SOLO NO MORE

Heal the Body. Heal the Brain.

Discovering new passions and purpose is one cornerstone of the Riverbank House Extended Care Recovery Community philosophy.

SOLO NO MORE activities challenge and stimulate the whole person – mind, body, and spirit – while helping us to fill and reclaim the time we had so willingly forfeited in our old life of drug-seeking behavior. Riverbank’s full schedule of adventure is specifically designed to reduce the anxiety, isolation, and excruciating boredom that often threaten early recovery as we heal from the very real physical, neurological, psychological, and soul-deep damage inflicted by addiction and self-destructive behavior.

SOLO NO MORE activities retrain our brain, body, and spirit – helping us to realize a wellspring of inner motivation, enthusiasm, and personal accomplishment far better than any false reward we sought in substance abuse and reckless behavior.

Solo No More

Teaches us how to constructively fill and reclaim the time we had so willingly forfeited in our old life of drug-seeking behavior
Reduces the anxiety, isolation, and excruciating boredom that often threaten early recovery
Retrains brain, body, and spirit – helping us to realize a wellspring of inner motivation, enthusiasm, and personal accomplishment far better than any false reward we sought in substance abuse and reckless behavior
Introduces novel experiences that establish new memories strong enough to compete with past memories of drug use, healing the memory dysregulation caused by substance misuse
Re-programs the brain’s reward circuitry and stimulates dopamine receptors damaged by addiction
Calms and exhausts body and brain to aid in healthier sleep habits
Stimulates appetite
Establishes personal coping mechanism to alleviate stress
Creates opportunity for social engagement, trust, and belonging
Strengthens both body and brain, sense of self, and inner confidence
Stabilizes mood and aids in emotional regulation

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When an addict quits, what’s left is emptiness. In this respect, dealing with addiction is similar to battling feelings of anxiety and depression: getting rid of the problem is only the first step. Once the addiction or the negative emotions are gone, the void needs to be filled with some positive behavior for the change to take root. There can hardly be a better option than physical exercise. After all, this is what we’re supposed to be doing – moving in the world.

John J. Ratey, MD, Clinical Associate Professor Harvard Medical School

The primary fact that we fail to recognize is our total inability to form a true partnership with another human being.

The Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions of Alcoholics AnonymousPage 53

The practice of active addiction and self-destructive behavior is a lonely path. The Riverbank House SOLO NO MORE approach to recovery is specifically designed to break our habits of isolation and teach us how to engage productively and cooperatively with others. Whether on the hiking trail, the sledding hill, or the shoreline, SOLO NO MORE teaches us to build trust in ourselves and others, to forge enduring and honest friendships in recovery, and to realize the deep satisfaction of belonging, at last.

Our location in the beautiful Lakes Region of New Hampshire, just south of the stunning White Mountains National Forest, the Appalachian Trail, and majestic Mount Washington allows limitless opportunity to discover new passions, communion with nature, and community with others through shared experiences that make us feel truly alive in a life worth living with clarity and purpose.