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What are things people leaving rehab for drug addiction can do to stay clean?6 comments to What are things people leaving rehab for drug addiction can do to stay clean?You must be logged in to post a comment. |
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Stay away from old friends that use drugs.
never leave the house
facing the world outside of a recovery program is hard.
Your friend needs to find things he likes to do … take some classes at school, get a hobby like painting, gardening, playing a musical instrument, working as a volunteer,writing, cooking etc.
He may want to consider joining a support group like AA or NA to help him through facing difficult situations… life goes on without the drugs!
Your friend will have to change people, places and things that associate drug use to him. Finding a job or a hobby is also helpful, keeping yourself busy is very important, Boredom is one reason why people use in the first place, idol time is the devils play thing. Try to have your friend start going to a local support group like NA /or AA so there are people around him that knows what he is going through, to cope and to talk to you whenever needed.
Hi!
There are a few very critical things you can do, and the more *consistent* you are in the everyday follow-through, the better your long-term recovery will be.
1. A whole new environment. New friends, new hangouts, new hobbies, new life goals. People leaving out of rehab are facing the same daunting tasks as people who leave prison and want to turn a new leaf. It’s hard to stay clean when nobody trusts you, everyone who does know you wants to pull you back in, or confirm their low expectations of you, jobs are hard to find, meeting the tough everyday challenges of confronting your problems rather than running from them, and trying to rise to higher goals in self-worth and lifestyle improvement with no cheerleaders or road maps… It can all be so overwhelming. The best thing is to work out a real-world strategy for a lifestyle and self-esteem makeover before one even leaves the rehab house. Here’s a few tips to get started.
2. Many state employment agencies have programs for displaced workers that will actually pay college tuition or technical/vocational school courses. Your friend qualifies. Look for other ways to obtain full-time employment in a career that challenges you to be a better person, and to build strong problem-solving skills. Many people who go into substance addiction spirals have poor problem-solving skills, so a constructive environment that encourages positive decision making, and, which rewards good decisions in a tangible way will really go a long way… In career, and, at home.
3. Trite as it sounds, visualization is a very powerful tool in getting over the inevitable temptations, and in developing those valuable trouble shooting and problem solving skills. The hardest part of recovery is not in taking the steps toward self-actualization, confrontation, and resolution, it’s the everyday battle to just walk away from people who do or say insensitive things, to take deep breaths and step away from the powerful temptation to just give up and give in, and to leave behind despair when it seems life gives you nothing but no-win or cursed fortunes. You will need to be able to see the addiction behaviors for what they were, a weak and ineffectual way out for a loser mentality. When things get rough or confusing, visualize yourself as the head of a company in crisis, or a rescue worker who’s courage and decisions will make the critical difference, any role that applies will do. What would this in-charge person do? If you depend on this person, what would you want them to do? Obviously, you would not want this person to face the crisis by running off and getting high. Careful here though, former addicts need to learn how to rescue themselves long before they are put under the pressure of rescuing someone else.
4. If you are an associate of the former addict, make it a mantra and a solemn promise to not lash out at the former addict about their past or past behaviors, even if you think these behaviors are the reasons for your current problems. The behaviors of a sober person are not the behaviors of a stoned one, the motives being very different, and *you* will be the source that drives them back to the dealer and bad ways. Make sure you are *never* that excuse or prompt.
5. Stability, safety, and structure at home is the best thing anyone can do for a recovering addict. A stable and structured environment may seem boring at first, but for the long run, being able to *depend* on a pattern, a safe place, belonging, being in charge, and down time are all critical… Think about it… What were the causes, reasons, and results, of the addiction? The recovering addicts’ task will be to create and maintain such an environment themselves. To develop pride of personal place and possessions, and to be able to set their own rules and boundaries. This is a step-by-step process, the rewards earned and given in due course through consistency and progress. If you live with the recovering addict, let them own two rooms of the house, to maintain, decorate, and preside over, as they see fit. That bit of responsibility and control is not too much, and is a valuable starting point for developing the means to value self, and one’s own possessions and place.
6. Finally, recovering addicts need to be surrounded by strong and sensible people who are not entangled in his or her personal life. We all need to be able to be a private person to others, and to have our dignity in anonymity. This is the the biggest reason why former addicts so often shed themselves of even very good friends that know their past. You cannot change anyone but yourself, and, having done everything you could reasonably do to set someone up for a better way, you are not to the one who can walk that road for them thereafter. You are not the one to be praised if they recover and stay sober, and conversely, you are not the one to be blamed if the former addict fails and returns to his or her self-inflicted death sentence. If you become too personally involved, you will hurt their progress, and undermine the very aid you intended to give. Always be there, always be supportive, but never sacrifice yourself or the bottom line.
A longer letter than I planned, but your question deserves an even more comprehensive answer than mine. I wish you and your friend life-long sucess, and a bright future.
Stay away from previous friends that are still using, go to as many AA and or DA meetings as he can. go to after treatment program. Find activities to do where no substance is involved. Work his program. Get a sponser to be able to call and check in with, when feeling weak. Get some psyc help at least once a week.Stay away from old haunts. Make new friends that don’t use. Unfortunatly there are is no easy button for this. He must be commited to staying clean and sober and want the change for himself.
I wish who ever much luck, and will pray for them.