The Importance of Service in Recovery

November 11th, 2024

By P. Casey Arrillaga, LCSW, LCDC

Acts of service are a central part of recovery for many
people who suffer from addiction and other mental health conditions. While almost
anyone would agree that being of service is a good thing, what makes it so
prominent in recovery programs? Is it necessary or just a nice side effect? Are
there tangible benefits? This post will tackle these questions and more.

What We Know So Far

The importance of being of service to others is a very old
idea. Many philosophers and spiritual leaders highlight service as a vital part
of a complete life. Spiritual and ethical writing is full of arguments for
doing service. They say that acts of service make human relationships work,
whether the service is given to a family member, romantic partner, local
community, larger society, or humanity as a whole. Why is this?

As it turns out, being of service creates bonds, and these
bonds are the glue that holds our relationships together. Service is not the
only way to create and maintain such bonds, but it has been shown to be a
powerful and rewarding way to do so. When we do service for someone or a group,
we feel more connected to them, and become more invested in their outcomes. In
other words, we care more about them, and caring connects.

Service need not be anything spectacular to be effective. It
can be as simple as giving a kind word to someone we love or opening a door for
a stranger. It can be picking up trash on the roadside or starting a community
group to help others. It can be anonymous acts that help another person without
that person ever knowing it.

While we might assume that acts of service are most powerful
in creating goodwill for the person who receives the service, this is
not so. In fact, doing service actually creates the most goodwill for the
person doing the service. In other words, it is more helpful to do
service for someone else than it is to have someone else do service for you.
This isn’t to say that it feels bad at all to have someone else help you; it
just isn’t as powerful as helping someone else. Interestingly, while it is much
smaller, there is a positive effect just from watching one person help another
even if you aren’t involved.

The field of positive psychology, which studies human
happiness, has a model that breaks happiness into five categories: Positivity,
Engagement, Relationships, Meaning, and Achievement [the PERMA model]. Each
aspect of happiness is important, but many argue that the most vital is
Meaning. This is because without a sense of meaning and purpose, the other
aspects will start to feel empty. On the other hand, with a sense of meaning,
almost any circumstance in life can be faced.

What does this have to do with service? As it turns out,
being of service to others is one of the most reliable and effective ways to
create a sense of meaning and purpose. This suggests that being of service not
only creates bonds with other human beings, but also creates bonds with ourselves
and potentially the universe around us. Being of service gives opportunities to
transcend ourselves, to get past our own wants and desires, and thus to feel
useful to those around us.

How This Impacts Recovery

Many people who suffer from addiction and other mental
health challenges also struggle with a sense of connection and self-worth. This
can come from feelings of helplessness to change their own behaviors and get
better life outcomes. It can be caused by the fact that people with such
conditions may need much more help than they think they can give back, leading
to guilt and shame. It can be caused by the selfish nature of addiction, which often
leads to behaviors that clash with the sufferer’s core values. It can come from
the isolation of many mental health conditions, such as social anxiety,
paranoia, addiction, depression, or schizophrenia. It can happen as a result of
the stigma that so many people attach to mental health problems. For most, it
is a combination of several of these factors.

As people enter into recovery, they may be searching for any
hope to not only recover the material and practical aspects of their lives, but
even more importantly they want to find hope in themselves as people. Being of
service is a powerful way they can do this.

How Can We Use This Knowledge to Help People?

At Windmill, we know that encouraging our clients to be of
service can be a game-changer for them. It is baked into the model of the
recovery fellowships we offer, such as AA and SMART. It is a frequent subject
in the groups and classes we teach. Sometimes this is overt, such as when we
talk about the importance of giving back to family and society. Other times it
is taught through the example and experience of giving constructive feedback to
peers or being a part of community recovery events.

Many times, our clients find service opportunities in simply
talking to one another outside of formal class times. We encourage them to help
each other understand recovery concepts, pass along knowledge they have gained
to newer members of our community, and to mentor others when they are ready.
Many clients who complete our program come back to talk at on-campus recovery
meetings and sponsor/mentor newer clients. Our private alumni social media
groups give ample opportunity to reach out and help each other. In all these
ways and more, we offer and encourage many ways to be of service. We introduce
our clients to the benefits of service that they can then take out into their
families, communities, and the world.

The Bottom Line

Being of service is a vital part of recovery for many
people. It can be something simple or grand, but acting on behalf of others has
tangible psychological benefits. It also creates and reinforces bonds, even
more so for the person doing the service. All of this provides benefit for
anyone struggling with addiction or other mental health conditions. At
Windmill, we recognize this and help our clients get those benefits.

6 Things to Know About Service

• Being of service is a vital part of recovery for many
  people.
• Service creates and reinforces all kinds of social bonds.
• Service doesn’t need to be spectacular to be effective.
• It is more helpful to do service for someone else than it is
  to have someone else do service for you.
• Being of service is one of the most effective ways to create
  a sense of meaning and purpose.
• Being of service is easy and often free!

About The Author

P. Casey Arrillaga is the Team Leader for Education at
Windmill Wellness Ranch, and he is the author of books including “Realistic
Hope: The Family Survival Guide for Facing Alcoholism and Other Addictions”.