Addiction recovery is filled with frightening changes that test your strength and your ability to adapt. It starts with admitting you need help and gathering the courage to ask for it. From there, you’re faced with detox to help you get clean and sober, followed by a lengthy addiction treatment program. By the time you’re ready to return home, you’ve grown so much that you’re an entirely different person. This, in itself, can be a frightening prospect, because it will be the first time in months that you’ll truly be on your own.
Even though you may feel alone, you haven’t been abandoned by your caregivers. You will still have your group meetings and individual therapy with your counselor to help you stay mentally fit. In addition, the treatment center hasn’t released you into the street with just the clothes on your back. Throughout your treatment, they have provided you with training, counseling, and resources that you can use to rebuild your life.
Learning to Live on Your Own
Many recovering addicts fear their release from rehab because they know they’re leaving a safe environment. The treatment facility staff won’t be looking over your shoulder to keep you from getting access to drugs or alcohol. It will be up to you to resist the temptation, but you now have the skills to make smarter choices. Rehab facilities teach patients healthier ways of coping with stress and other triggers. It still won’t be easy, but those coping mechanisms will help you stay clean.
You will also leave treatment armed with the skills you need for successful independent living. Many people turn to drugs and alcohol out of a feeling of hopelessness, which is brought on by a lack of life skills. While in rehab, you’ll receive training in some of the following areas:
- Keeping a daily itinerary
- Sticking to a healthy diet
- Personal hygiene
- Personal finance
Learning to Communicate with Others
Even if you don’t have a co-occurring mental illness, one part of your addiction recovery program will focus on helping you deal with your emotions. Alcoholism and drug addiction affect our emotional states, making it difficult to express emotions in healthy ways. The counseling you’ll receive in rehab will help you work out your feelings and express them better. You may not completely master your emotions by the time you finish the rehab program, but, at the very least, you’ll have better control over them.
Learning new socialization skills is another valuable part of rehab, which will prepare you for your return to society. In the past, your addiction either caused you to destroy your existing relationships or inhibit your ability to form new friendships. Socialization training will help you learn how to communicate more effectively, so you’ll be better equipped to handle social interactions. This skill is especially important for you as a recovering addict because you will have to forge new, healthier friendships.
Continue to Learn and Grow After Rehab
You may also be able to get a head start on rebuilding more practical aspects of your life. Your rehab facility may offer services and resources to help you go back to school, find a job, or rent an apartment. Your return to society will be easier if you can make arrangements for independent living upon your completion of the program. Even if you transition into a sober living home, or stay with family on a temporary basis, you’ll still have the skills you need to rebuild your life.
When you consider all of this training and counseling, you begin to see that your fears of leaving the treatment facility are unfounded. You’re more equipped to handle your freedom and your adult responsibilities than you may realize. When problems present themselves, you’ll be able to cope with the emotions in a healthy way, while your practical training gives you the tools you need to solve the problem. When you consider the preparation you received throughout your addiction recovery treatment, you may realize you’re even more prepared for life than your peers.
Recovering from any addiction is a long and difficult road, but you won’t have to take that journey without help. From the moment you commit to your recovery, you will have your family and your rehab caregivers for support. If you are ready to begin the recovery process, start by calling our counselors at 844-903-2111. We can answer your questions and help you get started with your treatment.
