Making the choice to attend addiction treatment is a big accomplishment in itself; admitting you need help can be hard. Completing treatment is huge and something to be proud of—and luckily, a good facility won’t send you back to your environment unprepared. Treatment is designed not just to get you off substances, but to help you cope with everyday life sober.
Relapse Prevention
Many facilities—like TruHealing Centers—provide relapse prevention services. During treatment, you and your clinician implement a plan that reduces your risk of drinking or using again. While the chances of relapse are never quite zero, they lower with time. 40-60% of people relapse within the first year, while the chance of relapsing after 5 years is only 5%. It’s important to make recovery your number one priority in the months after you leave treatment.
What works for one person might not work for another. You will identify what inspires thoughts of substance use, make a plan to limit these triggers in your life, and decide how you will cope if you can’t avoid them. You will figure out how to proactively support your recovery, like through meditation or support groups.
Setting Boundaries
You may have to set boundaries with people in your life. For instance, you might ask someone who uses the substance you’re recovering from not to do so around you. You may find it’s better for your mental health to limit the time you spend with certain people.
It’s not easy to enforce boundaries. If you decide you need to do so while in treatment, your clinician can give you tips. Seeing a therapist once you leave treatment is a great way to further your recovery—and they can help you practice setting boundaries, then process the experience after you’ve done so.
Consider What Adds to Your Recovery
It’s also helpful to make a proactive recovery plan, made up not just of things you want to limit, but those that encourage sobriety. This might be exercise, support groups, therapy, cultivating or connecting to a support system, meditation, hobbies, and much more.
It’s important to figure out who in your life will support your sobriety, and to maintain your connections to them. If you don’t feel like you have support, you might reach out to someone with whom you clicked at addiction treatment. Having even one other sober person to hold you accountable can be extraordinarily helpful.
Reentering the world after treatment can be scary. Remember that you are not alone, and you are not in the same position you were when you went in. You have support, and more tools to cope with stresses and challenges sober.
If you are struggling with a substance use or mental health disorder, there is hope. TruHealing Centers offers high-quality treatment for addiction and mental health disorders in facilities across the country. Our staff—many of whom are in recovery themselves—will prepare you for life after treatment, so you can feel empowered. Call an admissions specialist at 410-593-0005.
