The Differences Between Passive and Active Recovery

What Is Active Recovery?

Active recovery from alcohol addiction means taking responsibility for our actions and making continual efforts towards quitting or cutting back on alcohol. On the other hand, passive recovery means taking the steps to quit or cut back but waiting for external factors to facilitate change. Although there’s no right or wrong way to recover, an active approach has been shown to be more beneficial. 

There’s a memorable episode of How I Met Your Mother when Barney Stinson faces a moment of reckoning. He tries to cut back on his wild drinking habits passively, relying on his friends and hoping the change will come naturally. But it’s not until he actively takes charge that he begins to see real improvement.

This scene illustrates a crucial aspect of recovery from alcohol addiction: the difference between passive and active recovery. Passive recovery is similar to going through the motions without full commitment, while active recovery involves taking intentional steps toward a better relationship with alcohol. Let’s further explore these two recovery paths to help guide us on our journey toward a healthier, alcohol-free life. 

What Does It Mean To Be in Recovery From Alcohol Addiction?

The official definition of recovery from addiction, according to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), is “the process through which an individual pursues both remission from alcohol use disorder (AUD) and cessation from heavy drinking.” In short, it means no longer meeting the criteria for AUD (excluding cravings) and not participating in excessive drinking. Excessive drinking refers to more than 15 standard drinks per week or 5 drinks in a day for men and 8 drinks per week or 4 drinks in a day for women.

While this is the official definition of recovering from AUD, sobriety is a spectrum and can encompass the entirety of our efforts to quit or cut back on alcohol. It can be anything from becoming “sober curious” and questioning our drinking habits to full abstinence. 

In general, recovery is broken up into four stages: abstinence, withdrawal, repair, and growth (For more information on these stages, check out our blog “How To Stay Sober After Recovering From Alcoholism.”) These stages summarize common experiences that those of us quitting or cutting back on alcohol experience. However, no two journeys will look exactly the same. Along with different experiences, there are also two main approaches to recovery. Let’s explore the first path: passive recovery.

What Is Passive Recovery?

Passive recovery is just what it sounds like. It can include doing all the “recovery things” such as avoiding alcohol, attending a rehab program, sitting in counseling sessions, and attending support groups. However, we may not yet accept full responsibility for our actions and decisions; instead, we’re waiting for external factors to facilitate change rather than ourselves. It’s similar to “going through the motions” of recovery.

In passive recovery, there’s usually a disconnect between our actions and our mindset. Let’s use religion as an example. Say we’re looking to strengthen our Christian faith and develop a stronger relationship with God. A passive approach to this can mean attending church and Bible study every week and waiting for the change to happen. However, we may not be actively participating in discussions or fully believe that we can become closer to God. While change can still happen, a passive approach to recovery is like taking a backseat. 

Passive recovery isn’t a “wrong” path to recovery, but research shows that taking a more active approach can forge a more direct path and lead to more desirable outcomes. Let’s learn more about taking an active approach. 

What Is Active Recovery?

If passive recovery is like taking a backseat, then active recovery is like being the driver. There’s no official active recovery definition, but it refers to taking the necessary actions such as avoiding alcohol but also taking responsibility for our choices and actions. Instead of waiting for change to happen, we take matters into our own hands by making continued efforts toward our goals to quit or cut back.

Going back to our religion example, an active approach would consist of doing daily prayers, reading the Bible, participating in discussions, and believing that we can continue to strengthen our faith. An active approach doesn’t only consist of taking the right actions, but emphasizes personal responsibility, self-reflection, and active engagement. 

Let’s break it down further to understand how exactly passive and active approaches in recovery are different from one another.

