Build a Support Network
Having a support network after leaving a residential treatment center is vital to your recovery. If your network used to consist of people you drank and used with, now’s the time to seek out positive support. This new safety net could include friends, family, 12-step groups, health professionals, or all of the above. Consider including the following when creating your support network.
Seek Professional Help
You may find it important to receive continued professional help. Sobriety can present many challenges for an alcoholic or addict after leaving a treatment center. Furthermore, use all the tools you need to maintain your behavioral health! Seek counseling with a therapist or speak with a psychiatrist if mental health was an underlying factor in your addiction. Learn more about dual diagnosis (mental health issues and substance abuse) treatments.
Include Friends and Family
Friends play an important role in staying healthy, both in early and long-term recovery. When you leave your treatment center, you may have to reconsider who you spend your time with. Often people find that as they move forward in their journey, they have less in common with their “party” friends. They find they want to spend time with people who can have fun without drugs or alcohol. Particularly in early sobriety, it’s important to avoid being in prolonged contact with people who trigger your desire to drink or drug.
If you have a loving and supportive family, there are many ways they can be a part of your recovery. Talk with them and let them know how they can help you. Also, explain the ways they can (and cannot) participate in your recovery. Empower them to understand your disease and what you learned at your treatment center. Remember, however, that family members are generally not experts in addiction. Often finding ways to overcome addiction-related fears, anxieties and cravings are in recovery programs. If your family is not supportive of your recovery, lean double time on friends and recovery groups!
Join a Recovery Group
Recovery groups are a wonderful resource for maintaining sobriety after you’ve left a treatment center. Because, they can help you stay clean. Alcoholics Anonymous and similar programs create a structured environment that reinforces messages learned while in a treatment center. Recovery meetings are free and available everywhere in the world. These 12-step meetings are often a critical part of building a positive support network. You will find friends on the same road to health and a sponsor to guide and support you.
Protect Your Sobriety
Don’t be afraid to ask for help after you leave a treatment center; this is the fight of your life. The people who matter in your life want to see you succeed. Build your support network and use them to help keep you healthy.
Always remember that the staff at D’Amore Healthcare is on hand 24 hours a day to provide assistance if you or a loved one needs freedom from drugs or alcohol.
