Realizing there is a drug problem that needs fixing is the first step toward sober living. Getting help is the next brave step to take. Rehab, depending on the drug substance, the degree of addiction, the addicted person’s health, their drug use history and family history, is a process that offers detox medications, counseling, and cognitive therapies.
Patients learn to understand the connection between their thoughts and actions. Alcohol detox treatment and rehab can also patients develop positive and constructive ways of thinking about life’s challenges. While a situation may not change, they learn to react to it differently.
Beyond Rehab and the Alcohol Detox Center
Without a doubt, moving on beyond alcohol detox treatment and rehab can be a challenging time for the recovering individual. Rehab, hopefully, is an environment that encourages feelings of safety and comfort. Beyond rehab is where an individual can put the tools and methods learned to good use to realize long-term sobriety. Long after a person has graduated from rehab, the emotional need for their substance can remain.
Here are seven tips to help recovering addicts avoid life’s daily temptations that can lead to relapse.
- Maintain a solid system of support. Friends and family members can offer great support, or they can rip an individual’s confidence apart if they have little understanding of the journey back to sobriety. Make sure there are positive support groups to rely on when temptations arise.
- Make sure the environment is free of triggers. Triggers are those temptations that can bring the past life back to memory. Rehab teaches patients how to manage those temptations when they suddenly appear. They will always be lurking right within reach.
- Never miss follow-up or aftercare appointments. One miss can turn into several misses, and before long, old habits will once again reign in one’s life.
- Keep a list of things, close by, that bring joy in life. It always helps to think and dwell on good things. This is a philosophy and truth that has been handed down through the ages. Remember that three things in life are essential: something to love, something to do, and something to hope for.
- Create healthy, new habits that will in time replace the old ones. It takes two months before a habit becomes automatic. Find those you like and stick with them without failing.
- Keep up a healthy regimen of exercise. Eat well and keep your blood flowing. Exercise is one of the best things a person can do for their body. Participating in sports is another way to exercise. Your doctor can tell you what types of sports, or even walking, is good for you.
- Meditate and learn how to clear the mind. A clear mind is one that can make rational decisions. A clear mind will also look for new material to help it grow and sort out things. Read, or consider taking a class online. This can also involve learning a new language.
You may also choose to find a worthy cause to volunteer for. Having something important that is beyond self can go a long way in keeping a person on the straight and narrow path to sobriety. Alcohol detox programs can help provide a list of worthy causes. Alcohol detox programs, provided by the right alcohol detox center, can provide the necessary support and help that recovering addicts need to find their way back to a life of sobriety.
What Patients Can Expect from Alcohol Detox Programs
Whether inpatient or outpatient treatments, clients can expect to receive alcohol detox treatment that address detox symptoms, co-occurring disorders, and mental disorders that may have led to addiction. Cognitive therapy will also come into play and give patients additional insights into how they can use positive thinking to change their outcomes. Even if a challenging situation remains the same, overall alcohol detox treatment teaches patients to approach and deal with them from a different mindset.
