturing out to local markets and craft shows to sell your art. Or, you can just keep it small if that’s what works best for you.

Try Gigs That Help You Help Others

So much of recovery involves inward reflection. That focus on the self is important in helping you get to the root of your addiction. Social connection, however, can be a very powerful tool for sobriety too. It’s the reason that AA and addiction recovery groups are so effective, and it’s a good reason to find work that allows you to connect with positive people. There are many jobs that help you meet new people, from working at a local bookstore to teaching music lessons or art at a local rec center. When you teach others or choose work that helps, you are also opening yourself up to some pretty positive energies. Helping others can help you in recovery by boosting your self-esteem, making you feel refreshed, and helping you connect with others in a positive, meaningful way. It’s a win for yourself, for others, and for your finances.

When you are in recovery, you are in a wonderful position of redefining yourself. So, why not extend the refresh to your professional life as well. Explore different gigs, try jobs you think you may like, and above all, keep your focus on finding what keeps you happy, healthy, and thriving.