How Do I Stay Sober After Rehab?

Transitioning To Regular Life From Rehab

Rehab is a supported living environment – one that promotes safety and relaxation, making it easier for someone struggling with dependency to remain sober. Inpatient rehabilitation offers the tools needed to heal from addiction, while also providing a solid foundation for security and personal growth.

It can be an exciting time when you move on from inpatient rehab, but the transition can also bring on new challenges as you continue to learn the way to live a new, sober lifestyle.

You might be concerned about leaving the safe and protective environment. However, you will have a much better chance of staying sober if you can identify temptations and learn to handle conditions and situations that could cause you to revert to drugs and alcohol.

How To Avoid or Handle Common Temptations After Rehabilitation

Upon leaving rehabilitation, you may find yourself put in environments or situations that spark thinking of reverting to your old ways. Things like returning to your old area, seeing old friends or family members, and even certain emotions may tempt you to go back to using or drinking.

There are several things you can do to avert or manage these temptations in your daily life after rehab, including:

Find a support group you can trust and talk to honestly. Surround yourself with sober folks, along with people who have your best interests in mind.
Change your environment. Before returning home after rehab, you should ask someone you trust to remove all paraphernalia from your house. Along with removing temptation from your home, you should also avoid spending time in locations that push you towards using substances.
Keep yourself accountable to your appointments. If you are participating in outpatient therapy or you have scheduled meetings with a doctor or counselor, then you need to keep those appointments on a regular basis.
You might feel tempted to skip your meetings, but it’s much easier to manage temptations when you receive professional support from trained experts.

Fill Your Life With Sober Activities

One of the most important aspects to remain sober is to fill your life with new activities that will help keep you from using drugs and alcohol. These activities should be engaging and fun, and they are crucial to help you through the healing process because they give your mind something to think about other than drinking or using drugs.

These activities don’t have to be boring because you can still have plenty of fun without alcohol or drug use. Here are a few activities that can help keep you on the road to recovery:

Physical exercise– Keeping your body in good shape will help balance your brain’s chemistry, and you will begin to love the feeling of physical exercise every day.
Meditation– There have been many studies that show meditation can help individuals keep their mind focused on positive development and reflection is a powerful relaxation exercise.
Play sports– You will build relationships with your team, and you can use organized sports as another outlet for physical exercise.
Go back to school or begin a web-based class– Learning a new skill or topic can help increase your sense of confidence. This will increase the chances of recovery!
Volunteer– Giving back to your community and various nonprofit organizations is an excellent way to meet new people, spend your time in a constructive manner, and learn new skills. All these points will help you find new ways to spend your time and reduce the chances of you reverting to drugs and alcohol use.

The Recovery Process Takes Time & Commitment

Recuperating from a substance or alcohol addiction might be one of the hardest things you’ll ever do. It won’t be a fast and seamless process: it’s a lifelong obligation.

Every journey begins having a tiny step in the best course.

Our knowledgeable and experienced team is here to help if you or a loved one is ready to begin your journey to sobriety. Our award-winning rehabilitation services will teach you the skills you need to achieve a life of sobriety, and we are here to help you succeed in your recovery process with outpatient treatments.

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