16 Mar Recovery Support After Interventions and Rehab
Not to be confused with merely a bad habit, addiction is a powerful disease that can have dangerous impacts on individuals and their loved ones. The decision to go to rehab is significant, but completing a program isn’t the end of the road. In order to prevent relapsing long-term, recovery support is an essential step of a recovery plan. Recovery support after treatment will help you or your loved one stay sober, and help make sure your hard work does not go to waste. Ultimately, the decision to stay sober and healthy is a process that must play out over a lifetime.
Your use of alcohol, drugs or gambling probably caused you many problems – at home, at work, with the law. That is why your decision to stop was so difficult and important. Recovery involves finding new ways of taking care of yourself, and new ways of acting with friends, family, and at work. It also involves avoiding relapse – falling back into your habits of using alcohol, drugs or gambling to deal with problems and stress.
Potential Signs of Relapse
Not everybody relapses, but many do. Relapse may not be guaranteed, but it does happen often. Approximately 60% of people who struggle with an addiction relapse within one year of treatment, but do not let this number prevent you from receiving help. For many people, relapse is a part of addiction recovery and should be viewed as an obstacle on the path rather than the end of the road.
The potential signs of relapse can manifest in certain moods and behaviours that can signal an individual is going down the path of relapse. Below are some potential things to look out for if you think someone might relapse.
- Keeping secrets or not telling the whole truth
- Spending time with friends or associates you’ve used with in the past or suppliers of substances
- Experiencing lots of mood swings or acting in a way that is not normal
- Poor eating or sleeping habits
- Depression, anxiety, or irritability
- Lack of participation in recovery activities such as support group meetings
- Parties or get together during the holidays can also be tempting situations
5 Relapse Prevention Techniques
A relapse prevention plan is a vital tool for anyone in recovery. Having a plan helps you recognize your own personal behaviours that may point to relapse in the future. There are numerous models of prevention plans, but a plan should include or address the following five concepts at a minimum. Furthermore, each individual’s needs will vary, so it is important to assess where you are in your recovery and to be honest with yourself. This can be achieved with the ongoing help of our professional team.
1. Know your triggers
Certain people, places, and situations can drive you back into your addiction. Being aware of your triggers helps you avoid them. Bad relationships or enabling people, common places that were visited during addiction, and poor self-care and stress are all common relapse triggers. It may not be possible to acknowledge all of your triggers, but being aware of them helps prevent situations in which relapse will be more likely.
2. Stress management skills
Many people in the recovery phase find focusing on new skills to be a positive way to stay on track and feel supported. Taking a class, learning an instrument, or trying dance lessons expands your social circle and helps you focus on something new and exciting. This will be different for everyone, but managing your time to use your mind and think about and do what is really important. Relaxing and taking time to do things that make you happy is another important part of stress management and self-care. Keep doing the things you love most. Be kind to yourself. Acknowledge that recovery is a difficult process and you’re doing the best you can.
3. Find support
Join organizations that will support your sober life. From community recovery meetings to religious organizations to family groups, there are meetings all over the world. These groups provide support, accountability, education, and the opportunity to meet peers who can relate to what you are going through. This can also mean making new friends. Previously friends may not actively support recovery. However, just because you’re in recovery does not mean that you can’t be social.
4. Set reasonable goals
Be reasonable with expectations of yourself and loved ones as recovery can be a journey and isn’t instant. Sometimes it can help to achieve your goals incrementally – 5 days sober, 10 days sober, etc. Breaking it into smaller, easier goals can make it easier to achieve success and ultimately those small successes will lead to a successful recovery long-term.
5. Have a backup plan
It is crucial to relapse prevention that an individual in recovery has an exit plan if they feel their urge becoming too strong to resist. If the person needs a safe place to go, then there should be a plan in place for how to get there. Friends and family members of individuals in recovery should also have a plan in place. They can offer support, love and understanding to a loved one in recovery without becoming overbearing and judgmental. Part of this plan should include an emergency contact list of people who will help in case of emergencies.
Making your recovery last
At Andy Bhatti Interventions and Addiction Services, we understand how difficult enacting changes when it comes to addiction can really be. Once you have decided to intervene, working with our team of professionals will provide resources and additional support for everyone involved in the intervention and rehab process.
Our team’s mission is to provide help for you and your family and loved ones with an addiction problem. If you are ready to take a step forward for yourself or alongside someone you care about, please reach out today for a consultation. Call our emergency 24-hour intervention phone line at 1-888-960-3209 or call Andy Bhatti directly at 1-604-309-1573.