Graduating from rehab is something you should be very proud from. You’ve made it through a tough time in your life that you can hopefully leave in the past. Even though you’re clean now, and have been clean for quite some time, the recovery process isn’t quite over. You might be leaving the inpatient facility and going home, but things aren’t about to get easy. You’re now going to be moving back into the environment when you first started your addiction. You’re going to have to stay away from the people and things that trigger your cravings. You’re going to have to surround yourself with supportive people and occupy your time by doing something productive and valuable to your future. The question however is, where do you start?
There are places that offer intensive outpatient programs in Los Angles that can help you get on your feet and continue your recovery process, part-time. It’s important that you start your own life without revolving it around your recovery, but at the same time you don’t give up on your treatment tactics altogether. Just because you’ve gone through a few months of full-time treatment, doesn’t mean you’re cured. Recovering from an addiction will be a process you’ll be taking part in for the rest of your life. While it doesn’t have to overwhelm you or take a large portion of your time, you need to stay dedicated to living a healthy lifestyle.
Finding a career or pursuing your education further should be one of your top priorities after rehab. Not only are you trying to live a normal life by supporting yourself an contributing to society, but you also need to occupy your time with something meaningful so that you don’t fall back into bad habits. When recovering addicts have too much time on their hands, they can get lonely or antsy and find themselves right where they were a year ago. It’s also hard for parents, friends, or spouses to be supportive when they’re not around all day and they have to trust that you stayed out of trouble while sitting around. It’s important that you gain the trust back between your loved ones because those are the people you need to believe in you most. By pursuing a career or taking college classes, you can show them that you’re serious about getting your life together and bettering yourself. If you’re involved in an outpatient program, they should have professionals there to help you with preparing for a career or furthering your education. Mostly, they’ll help you create financial goals, create a resume, and practice interviewing skills.
It’s also important that you’re taking care of your body, not only by staying clean but by eating healthy and exercising enough. Exercise is a great way to relieve stress or calm you down when you feel you’re being triggered to use again. The calming effect makes you feel good and excited all at the same time. Because it’s so good for your body, you should work with a counselor or fitness professional on how you can transfer your anger, worries, and doubts, into something positive like getting physically fit. Eating healthy is also important. Addicts usually face symptoms that include abnormal eating habits, so it’s important to learn what type of food and how much of it your body needs once you’re clean.
Seeing a psychiatrist after rehab, even if it’s just a few times, is also a great idea. Often, an addict has an underlying mental condition that was either caused by the addiction or caused the addiction in the first place. These mental conditions can often go untreated because their symptoms are often attributed to the mental disease, even though they’re truly not. If these are treated properly, the odds of overcoming an addiction are much higher.
Having faith in yourself and confidence that you’re stronger than your addiction is important when competing within your own body. Just remember that you don’t have to do it alone.
