Recovery from an addiction of any type takes time and hard work. It’s a lifelong journey to make tough changes in every aspect of our personal and professional lives. To help make the trials a little less lonesome, it’s well worth searching for and using different strategies and tips for sticking to sobriety after rehab. To name just a few, it’s important to make new healthy habits, be ready to adapt, and never fear getting help when you need it.
Create New Healthy Habits
Creating new habits and changing our vision of fun are at the heart of managing sobriety. If someone exits rehab for alcohol and goes immediately returns to a stop at the bar for an hour after work, there’s a pretty good chance temptation to drink will become too great.
While there was nothing necessarily wrong with our old lives, it’s important to give ourselves space from the behaviors and substances that resulted in needing rehab. Seek new hobbies and routines that support good physical and mental health and don’t require the interjection of substances to function.
Let Go of What Doesn’t Work
Some of the most important tips for sticking to sobriety after rehab is to let go of the things that aren’t supportive. It’s a tough lesson but one that’s been echoed throughout the ages. Many old friends and hobbies may still be embedded in the destructive activities that must be avoided to stay on track. Not everyone may be as supportive as we need, and although it hurts, distancing from people still engaging in destructive behavior is an absolute must. The same goes for routines, hobbies, and even assumptions about what we thought was ‘alright’ before.
Seek Professional Support
Addiction happens for many different reasons. If it weren’t a complex and highly individualized topic, it likely wouldn’t be as serious a topic as it is. As such, no one is expected to fight through addiction alone. Besides surrounding yourself with helpful people who believe in your success, finding professional help is also advisable. To maintain long-term recovery, exploring the 12 Steps of AA can provide a valuable framework for staying committed to sobriety after rehab.
Throughout the country, many outpatient facilities exist to provide ongoing support and therapy for individuals in post-rehab life. Besides this, opportunities for counseling and support groups likely exist closer than you realize. Help is out there, no matter the situation, so reach out as soon as possible!
