You will have made a significant milestone after completing a drug addiction treatment program. After spending time in drug rehab or booking a regular outpatient appointment with your therapist, the time will come to return to your everyday life. However, completing a rehab program is not the final step towards permanent recovery because maintaining sobriety is a lifelong process.
Rehab can equip you with essential skills to prevent relapse and overcome cravings, but how can you remain sober after leaving? Midwest Recovery Center can guide you through the aftercare process and relapse prevention.
Identify Relapse Triggers
Statistics reveal that most individuals who achieve permanent sobriety encounter at least one relapse episode in their recovery journey. The secret to success is identifying personal triggers. The main benefit of identifying what causes your substance use disorder is developing working strategies to avoid them.
The most hindrances to staying sober after drug rehab include emotional distress, associating with old friends who still use drugs, financial problems, and troubled relationships.
Understand the Warning Signs of Relapse
It is possible to relapse if you fail to recognize its red flags. A relapse is a continuous process that begins before you start using the substance again. It is divided into three steps: Emotional, mental, and physical. Before you experience a physical relapse, you will have gone through an emotional relapse, triggering mental relapse, and finally using the drug.
Some of the red flags of relapse include:
- Reverting to old addictive patterns
- Giving room to self-defeating thoughts and behaviors
- Getting attracted to situations where people are using substances
- Thinking irrationally and adopting irresponsible behaviors
- Convincing yourself that taking drugs will help ease challenging situations
Look out for these signs and learn to control them. If they are threatening to overwhelm you, consider contacting your therapist.
Change Your Routines
If you are working towards maintaining permanent sobriety after drug rehab, it will help to do a total overhaul of your life. Abandon old routines and adopt new activities that will make your life more productive. You can keep the thoughts of substance abuse at bay this way.
For example, revise your list of friends by striking out those you used to hang out with when using drugs. Get new friends who will inspire you to maintain sobriety. Also, avoid places where you used to purchase or use drugs.
Practice a Healthy Lifestyle
Substance abuse can significantly impact your health. Reclaim your life by adopting a healthy lifestyle after you leave rehab.
One of the most effective techniques for staying sober after drug rehab is performing regular workouts. Exercise has proven to be useful in boosting mental and physical health. For the best results, you also need to maintain a balanced diet and ensure you take meals regularly. For overall wellness, get enough sleep and, if possible, indulge in frequent siestas.
Since you will have to learn how to have sober fun, create time for hobbies and other recreational activities that make your life worth living. You can also use relaxation strategies, such as yoga and meditation, to achieve peace of mind.
Talk to Your Therapist in Drug Rehab
It is not easy to maintain permanent sobriety after leaving rehab. You will encounter several temptations, and if you do not handle them on time, you are likely to revert to drug use. An effective way of remaining sober is to have a support network to help you during your lowest moments.
For the best results, talk to your therapist to access rehab programs such as:
- Trauma therapy program
- Dialectical behavior therapy
- Partial hospitalization program
- Cognitive-behavioral therapy
- Intensive outpatient program
Achieve Long-Term Sobriety at Midwest Recovery Center
Several studies concur that a drug rehab equips you with the vital skills to deal with relapse. Achieving lifelong sobriety is possible by maintaining a connection with your therapist and seeking professional advice whenever you feel overwhelmed. Contact Midwest Recovery Center at 833.627.0039 to schedule an appointment.
