When you first get out of treatment, maintaining your sobriety can seem all encompassing. It may feel like every part of your life now revolves around recovery. Recovery is not about living your entire life focused on recovery, instead, it is about making changes to your lifestyle that ensure your sobriety is sustainable. While you may not have to live your whole life around recovery, changes to these parts of your life will help with the success of your recovery.
Your relationships:
There are certain relationships in your life that are unhealthy. In order for your treatment to be successful, you will have to make changes to many of your relationships. After returning from treatment it will not be possible to return to some of your past relationships, especially if they were relationships that revolved around drugs and alcohol. Being cognizant of your relationships and avoiding unhealthy ones will make maintaining your sobriety easier.
Your source of entertainment:
Drugs and alcohol have a way of intertwining themselves with entertainment and often addicts feel like using is required to have fun. You may have to replace some of your old hobbies that involved the use of drugs and alcohol with something new. While it can be great to experience of your favorite past times with a sober mind, the connection with your addiction could turn into a trigger.
How you relieve stress:
Stress can be a hard trigger to overcome. Drugs and alcohol may have been the only way you knew how to deal with stress in the past. While in treatment you will learn healthy ways to deal with stress and other negative emotions. These skills will be a new part of your life that will always be there to help you in your recovery.
The places you spend your time:
The power of the senses to activate memories can turn certain places from your past into triggers that will need to be avoided. Going back to familiar places can sometimes cause you to fall back into old routines that end in relapse. Try to make new favorite hangouts where you can create sober memories.
How you celebrate:
In the past, you may have celebrated a promotion by closing down the bar. You will need a new way to celebrate accomplishments.
The Lakehouse Recovery Center offers 30, 60, and 90 day programs to men and women seeking to recover from drug and alcohol addiction. In addition to providing excellent clinical care, we offer both recovery and non-recovery activities. Our goal is to show clients how to have fun again, learning how to live in recovery without drugs and alcohol. For information, call us today: 877.762.3707