Substance relapse is a significant problem that people who have just left a drug recovery center have to manage. Although it can be challenging to remain sober once you are out of rehab, the following 6 tips can help you ensure you avoid any temptations to go back to substance use.
The first step to ensuring you remain sober and avoid a relapse is keeping yourself busy. As the saying goes, an idle mind is the devil’s workshop, which can be the case if you are quitting an addiction. Keeping yourself busy will ensure that you do not have time to go back to drugs. When resting, keep yourself busy with exercising, reading, exploiting a hobby, or volunteering.
One of the essential ways of drug relapse prevention is ensuring you take good care of yourself. Be keen to spend a lot of time developing yourself and achieving your health and wellness objectives. You should also take time to take care of your loved ones, such as spouses, kids, or even your pets. This will ensure you do not have time to go back to substance abuse.
One factor that can lead to relapse is feeling hopeless and having the urge to quit. The road from addiction to soberness can be challenging, and you need support from close friends and family members. Always ensure you have a contact list of people you can contact if you feel discouraged and about to go back to alcohol or drug addiction.
Completing rehab is not a guarantee that you will quit your addiction. The chances of relapsing will depend on what you do once you are done with recovery. Always ensure you have a backup plan to ensure you remain sober. It would help if you considered enrolling in a sober living class where you can get support after you are through with addiction recovery.
Once you are out of a substance recovery facility, ensure that you focus on creating new and healthy relationships. Avoid relationships with people who engage in substance use and alcohol abuse. It would help if you built relationships with people who can help with your sober living goals. For instance, develop relationships with people you share a gym or a hobby.
After coming out of rehab, you might have the urge to quit the support group you joined as you tried to stop your addiction. You should resist this urge, and the support group is essential as you embrace living an addiction-free life. The group will be vital in keeping you accountable and ensuring you do not go back to drugs.
The above tips can help keep you sober and drug relapse prevention. It would help if you tried them.