9 Tips For Managing Your First 30 Days Out of Rehab

Congratulations!  You have just made it through rehab and are on the way to your first 30 days of recovery.  Now, it is time to return to the real world with all its joys, problems and people. New in sobriety, to make it through, you need a plan. Here are some suggestions:

1.  Make a Schedule

Each day should be completely scheduled to leave minimal time to think about how to leave your sobriety.  This does not mean you can’t change your schedule, but this should happen only for really important matters.  Make sure to include lots of meetings to receive support and to help other people with their issues.

2.  Meetings

Make all meetings a priority.  This helps you fill time and affirm the techniques you learned in rehab.  These meetings will make your recovery more successful and always give you a place to turn besides returning to your addiction.  Put into practice the sobriety tips you learn here.

3.  Doctors

Make all your doctor appointments, even if you have not been as successful as you intended.  These appointments will help you pinpoint where you went wrong and set up on the correct path again.

4.  Religion

Religion is a good help to keep on the right path.  Whether you choose yoga, medication or prayer, spending time each day will keep you centered and help you reach your goals.  Prayer is calming and self-affirming.

5.  Cooking

This is a good idea even if you don’t know how to cook.   Preparing your own food gives you an outlet for creativity and can bring your family and friends together for support.  Start simple.  Don’t expect to make anything perfect on the first go around.

6.  Exercise

Exercise has many benefits for both the body and the mind.  Our bodies were made to move on a regular basis.   The more you exercise, the easier it becomes.  Slowly increase the amount you do during exercise.  You will be proud of your success.

7.  Write a Daily Journal

Each day, take some time to write down what you did during the day, your feelings and successes.  Comment on how your daily program worked, how you related to others and work out how to fix any mistakes you made.  If you need to read someone’s journal to understand how to keep one, take a look at any of Queen Victoria’s many entries.  She left behind volumes of journals.

8.  Learn Something New

The first 30 days is a good time to take up something new.  Don’t choose something that will increase your stress, but if you ever wanted to play the piano, learn how to paint, sew or make clay pots, this is a good time to take this up.  Just go with the flow, and don’t worry about how your results look.  They will improve if you keep up with your new hobby.

9.  Make a List of Goals

Everyone coming out of rehab should have a list of goals.  Keep this list handy and review it frequently.  As your recovery progresses, add new goals to move forward.  If a goal is too hard, look at breaking it up into different parts so that each goal is simpler to meet.  Don’t forget why you are in recovery.

10.  Forgive Yourself

Forgive yourself for your past indiscretions and go on.  No one intends to become addicted and it can happen to anyone under the right circumstances.  It is important to remember, however, forgiving has nothing to do with permission to repeat your mistakes.  Your main purpose is to move forward in your sobriety and form a complete life without the need of drugs to deal with life’s problems.

11.  People

You can’t continue to see people in your past that your main relationship was losing your sobriety together.  You must steel yourself to put these people behind you.  Practice what you will say if you see them, which you will at some point.  Be honest.  Let them know you can’t continue as you were for your health, and you won’t be joining them anymore the way you were.  If they ask, you can explain how you became sober.  But, they must be ready to hear this.  Sadly, this may include close friends and family members.  Keep yourself on track.

12.  Places

You know all the places you went to become addicted.  Don’t go to any of them, not for a long time.  These places may have some good memories that could draw you back into the fold.  The world is full of places where people don’t spend their day under the influence.  It’s those places you need to start spending your life enjoying.

Above all, keep to your recovery and meetings. If you or a loved one is struggling with sobriety, don’t be afraid to reach out. Contact us today to get more information!

7 Tips for Women in Early Substance Abuse Recovery

Starting out on the road of recovery can be filled with challenges.  You’ve taken the most important step when you stopped drinking or using drugs but everything in your life is now new.  You may be seeking out new friends, starting a new job or developing a new daily routine.  All while working hard to prevent having a relapse.  Each one of these situations can produce stress.  Combined together, you have a recipe for anxious moments.  This puts women in early sobriety at greater risk for relapse.  It is estimated that 90 percent of those recovering from substance abuse have a relapse.  While your primary desire may be to stay sober, even the strongest people must develop skills to prevent relapses and deal with stress.  Professionals recommend that you change your social circle and the places you go to.  This makes sense when you consider that if you want to create a new path for yourself, you need to leave the old path behind.  To help you on your journey, we’ve compiled some tips based on scientific research.

Change Your World

When you are embarking on the journey to discover what recovery means to you, you are essentially creating a new world for yourself.  You’re creating new patterns and people in your life.  Developing new friendships and changing where you spend your time will play a large role in preventing relapse and smoothing your transition into a new way of life.  You may find yourself spending more time with your family by planning special outings or evenings together.  For others, developing a structured daily routine helps ease anxiety and helps to avoid situations that could let to a relapse.

Develop Solid Relationships

When you enter recovery, it may seem like a new world.  Having friends who understand the transition you are going through is important.  They can help when you are frightened or uncertain.  Having a friend to call on when you are angry or down will help keep you moving forward.  Participating in a support group surrounds yourself with people who understand the pitfalls that await individuals in early recovery.  In fact, people who have enjoyed recovery for many years will share that they still face challenges.  Anyone who is new in recovery can learn from their coping strategies and apply them in their own lives.

Start Moving

Periods, often years, of using can take a toll on your body.  Incorporating regular exercise into your daily regime will pay off by improving your health and your emotions.  Exercise is well documented to relieve stress and balance mood.    This supports your desire to constantly improve yourself while preventing triggers that lead to relapse.

Prioritize Self Care

Caring for ourselves is not a priority for women.  We are raised to nurture others but often don’t nurture ourselves.  Things like a luxurious bath or a long walk are generally not things we think about in a fast-paced world.  They are, however, exactly the things that will keep you sane as you move through recovery, process raw emotions and figure out your future.  Taking care of yourself can relieve stress and anxiety.  You can also use these moments to just ‘check in with yourself’ and see how you are doing.  Small quiet moments doing things that nurture yourself keeps you in touch with your emotions and makes you aware of any triggers lurking to take you off the right path.  Spend some time with self-care because no one else will.

Write it Out

While, at times, you may feel shame or guilt over your past actions, if you allow them to, those emotions will hinder your recovery.  One way to progress and work through the emotions that are crowding you is to search for ways to manage swirling thoughts.  Professionals recommend writing about your feelings.  Getting them on paper gets them out of your head and lets you process.

New Work

When you leave female addiction treatment, you’ve already begun recovery.  To maintain your new outlook, get a job.  Many people leaving treatment will either be unemployed or underemployed.  This is a good time to look for a new job.  Not only will you have a method of income, but you’ll also meet new people and discover new skills.  Take care of yourself, though, as stress related to a new job can trigger a relapse.

Make Honesty a Priority

As you journey along the path of recovery, prioritizing honesty with yourself and others helps everyone.  By sharing your story with others in your support group, you’re sharing the common struggles that you all have.

These are just a few ideas to keep you going in early recovery.  You’ll find some strategies work better than others to prevent triggers and keep you sane.  The important thing is to keep working at it.  You’re worth it!

Call us today to continue on the strong path of recovery. We pride ourselves in always being able to help.