My experience confirms that addiction rehab can be a valuable and resourceful stop on the recovery journey, but it is only part of it. Just like asthma or diabetes, addiction is a chronic disease. There is no cure for addiction. Recovery is ongoing and will have to be pursued for a lifetime.
There are things that will help your effort to get into and stay in recovery, and there are things that can hinder it as well. It may be shaky at first. Rehab, or addiction treatment, is like a comfy bubble. No real-life responsibilities, work, old friends, bars, drug dealers, significant others, and so on and so forth. Upon leaving, I needed to consider certain aspects of my life after rehab, and whether or not they were conducive to my recovery or not.
Here are some things that were helpful for me to consider:
Friends
Many of my friends did what I did, used what I used, and went where I went. I believed our friendships were based on mutual care and respect. I found out much to my dismay that once the going got rough and I decided to get sober they were nowhere to be found. This is not always the case. Sometimes it is because of a caring friend we agree to seek help. However, having to make new friends, in life after rehab, is more often the rule than the exception unfortunately.
Work
Sometimes employment prior to rehab was either nonexistent, highly stressful, or contributing to an unhealthy lifestyle (for example: a bartender at a nightclub). It was suggested to me to take a less stressful job and not return to the clubs or bars in their life after rehab.
Support
A strong support system is invaluable. 12-step groups such as AA allowed me to meet people with long-term experience staying sober and living a happy life in recovery. I found friends, confidantes, friendly acquaintances, and most importantly someone who would help me and guide me through the 12-steps. Someone who had experienced addiction as I had, but they were happy, sober, and free. There are numerous resources to connect with, nationwide!
Help & Service
I found that through my addiction I was always focused on my wants and needs. This changed as my mind and body straightened out. Through helping people by some sort of service work I began to feel useful and was less concerned with myself. Once I did the work, it became my purpose to show others the way to freedom!
Life after rehab is ultimately up to you. I’ve taken short cuts, and continued to do it “my way”, and I failed utterly. After I surrendered to the fact that I had no idea how to live, never mind stay sober, things began to work out. Mostly it was because I was willing to work. I’ve heard it said in many 12-step fellowships, “if you want something you’ve never had…you’ve got to do something you’ve never done”. How very true I found that statement to be.
~ Anonymous
For more information about programs offered at Fair Oaks Recovery Center, including our intensive outpatient program in Sacramento, please call us today at (888) 576-0222.
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My experience confirms that addiction rehab can be a valuable and resourceful stop on the recovery journey, but it is only part of it. Just like asthma or diabetes, addiction is a chronic disease. There is no cure for addiction. Recovery is ongoing and will have to be pursued for a lifetime.