Key Differences: Active vs. Passive Recovery 

The key differences between active and passive recovery are more internal. This means that we alone may be able to recognize whether we’re taking a passive or active approach and make the changes to support our decision. Active and passive recovery are different in two main ways: 

• How we act. While both approaches can include taking the necessary actions to quit or cut back, our behaviors can differ. Those of us taking an active approach will take the initiative and keep ourselves accountable rather than relying solely on others. Active recovery can look like modifying our goals weekly to cut back rather than waiting for someone to suggest it or actively listening and sharing during peer support groups rather than just attending. 
• How we think and feel. Our thoughts and emotions during active recovery often align with our actions, whereas in passive recovery there’s a disconnect. With an active approach, we rely on self-efficacy and self-motivation to take steps towards our goals. With a passive approach, we still take the steps, but we may rely on direction and external motivation to do so.

While both passive and active approaches can help us reach our recovery goals, active methods promote more sustainable and speedy progress by actively engaging our mind and body in the healing process. Let’s take a look at some other benefits of active recovery.

Benefits of Active Recovery 

The “fake it till you make it” mentality can only get us so far. Ultimately, if we don’t fully commit or believe that we can recover, it makes us vulnerable to relapse. Taking an active approach can have many benefits: 

• You’ll be better equipped to overcome and prevent relapse. Active recovery involves learning new skills and tools to identify triggers and develop alternative coping strategies. This helps us prevent and overcome cravings or other triggers that lead to relapse.
• You’ll address the root causes. By learning skills to identify and overcome negative emotions or habits, we address the root causes of our drinking habits rather than just quitting or cutting back on alcohol.
• You’ll be more confident. Staying active helps us develop the skills to recover rather than relying on others, increasing our self-sufficiency and confidence. 
• You’ll be in it for the long haul. Taking initiative and responsibility for our actions helps strengthen our commitment to sobriety. Self-motivation is much stronger and more sustainable than waiting for external factors to facilitate change.
• You’ll be healthier. Aside from quitting or cutting back on alcohol (which undoubtedly is beneficial to our health), we’ll also learn to make lifestyle changes that support our new values and habits — leading to a healthier lifestyle.

Active recovery can help us live a healthier, happier life, but how can we get there?

Transitioning From Active Addiction to Active Recovery

Active addiction, more aptly referred to as alcohol use disorder (AUD), is actively drinking and not being able to quit or cut back despite negative consequences. It differs from active recovery because recovery refers to taking steps to improve our relationship with alcohol even though we may not be sober or completely abstinent. The transition from active addiction to active recovery through these strategies is the first step in developing a healthier relationship with alcohol:

• Practice self-honesty. The first hurdle is recognizing that we have negative drinking habits. To get a clearer picture, we can track our alcohol consumption and practice self-honesty to make that first step towards change.
• Find your purpose. One of the main aspects of active recovery is having the mindset to back up our actions. Determining our purpose for recovery can help motivate us to start and maintain recovery.
• Set realistic goals. Quitting alcohol cold turkey may not be effective and can even be dangerous. Setting small realistic milestones helps make reaching our goals to quit or cut back seem less daunting and more attainable. 
• Seek support. Recovery isn’t all sunshine and rainbows like sobriety promises to be. However, we don’t have to do it alone. There are many treatment options including behavioral therapies, rehab programs, and peer support groups that we can explore if we need extra support.
• Actively participate. While we can passively attend treatment programs and support groups, we’ll get the most out of them by actively participating. Ask questions, connect with others, and take initiative for your own recovery! 
• Build a support network. Professional treatment is beneficial, but so is social support. Reach out to close family and friends and join communities like Reframe to receive and share support from like-minded individuals. 

If we notice that we’re taking more of a passive approach, we can use these same strategies to transition from passive to active recovery.

Choosing Your Path Forward

No matter where we are in our relationship with alcohol, it’s never too late to commit to recovery. When we’re in recovery, we can take a backseat (passive) approach or take direct control (active) in the driver’s seat. While both may get us to our destination, an active approach helps to strengthen our commitment and address the root causes of our habits — leading to a more self-directed path toward quitting or cutting back on alcohol. Ultimately, we have the power to choose our path forward by deciding whether we’ll take a passive or active approach to recovery.