Preventing Relapse After Drug Rehab
Preventing relapse after you graduate from a drug and alcohol rehab should be your primary goal. It is simultaneously the easiest time to keep your focus on relapse prevention and the hardest. It is easy because you are just out of rehab with a great support network and fresh from all the experiences that landed you in rehab in the first place. You know exactly why you need to avoid drinking or getting loaded, and you’ve just learned all the tools you need to remain clean and sober. On the other hand, it’s hard because you’re just out of rehab and have a world of things to do in terms of getting your life together and starting over.
Preventing Relapse After Drug Rehab: Set Reasonable and Achievable Goals
Your primary goal is not to pick up and use or drink. It’s far too overwhelming to wake up in the morning and think, “I will never use drugs or drink again.” Vague absolutes like “never” or “forever” are only going to cause you to panic and feel like you won’t be able to succeed. Rather, say to yourself, “I won’t drink or get loaded today.” And then set yourself another, accomplishable task. This could be extremely basic: Make your bed. Eat a healthy breakfast. Go for a run. Or it could be a little bit bigger: Update or create a resume.
For bigger tasks, you will need to create a list of smaller goals that will lead to you accomplishing the larger goal. For example, if “Find a job” is your larger goal, then your list of smaller goals might include: Update or create resume. Look at job listings on Craigslist. Apply for three jobs. Put together an interview outfit. Any one of those goals can be accomplished in one sitting, which will keep you from getting overwhelmed.
Preventing Relapse After Drug Rehab: Triggers
“Triggers” are a term for all those things that happen to you that make you want to drink or get loaded. While you can avoid some of them, some will be unavoidable. Perhaps a certain club makes you want to get loaded or seeing certain friends who use drugs makes you want to give up on being clean and give into your desire to get high. By simply avoiding these people and situations, you can avoid the pitfall of relapse.
Other triggers aren’t so easily sidestepped: emotions like anger or sadness, for example. When you’re used to numbing your emotions with pills and other drugs, it’s not so easy to find another way to make yourself feel better. During drug addiction recovery, however, you have the opportunity to change those behaviors and learn healthier ways to assuage your feelings until the urge to use passes. One healthy way is to pick one of those achievable goals described above and focus on that instead. Another is to call your sponsor or other supportive friends who can help you focus on the positive. Another way is to go to a meeting and stay with clean and sober people until the triggered feeling passes.
Do you have any advice for those who are trying to stay clean and sober after drug rehab?
