Getting sober is, hands down, one of the most difficult things you’ll ever do. To help you accomplish the task, and more (read on…) we’ve made this list of ‘6 Rules to Stay Sober After Rehab.’
Since staying sober? That could prove to be even more challenging than getting sober in the long run..!
There are drug and alcohol rehab programs in place to help people get clean. They can serve as an invaluable resource for anyone trying to kick a drug or alcohol habit for good.
To stay sober, though, a person needs to work hard to put themselves into the right positions in life. Otherwise, they could end up running right back to their old habits and using drugs or alcohol again.
Studies have shown that anywhere from 40 to 60 percent of people who get sober after battling drug addiction or alcohol will relapse. Here are 6 rules that will help you avoid becoming a part of this startling statistic.
1. Look for a Stable Place to Live
Where are you going to live once you’re finished with rehab? This is a very important question—and the answer could very well dictate how difficult it is for you to stay sober.
You should not, under any circumstances, move back into a home or apartment that could trigger you to go back to using drugs or drinking. If, for example, you lived with a roommate who used to do drugs or drink with you, it would be a mistake to move back in with them.
At the same time, you might not be able to afford a place of your own following a rehab stint. You might also not know if you’re ready to live on your own and hold yourself accountable for your actions.
With all these things in mind, it’s a good idea to strongly consider moving in with your parents or other family members. The key is to find a stable living situation that’ll make it as easy as possible for you to lead a sober lifestyle.
In order to beat an addiction to drugs or alcohol once and for all, it’s going to be important for you to establish good habits in your life. That will be much simpler to do when you’re not surrounded by things that could trigger you at any time.
2. Surround Yourself with Support
You don’t want to surround yourself with potential triggers when you finish up with rehab. But you do want to surround yourself with lots of support. It’s easy to stay sober when you have the right people in your corner cheering you on.
So, who should be a part of your support system?
It all depends on who you have in your life at the moment and how willing they are to support you in light of everything that you may have put them through in the past.
Generally speaking, here are some people you can rely on to serve as part of your support system:
- Your parents
- Your siblings
- Your close friends
- Your counselors/therapists
You may also want to think about joining an addiction support group in your area. This will provide you with immediate access to people who are going through the same things as you are right now.
If for whatever reason, you don’t have many people you can turn to for support as you fight to stay sober, you might have to think outside the box to find supportive people. You could, for instance, join a church in your city or town and look to fellow churchgoers for support.
You’re not going to be able to remain sober forever on your own. You’ll need people you can turn to when you feel weak. Build a support group for yourself that will help you during your troubled times and give you the strength you need.
3. Stay Away From Old Friends
We just mentioned that welcoming “your close friends” into your circle of trust would be a smart idea. And to some degree, we stand behind that statement. Your close friends should be involved in your fight to stay sober.
But we should clarify that these “close friends” should not be people you used to use drugs or drink alcohol with. Those types of friends will sometimes try to weasel their way back into your life after you leave rehab, and they will often do more harm than good.
If you move back to the same area you used to live after your rehab stint, it might be almost impossible to avoid your old friends altogether. But if you know that they’re still using drugs or drinking alcohol, you should do what you can to steer clear of them.
That means keeping yourself out of places where you used to hang out. It also means limiting the in-person and phone communication you have with your now-former friends.
Again, this doesn’t mean that you can’t say hello to an old friend if you spot them while you’re walking down the street. But you shouldn’t go out of your way to open up a spot in your life for them at this point.
4. Find New Hobbies
One of the things that makes it so hard for people to stay sober is that they quickly realize how much time they were spending using drugs or drinking alcohol after rehab. Boredom can start to set in after a while when people don’t have much going on in their life.
Prepare for this before leaving rehab. Find some new hobbies that you want to pursue and give yourself as little free time as you can when you head back home.
There are so many hobbies you can use to fill up your calendar. Check out a few of the hobbies you might want to pursue:
- Read more books
- Get into the gym and get yourself into great shape
- Join an intramural sports team
- Volunteer with an organization in your community
- Play video games
You should, of course, try not to go too overboard with your new hobbies. You don’t want to develop an unhealthy obsession for, say, video games and replace one addiction for another.
But for the most part, these hobbies will keep you out of trouble and make it easier to stick to sobriety.
5. Set Goals for the Future
What do you want to do with your life now that you aren’t actively addicted to drugs or alcohol anymore? The possibilities are endless!
You should feel some sense of hope after rehab and want to improve your life. You should also have some ideas about how you can go about doing it.
People set all kinds of goals for their future when they emerge from rehab. Your list of goals can look something like this:
- Go to college and get a degree
- Start saving money towards buying a house
- Find a career (not just a job!)
- Get into amazing shape
- Travel the world and see new things
If you had set some of these same goals a year ago, they would have seemed unattainable. But now that you’re in a better place in life, you can reach these goals without breaking a sweat.
Monitor your goals as you move forward and add to them, too. There is always room for improvement, and you should always be working towards something in your life.
6. Realize the Road to Recovery Has No End
There are some recovering addicts who are under the impression that if they can remain sober for six months, a year, 5 years, 10 years, or 25 years, they can officially beat their addiction.
Unfortunately, that’s not how recovery works. Once you’ve accepted that you’re an addict, you will be an addict for the rest of your life. The struggle to stay sober will never end for you, and you’ll need to continue working on it for the rest of your life.
Don’t let that discourage you, though!
There will be times when staying sober is a challenge. But there will also be times when you’ll breeze through life without even thinking about your addiction.
Just don’t fall into the trap of thinking that your road to recovery has come to an end at a final destination. If you make the mistake of letting your guard down, it could lead to your addiction rearing its ugly head and wreaking havoc on your life.
Stay Sober by Following These 6 Rules at All Times
A good rehab center should set you up with all the tools you need to stay sober once you’re back out in the real world.
But it’s on you to put those tools to good use from the moment you walk out of the rehab center. If you don’t, you could end up right back where you started before you spent time in rehab. And that’s obviously not the place you want to be.Contact us today to see how our drug and alcohol rehab services can help you or one of your loved ones fight addiction. We have programs in place to help addicts and a supportive staff that will give you a fighting chance.
