One of the most special parts about the addiction recovery process is finding kindred spirits along the way. We tend to feel very alone when we’re struggling with addictions, and we can feel just as alone when we’re working towards recovery. Many of us isolate ourselves, especially if we’re depressed or struggling with other mental health issues. When we open ourselves to forming friendships and connections with people, we can be surprised at the deep bonds we’re able to experience and benefit from.

Our kindred spirits are the people with whom we feel a strong personal connection, who we feel serve a unique purpose in our lives. Very often our kindred spirits are here to help us, and we are meant to help them. They might be recovering addicts themselves or they might be people who genuinely want to help us along our way. They might be people we already know and trust. When we recognize a kindred spirit in someone else, it can feel as though we’ve known them a long time. We can feel as though we’re already connected. This can be a deep and powerful bond we share.

Developing kindred spirit relationships can be challenging but also quite rewarding. They push us to look at ourselves honestly and with courage. They encourage us to be our best selves, and to seek out the best life we possibly can. This isn’t always easy, especially when we’re just starting out in recovery. We can feel like we’re being pushed too hard. We may get defensive or scared. A true kindred spirit relationship always has our best interest at heart. The more we trust it and open ourselves to it, the more we can learn about ourselves, about our healing process, about having healthy relationships and about living a happy, peaceful life.

We find our kindred spirits everywhere – in treatment, in support groups, while volunteering. When we are both in recovery, we can find that our relationship helps us to uplift and encourage each other. Our friendship is based on mutual support and care. Many of the mistakes we made in past relationships, especially when we were struggling with our addictions, provide the basis for learning how to have a healthy friendship. With our kindred spirits, we get to put into practice everything we’ve learned along the recovery journey – how to be a good friend to others, how to support our loved ones, and how to allow ourselves to receive the love that others are offering us.

We provide a community of support and understanding. Call 888-570-7154 for information on our treatment programs.