How To Live A Good Life After Rehab
Drugs and alcohol can take a massive toll on someone’s life, and if you’ve found yourself in addiction’s grip, you’ll understand precisely what we mean. From health issues to relationship breakdowns, not to mention money problems, getting hooked on substances will cause a variety of issues not just for you, but for the people around you as well.
That’s where rehab can help. Once you know you’ve got a problem (and it does need you to realize that you’re addicted and want to do something about it; everyone will come to the conclusion that they need help in their own time), you can find a great rehab center to get you through it and come out on the other side, free of drink and drugs, and ready to start your new life.
Of course, that’s actually only the start, and it’s important to know that there’s a lot of hard work to do once you’ve left rehab as well. In fact, living a good life after rehab, isn’t always easy, and it can take some time to establish positive habits in your new life. With that in mind, let’s take a look at how to live a good life after rehab so you can put these ideas into practice.
Go To Rehab
Rehab, for the most part, means that you need to go to a clinic or center and stay there so that you can be completely focused on kicking your addictive habit and getting better. You’ll not only be weaned off whatever substance it is you’re addicted to, but you’ll also be given medication if appropriate, and be given a wide range of different coping techniques to help you come out on the other side healthier and happier. When you leave rehab, you have to navigate your life once more, but with better coping skills and resources.
That’s where the problem can lie for some people because although they did well within the supportive environment of the rehab center, once they’re on their own, they fall back into old habits. Or, at the very least, life will be difficult because there can be a big struggle to stay clean and sober.
Therefore, making sure you find a positive and supportive drug and alcohol treatment center you can visit as a day patient can be crucial. You can make regular appointments to attend therapy sessions, either as an individual or in a group, and you’ll know there’s always someone you can talk to who understands how hard it is to deal with life on life’s terms after rehab.
If you’re going to do this, and it’s highly recommended that you do, you need to treat your outpatient appointments as non-negotiable -- it’s your commitment to your recovery journey, so don’t let anything stop you from attending your appointments. You’ll also need to take an active role in your treatment by getting involved in discussions, asking questions, and talking about any difficulties or concerns you might have. By opening up, you’ll have people around you who can help. Plus, you need to follow the recommendations you’re given and use the strategies and techniques you’re taught, whether it’s attending therapy sessions, going to group counseling, or taking medication. If you can do all this, your outpatient rehab appointments are really going to help you; they’re the ideal bridge between your old and new lives.
Regularly attending 12-step or similar meetings also helps. Establishing a home group and accountability has helped many people not feel so alone and stay on track in recovery.
Make Lifestyle Changes
When it comes to being sober, there are sure to be some lifestyle changes you’ll need to make to ensure it happens -- or at least make the choices you need to make in life from now on much easier. Because that’s the thing about sobriety; it’s not just about no longer indulging in your chosen substances (or trying any new ones), it’s about creating a whole new lifestyle for yourself that helps you do that and keeps you on the right path. And that’s not always an easy thing to do. You will need to be committed, resilient, and you’ll always have to be thinking about what else you can do, and checking that your choices are good ones.
One great way to do that, as well as going to your outpatient appointments, is to find support. If you have friends, family members, or people in an online forum or in person community there to help you, guide you, and generally just be there for you, making these choices and changes won’t be as hard. That’s not to say it will suddenly become easy, of course, but it won’t be as much of a challenge as you might have thought; there will always be someone there to help you. In fact, you should consider having a sponsor who’s specifically there to help you, often because they’ve been through the same challenges. You do not have to do this alone.
Another lifestyle change to consider is to take your old habits and replace them with positive new ones, like engaging in healthy activities. You can replace your old habits -- whether that was taking drugs or drinking in the first place, as well as anything that was linked to it, like visiting certain places or people -- and do something better, like exercise, taking up a hobby, volunteering, going back to school, or getting a new job, for example.
One of the lifestyle changes that can help in so many ways is to practice mindfulness. Essentially, mindfulness means you’re not thinking about the past or worrying about the future -- you’re living in the moment, staying in the present as much as you can. That will help you to stop thinking about the habits you had in the past, and it will also mean you don’t have to think about how difficult things might be in the future. It’s not as hard as it might sound, although it will take practice if you really want to make it work for you. Some of the best things to do include yoga, meditation, and deep breathing exercises. The lifestyle changes we mentioned above, like exercise and hobbies, will help as well. If your mind is occupied and you’re only thinking about the task you’re doing, you’re being mindful.
Finally, you’ll need to set boundaries in your new life. For most people, there will be certain triggers and situations that made them want to go back to taking drugs or drinking. That’s clearly going to be a difficult and dangerous situation to be in and you could easily jeopardize your sobriety if you find yourself in these situations. That’s why you need to put boundaries in place to protect yourself. Stay away from those triggers that may cause you to relapse, or at least make your current life harder. If you need help, get in touch with your sponsor or attend a therapy session as soon as you can. It is crucial that you put as much distance between you and your past life as possible. In the recovery community, we say that you don’t take a diseased plant out of its soil, get it healthy, and put it back into the diseased soil.
Rebuild Relationships
One of the big issues with addiction is that it can strain relationships and erode trust. It might even cause relationship breakdowns altogether. Once you’re back on the right path and you’re living your new, substance-free life, you’ll need to work on rebuilding these relationships if possible. Of course, that might not always be easy, and it’s going to require patience, honesty, and a real effort on your part to make it happen, but it’s sure to be worth it.
The first thing you need to do is apologize. It’s true that addiction is a disease, but that’s not what you’re apologizing you; you’re apologizing for the things you did and said while you were addicted, and that’s different. If you can take responsibility for the pain and hurt you caused, it’s going to make rebuilding your relationships with those people a lot easier.
Open communication is important. You can share your thoughts, feelings, and worries with your loved ones while also actively listening to what they’ve got to say, which is going to make rebuilding your relationships easier. It might still take some time, because once trust is broken it can be a struggle to build it back up again, but do not give up. It’s something you can have as a major goal. Once you’ve achieved it, just imagine how relieved you’re going to feel.
The key thing to remember is that rebuilding relationships takes time, and the longer your addiction was a problem, the longer it will take to fix things. You’ll need to be patient with yourself and your loved ones. Don’t expect them to drop everything to reconcile with you; they’re going to need to see you’ve changed first, so make sure you can show them you have. Live you amends to those you care about by striving to become your best version every day.