What Happens After Rehab Treatment?

Entering, undergoing, and completing rehab treatment is a great accomplishment for you and your family. But what happens next? Is it possible to return to living a normal lifestyle after completing rehab?    

According to havenhouserecovery.com, addiction rehabilitation programs and recover centers can run anywhere between one month to three months. During rehab, professional counselors teach addicts how to overcome addiction and successfully live a normal lifestyle after completing rehab.

Successful, lasting recovery is an ongoing process that extends beyond a rehabilitation program. During rehab, you will be taught basic principles that you can apply long after the rehab program has finished and will help you live a drug-free life.

As an ongoing process, addicts have to make hard choices about their recovery every day. Recovery includes two essential elements: one is abstinence, and the other is learning how to live a healthy and happy life. Rehab programs focus on both these interrelated elements.

It is important to remember the hard things you have experienced during and before your rehab treatment. The temptation to relapse is always present, and everyday addicts face testing circumstances, which, if not confronted and beaten, will lead addicts back down the slippery slope of addiction.

Here are some commonly used methods that help addicts win the battle with addiction and live a healthy and happy life:

 Avoid Triggers   

Peer pressure is the power of an individual’s peer group to influence their actions and is often a significant factor in addiction. When an addict has friends or regular companions who regularly drink alcohol or use drugs, this translates into pressure for the addicted individual to engage in the same activity or behavior.

Peer pressure is also a significant reason addicts experience relapse. It can happen to anyone regardless of gender, age, or economic circumstances.

Environmental factors such as peer group pressure can trigger addiction cravings. To minimize temptations or triggers, it is often necessary for the recovering addict to mix in different social circles and find new social groups that don’t engage in such activities.

 Create a New Lifestyle    

Creating a new lifestyle is an essential part of any long-term rehabilitation program. It usually involves engaging in meaningful activities, developing an active exercise regimen, and maintaining a balanced diet.

A healthy lifestyle is an essential part of the long-term recovery process. Recovering addicts should develop a daily exercise regimen that helps them maintain physical and mental fitness. It will also help them feel more positive about themselves. Combine the exercise program with a balanced diet that provides ample nutrients and vitamins.

 Avoid Negativity    

Recovery is a process that involves mental health, and adverse mental health conditions such as depression can trigger a relapse. An addiction recovery process teaches recovering addicts how to set their minds at ease and focus on the positive aspects of life.

Recovery program participants learn how to meditate and concentrate on positive feelings, freeing their minds of sadness and negativity. Participants are also encouraged to engage in positive physical activity like walking the dog or swimming.

 Talk to Your Support Team    

Support groups are another essential aspect of any long-term recovery program. Support groups, as the name suggests, provide critical support when needed most, be it physical or mental, to help program participants avoid relapse.

Loved ones, family members, friends, or individuals struggling with addiction can be part of a support group. Long-term recovery programs always rely heavily on influential support networks.

The mental and physical support given by support groups is unconditional and invaluable. Perhaps the most effective support groups are those composed of individuals who have gone through or are undergoing their own struggle with addiction.

A support group composed of individuals also struggling with addiction can provide real encouragement because its members have all gone through similar experiences with addiction. They know what the struggle against addiction is all about because they have experienced it themselves. Plus, they can offer valuable advice on recovery techniques that worked for them.

 Recognize the Signs of Relapse    

Anyone who has struggled with addiction knows how easy it is to fall prey to relapse. Participants in a recovery program can lessen the chances of relapse by talking to trusted friends, family, or their counselor when experiencing severe cravings or being surrounded by relapse trigger factors. 

 Do Not Miss Follow-up Appointments    

Recovery is a long-term, ongoing process. It does not happen overnight, and it is always a good idea for recovering addicts to talk with their counselor about their new lifestyle and associated challenges.

Communicating with a counselor and making regular follow-up appointments helps recovering addicts stay strong and resist the temptation to relapse while transitioning into a new lifestyle.

 Key Takeaway 

There are many different rehab programs, many going beyond the actual rehab treatment. Some rehab centers teach participants how to avoid relapse-trigger situations, create a new healthy lifestyle, avoid negativity, and utilize ongoing support mechanisms.