Being in addiction treatment means eventually returning home—but unless you change your environment, maintaining sobriety for the long term will become a very real challenge. Here’s how to support your recovery in the home environment.
The Relationship Between Environment and Addiction Recovery
The environmental factors of addiction are the same factors that can cause you to stop your recovery. In other words, returning to the same situation after rehab can quickly lead to relapse and undermine the hard work you’ve done to build a healthy and sober life. Therefore, it’s important to change or remove these factors.
Creating the Perfect Recovery Environment
Rehab has given you the tools you’ll need to maintain sobriety. Creating the perfect environment will help you enjoy your new life.
Reconsider Certain Relationships
The people you used to drink or use drugs with can be relapse triggers. Once they know you’ve returned from rehab, they may even encourage you to start using again. Removing these people from your life not only eliminates your relapse risk, but it will also keep you in a healthy place mentally, physically, and emotionally.
Distance Yourself from Substances
Bars, clubs, and other places where substances are freely available are definitely places to avoid after rehab. If these are places you used to frequent and you are staying in the same neighborhood, create new habits. Play a sport or participate in another sober activity several times a week.
Control Stress
It is impossible to completely eliminate stress from your life. However, there are many healthy ways to handle it. Learn how to identify the people and situations that cause you stress and detach from them. Going inward with meditation and mindful breathing can help you center yourself and remind you that you are the most important person in your life.
Maintain Your Daily Schedule
A big part of adjusting to life after rehab is establishing normalcy. You probably discussed and developed a schedule with your counselor before the end of your treatment program. This schedule will become incredibly important to maintain once you get home because it will serve as your daily roadmap to sobriety.
Making copies of your schedule and posting them around your home will remind you of what needs to be done and give you a daily sense of accomplishment.
Access Support on a Regular Basis
Support is absolutely essential after leaving rehab. Whether it’s a 12-step meeting, phone call with a sponsor, or another support group, these resources give you a safe space to share your emotions and experiences with others who are also living life after rehab. Knowing that someone is always there for you will be a great stress reliever too.
We Are Here for You
The key to long-term sobriety is supportive aftercare. Del Arroyo Recovery Center understands how frightening relapse can be for those in recovery. We create personalized relapse prevention plans and partner with sober living facilities to ensure your recovery success. Discover more by calling (877) 535-0636.
