Completing a drug rehabilitation program or alcoholism treatment is no easy task and if you have achieved this feat, congratulations!
However, don’t start the celebrations just yet. The fact that you have completed a stint inside rehab does not mean that you are now fully recovered. The addiction recovery process is a long one and you have only now reached the starting point.
Now that you are out of rehab, your addiction recovery lies solely with you and how you manage it will determine whether it will be a success or not.
The biggest danger that recovering addicts will face in the first year after rehab is the possibility of suffering a relapse, which is a deterioration of one’s health after an improvement. In this case, it would mean returning to your old addictive behaviour.
While relapses are a common occurrence, it does not have to happen to you! One of the best ways to do this is by sorting out the environment around you, as often there will be things that could trigger cravings to use alcohol or drugs again.
If you want to know how to control your own addiction recovery, here’s are some helpful tips on how you can start.
Make Your Home Drug and Alcohol Free
Most of us simply do not have the luxury of moving out or staying somewhere else.
If you have just finished a period in rehab, the environment that you are staying in HAS TO BE DIFFERENT to what it was while you were addicted to drugs or alcohol. It’s non-negotiable.
Here’s how you can make your home drug and alcohol free:
- Remove any substances that can be abused out of your house. This could be prescriptions medication such as painkillers, sleeping pills or even cough medicines. If your mouthwash contains alcohol, remove that as well.
- Remove any drug or alcohol accessories out of your household. This could be things such as a cannabis pipe, a spoon you used for cocaine or even the glass you used to drink alcohol with. In fact, if even the glass has a logo of the brand of alcohol, throw it away too.
- Make your home as comfortable as possible!
- Find new things to keep yourself busy. Try to cook a new dish or bake a cake you always wanted to try. Get a new movie to watch or read a new book. Feeling bored and having nothing to do can trigger a relapse.
- Invite friends, that do not drink or abuse drugs over to your home to keep you company.
How to Handle Things Out of Your Control
In your addiction recovery, there will be obstacles that you will stumble upon that are simply out of your control. Here’s how you can minimise these risk factors:
- Stay away from people that played a part in your addictive past, for example, friends or family members that abuse drugs or alcohol, dealers etc.
- Be proud that you are in addiction recovery; it’s one of the best decisions that you ever made. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.
- Make it clear to yourself and to your loved ones that under no circumstances will you ever use drugs or alcohol again and make sure you stick to this promise.
- Should you relapse, it’s not the end of the world. It just gives you the opportunity to better prepare yourself for your addiction recovery. Get back into rehab or speak to your counsellor to find out what is the best route to go to make sure that you don’t make the same mistake again.
For more information on how to help someone fresh out of recovery or who has relapsed, call us now and let one of our qualified addiction counsellors provide you with confidential and expert advice.
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Founded in 2008, WeDoRecover has evolved from an advisory service for addiction treatment into a comprehensive provider of care, following its 2019 merger with Changes Addiction Rehab in Johannesburg. Specialising in connecting patients to top-tier addiction treatment centers in the UK, South Africa and supporting individuals in recovery world wide.