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One of the most crucial components of a successful addiction recovery is changing your lifestyle. This most often includes distancing yourself from old drinking friends and haunts, such as a favorite bar. Addiction recovery usually entails making new friends. This may seem like a daunting task, but it’s something we all do throughout our lives. Healthy friends are important to our emotional and physical well-being, and they can impact someone’s recovery by decreasing the risk of relapse.

Here are some tips from PsychCentral.com on how to find new friends while in addiction recovery:

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With summer in full swing, I decided to do a post on the “mocktail.” This is a cocktail drink sans the alcohol. And it makes a great summer addition to parties and other social gatherings. The mocktail has also been making appearances at young adult birthday parties and office parties/professional gatherings. Living life in recovery doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy or host a great party. I’ve also found many restaurants to be more than accommodating when it comes to ordering a mocktail.

• The “Ginless Tonic.” On a hot summer night, squeeze one or two wedges of fresh lime over ice, then fill the glass with tonic water. It’s very refreshing and satisfying.

• The Summer Spritzer. Over ice pour lemon/lime seltzer or Fresca. Top it off with a nice berry juice, such as cranberry, blueberry or pomegranate. Add a slice of lemon or lime.

• Pink “Champagne.” (makes 10 servings). Ingredients: 1/2 cup sugar; one cup water; 6 oz can frozen orange juice concentrate; 6 oz can frozen grapefruit juice concentrate; 28 oz bottle chilled ginger ale; 1/3 cup grenadine syrup. Early in the day, mix sugar with water in saucepan and boil 5 minutes. Cool. Add frozen juice concentrates. Refrigerate. At serving time add ginger ale and grenadine syrup. Stir lightly.

• The Mockarita. Take four large limes and one lemon. Squeeze them into a blender with a handful or so of ice. Add a can of sprite or sprite zero and a dash of salt. Blend until its the consistency you like. Pour in a chilled glass rimmed with salt and garnish with a lime wedge.

• The “Mojito.” Take one tablespoon of sugar, a small bunch of mint, the juice from three limes, and soda water. Crush the sugar and mint leaves together. Put a handful of crushed ice into two tall glasses. Pour in the lime juice and mix in the mint and sugar. Then top it off with soda water.

• Crushed fresh fruit with shaved ice, topped off with soda water is also nice. Here are some other mocktail ideas.

A common question that many of us find ourselves asking in this modern era is how can I find more happiness? This desired feeling of happiness is often described as “peace” or “contentedness” with one’s life. So are there secrets to being happy? Are self-described “happy” people doing something different than the rest? Maybe they are… Read more →