Rehab is not a reserve for the rich. It is a place of hope for tomorrow for everyone needing such help and support. Life after rehab might feel difficult; however, things eventually work out. However, returning to normalcy after treatment for alcohol and drug addiction and abuse can leave a person with many questions than answers.
Below are 11 tips on how to start over after rehabilitation, gathered from years of working in the field of substance addiction prevention, treatment, recovery, extensive research, and expert observations.
1: Commit To Sobriety Going through the treatment successfully means you have completed the first significant hurdle. Your quest to turn a new leaf will demand that you pledge to stay sober. It calls for an unwavering focus on your recovery by actively doing what it takes to stay clean, which will include getting a sponsor and attending self-help meetings. Couples rehab works well if you and your partner are in it together you can support each other at every step.
2: Gear Up For Relapse
With relapsing, it is not so much a question of if but when. It might seem an expected thing but is unavoidable. Nevertheless, do not beat yourself up if you relapse, and do so more than once. It has happened to many people who have gone through rehab. What you should focus on is coping strategies and how to live healthily, which are things you learned during treatment. They will help you get through your relapse if it happens.
Nevertheless, you must be vigilant so that you recognize the red flags and act accordingly by seeking immediate professional help should you slip. Get through it all will demand that you embrace your mistakes and learn from the experience so that you walk out of it stronger and better able to deal with anything that triggers relapsing.
3: Forgive Yourself
Past mistakes made because of your addiction to drugs or alcohol might weigh heavily on your mind and soul. However, going through rehab offer you a chance for a do-over. While you will never get to rewrite your past, you can shape your future by doing or living right starting now.
But before all that happens, you must start by forgiving yourself. Remember that to err is human; nobody is perfect. You have your mistakes, like any other person. Forgive yourself for all your blunders, big and small, and pray that your Higher Power helps you keep to the right path of living healthy and the sobriety of mind and soul.
4: Focus On The Positive
Wanting your life to be better going forward once you get out of rehab is realistic. Fearing what could happen will also be a concern, especially when you consider the possibility of relapsing. Such uncertainties are understandable. But you should view this as more than a second chance. You will have received a new lease of life, an opportunity to make it what you want if you have the determination and will. Embrace the fact that you have more going for yourself than you might assume. Therefore, be hopeful, stay positive and you will succeed with your plans.
5: Take Care Of Yourself
Many people are in a hugger to resume their lives once they undergo treatment and are on the path to recovery. Acting with haste is often followed by a tendency to neglect proper self-care. You risk not eating well, getting enough sleep, and enjoying regular exercise, thus depleting your energy and increasing the likelihood of relapse.
Caring for yourself is a process of moderation, finding ways of balancing things to deal better with daily stresses. That is why experts suggest not taking on too many responsibilities. Redirect your efforts toward emotional stability as you tackle various projects.
6: Schedule Daily Agendas
Identify goals that you deem vital in life and make steady progress in your recovery to achieve them. They should include things like building a stable daily lifestyle and increasing your self-esteem. As a recovering addict on the sobriety path, you can bolster your objective of staying clean by creating and sticking to a schedule. It is a strategy that will prove vital during the first three months after rehab when you face uncertainties and are the most vulnerable. Consider using various time management tools.
7: Build A Support Network
Who understands what you are going through better than those that have experienced the same and gone through rehab. At times, family and friends might share in the experiences, but none can tell your struggle better than you. But it is necessary to look to others for help, a listening ear, and a shoulder to lean on as you recover.
Such support networks are essential, whether online or at a physical location. The networks can be a source of ongoing encouragement, non-judgemental friendships, and other social needs that encourage you to live in sobriety. You can find such help or support round the clock in one form or another. And when you get the support and guidance you need from your friends, family, and acquaintances until you find your footing in recovery, extend the same to those who are new to the rooms of recovery to set them on their paths of sobriety.
8: Get Back To Work, But Not with Haste
The time spent in rehab will be a chunk of your life spent away from your work. But when you get out, do not be in a rush to get back to your job. Give yourself a week or two to attune to being home and recovering fully. Talk with your family, spouse, or partner about your intentions to be back on the professional saddle. It will help them know what your timetable is like for your work and tending to your recovery, with the latter being the prominent agenda.
9: Create Flexible Goals That Foster Growth
Perhaps, the path you want to take in your road to recovery involves trying your hand in something differently new. Put together a plan that focuses on flexible objectives and a timetable that you can modify to accommodate changing priorities. Do some research before jumping into a new field. Take the time to obtain new skills by taking some classes or training and getting referrals.
10: Strive To Make The Right Choices
Having doubts about your choices after treatment and getting back out there is not uncommon. Mistakes are bound to be made, but that does not qualify you to go for the wrong things. Are you confident about your decisions, your ability to choose wisely? It all boils down to taking things slow. Take the time to gather the information that will help you weigh the pros and cons of every choice you make.
Discuss with your sponsor or seek the counsel of a trusted friend that understands your situations and life goals. Talk about your readiness to forge a path to attaining what you want in life. Remove emotions from your decision-making and focus on the facts to ensure your choice is an outcome of a thoughtful process. Eventually, you will master how to make the right choices, and this soon becomes the norm.
11: You Deserve To Be Happy
In closing, you have no other life out there than your current one. The past is what it is, leave it in the past and not give it space in your present. Learn from it and make the necessary amendments to better yourself. After rehab, you can start over, make the most of it, and thrive. Realize you owe yourself to be happy as you set out to become the person you want and achieve your life goals. Learn, grow, make room to heal, and grab the opportunities that come your way that make you happy.
A professional writer with over a decade of incessant writing skills. Her topics of interest and expertise range from health, nutrition and psychology.