Recovery is a lifelong process. It isn’t as simple as attending a thirty-day rehab program and being changed for good. Studies indicate that nearly eighty percent of people who enjoy long-term sobriety have at least one relapse. Thankfully, even when things get tough, there are plenty of sobriety tips that, when used regularly, can keep you afloat when things get rough and keep your relapses to a minimum.
Contact Water Gap Wellness Center today to learn more about PHP mental health care and how we can help you or a loved one.
Staying Sober During Recovery
Staying sober during recovery involves several steps. If you integrate all of the steps as soon as possible, you’ll be prepared for when you are triggered, struggling financially, and needing support.
Know Triggers
Some of the most straightforward sobriety tips involve knowing your triggers. You should have explored this during drug and alcohol rehab, but it’s also something you can continue to explore individually.
Avoiding a relapse means knowing your triggers and staying away from them when you first get out of rehab. As you continue throughout your lifetime journey of sobriety, you might one day be able to expose yourself to your triggers without a relapse, but all of this is gradual and takes time.
Build a Routine
Building a routine is essential to staying sober during recovery. This is a technique that is introduced during drug and alcohol rehab by way of a regular daily schedule with set therapy sessions and other services.
Building a routine and sticking to it can boost your physical and mental health so that you are in a much better place during your drug and alcohol addiction recovery. This includes things like:
- Going to bed and getting up at the same time
- Eating healthy meals regularly
- Having self-care time
- Working or going to school regularly
- Attending AA or NA meetings
As you build your routine, you’ll want to incorporate several self-care activities that can keep you focused on why you are choosing to remain sober. This can include participating in any physical activity like wilderness adventures, hiking, or yoga. It can also incorporate daily meditation, healthy eating, hydration, and time for journaling.
Create a Sober Network
Drug and alcohol addiction recovery won’t last very long if you continue to hang out with the same people with whom you used to do drugs or binge drink. It can be extremely difficult, especially when you first leave rehab, to make new friends, especially when many of your old friends were likely connected to addiction.
Choosing to find new friends can give you people with whom you can socialize sober. You won’t have to go out of your way to ask if alcohol will be served or avoid parties on the off chance that drugs will be present. Instead, you’ll know that any activities in which you participate are automatically sober activities.
Have a Support System
Sometimes things get difficult, and you need someone you can lean on for support. You can join a support group or have a therapist, mental health professional, or close friend who can be there for you when you experience sobriety fatigue and need extra help.
Keep an Eye on Finances
Building your routine and incorporating self-care and healthy living will help you maintain employment, meet your workplace responsibilities, and better manage money.
It’s not uncommon for people with addiction to develop significant financial issues, which can inhibit new employment or even trigger a relapse. Small things like visiting with vocational rehab counselors or career coaches, practicing job interview skills, and finding jobs that fit your expertise can help you focus on stable finances and prevent work or monetary stress as a trigger.
Learn Sobriety Tips at Water Gap Wellness Center
So many sobriety tips are highly personalized and are things you can learn when attending a mental health and addiction treatment center. Water Gap Wellness Center offers several outpatient programs designed to teach you as many coping skills as possible and expose you to a network of sober individuals and resources for ongoing support. With Water Gap Wellness Center, you can strengthen your resolve and work toward a lifetime of sobriety.
Let our team help you today with Pennsylvania mental health treatment. Call Water Gap Wellness Center today to learn more about our outpatient programs.
