Lonestar Leisure: Relaxing and Recuperating in Texas Hill Country Rehab

More than 80 percent of proud Texans live in the big cities around the Lonestar State, including Dallas, Houston, Austin, and San Antonio. While Texas’s urban centers do offer the luxuries of city living, not many Texans — let alone other Americans — recognize the restorative power of Texas’s vast, wild hill country. Filled with breathtaking vistas and friendly people, the hill country is exactly the place to find some old-fashioned R and R, which is why many of the state’s most effective substance abuse rehabilitation facilities can be found in this beautifully open landscape.

While the metropolises boast millions of virtues, they also contain ample opportunity for vice; if you or a loved one needs help ending an addiction, the hill country is an ideal place to recover for the following reasons.

Connect With Nature

The vistas of central Texas are absolutely stunning: Natural meadows intermingle with manmade pastures, and all are surfeit with blue bonnets and Indian paintbrushes with a towering tree to provide shade every few acres. Nestled into these gorgeous, natural hills and valleys are exceptional rehabilitation facilities designed to help addicts recover from substance abuse and rebuild healthy, wholesome lifestyles. Addicts fortunate enough to enroll in a program in Texas hill country will benefit from the restorative power of nature available in myriad forms; all of the following activities are common ways for recuperating addicts to spend their days in central Texas:

• Hike or ride horses over exquisite landscapes for unparalleled views.
• Picnic in the meadows or pastures surrounded by wildflowers.
• Swim in natural pools, ponds, and reservoirs filled with pristine groundwater.
• See the stars at night when the countryside is nearly pitch-black.
• Enjoy the fresh fruit and spices grown on local farms.
• Search the ground for topaz and other gems in the rich earth.

Learning to appreciate the simplicity and serenity of nature does much to soothe the troubled spirits of addicts. Engaging the body tends to engage the mind and spirit, which leads to the full-body healing that substance abusers need to recover.

Experience a Different Culture

Texas is distinct not just for its landscape and size but for the culture of the people who proudly call themselves Texans. Texans tend to hold traditional values like loyalty and honor close, and many addicts find these fundamental beliefs helpful while they strive to achieve and maintain sobriety. It is exceptionally beneficial to explore alternative ways of life as one works to recover from substance abuse.

Texans hold their loved ones close, and the concepts of family and friendship are not held lightly in the hill country. Originating from the settlement period, when every pair of hands was absolutely necessary to keep homesteads and townships alive and well, Texans’ fierce loyalty to their kin and kind is something that many addicts may be searching for. Substance abuse tends to alienate even the closest loved ones, as the severe symptoms of physical and psychological dependence cause addicts to behave in unpredictable and objectionable ways. Yet, by learning to cultivate meaningful relationships in the Texan fashion, addicts may be able to reestablish broken links and build new bonds with new people.

There are many ways to get up close to real Texans to experience their way of life, but one of the best is a trip out to a barbecue joint and dance hall. Here, patients can see the welcoming spirit of Texas in the flesh, as happy people spin to local hill country songs and chow down on region-specific barbecue, which many chefs argue is among the best in the world.

Enjoy a Simpler Lifestyle

The hill country does has a share of urban centers — Fredericksburg is a bustling city and common stop for many regular tourists to the area — but addicts looking to get away from crowds can easily do so in any of the small towns dotting the landscape. For example, the town of Comfort, just 20 minutes north of Fredericksburg, offers unique and artistic architecture and a handful of fun shops and restaurants, but because you aren’t likely to find it in a guidebook, Comfort is comfortably easy-going, which is perfect for a recovering addict dipping his or her toes back into the real world. Residents of small towns in Texas are friendly and welcoming, which makes the first few trips out of rehab simple, enjoyable, and encouraging to those nervous about re-entering life as a newly sober person.