Rehab usually refers to intense inpatient therapy that lasts anywhere from 30-90 days. Most people seeking this treatment have struggled with a severe active addiction that’s hurt their lives. Some seek rehab for legal reasons, and others may do it to appease concerned family members.
Getting clean for the wrong reasons is very different from entering recovery. Most addicts may be able to get sober, but it’s maintaining it becomes a problem. If people aren’t genuinely committed to their program, they’ll inevitably return to using drugs or alcohol.
This is why an attempt at a rehab program needs to be a moral choice made by the individual, not something coerced for any reason. Even the experts at Hope Treatment Rehab can’t help someone who doesn’t want to stop using.
When a person is ready to enter treatment, they’ve found a way to be honest with themselves and those around them. They want to make a change and are committed to making the chosen program work for them.
The hardest part of recovery is the time after being discharged from rehab, and you’re left to try and cope with life by yourself. Fortunately, a person who wants to maintain their recovery can do plenty of things.
Changing Your Lifestyle
The lifestyle that you were living revolved around addiction. Drugs and alcohol become your primary coping mechanism when life gets hard—this is where many people fall back into old habits. Once you complete a rehab program, your life won’t be the same.The places you visited, the people you knew, and the things you enjoyed may all have very different meanings when trying to stay sober. You can identify your problem areas and devise a plan to avoid things that may trigger drug use. It can help you sit down with your therapist or an addiction professional and create a list of your daily activities before rehab.
Consider filling the times that used to be spent obtaining and using drugs with a new hobby or an interest you didn’t have time for before. This can give you something else to look forward to and less time to consider using it.
It does get better. With time and a new routine, you’ll build more and more distance between yourself and your addiction. The cravings will always be there, but they will become increasingly manageable as you learn and use new coping skills.
Avoid People You Used With
Changing your lifestyle won’t be enough if you keep surrounding yourself with other people who are in active addiction. It’s straightforward to get sucked back into drug use when someone shows up with your drug of choice at your door.The people who you use drugs with aren’t really your friends. A person who truly cares about you will support your sobriety, not jeopardize it.
Certain people can be toxic when trying to change how you view your life, and they can send you into a downward spiral. Sometimes, husbands and wives will enter rehab simultaneously. They still need to take the time to get completely sober before reuniting.
It’s also recommended that you refrain from starting any new relationships for the first year after completing rehab. A recovering addict may be emotionally fragile, which can be a severe trigger if things don’t work out. It’s essential to take the time to get to know yourself without drugs and alcohol before trying to get to know anyone else.
Identifying Triggers
Every addict uses drugs for a different reason. Each person turns to substances because of other stressors in their life. It’s important to identify anything that can trigger your drug use and to do your best to avoid it or find another way to face it.We all have stress and difficult times in our lives. There’s no way to completely eliminate this, and addicts must find a better way to cope than to go back to using. Trained addiction professionals can help to come up with plans for triggers. Having these types of projects in place is integral to success in sobriety.
What Happens if You Relapse?
When a person trying to stay sober slips and uses drugs or alcohol, it’s called a relapse. Most professionals agree that relapse is a natural part of the recovery process, and it doesn’t mean you’ve failed. The key is to be honest, and seek additional professional help immediately.You need to understand the reason that you used it again and find a different way to deal with future situations that may be similar. This doesn’t mean you aren’t still in recovery; it just means you’ve faced a setback.
A relapse doesn’t become a failure until you give up on recovery and try to hide your drug use from the people that can help you. There is life after rehab, and it can be fantastic for those willing to do what it takes to embrace sobriety.
