Addiction is a lifelong battle that millions of Americans face. By attending rehab, you’ve brought yourself to an important turning point in your battle against your demons.
However, maintaining sobriety after you get out of rehab is where the battle truly starts. While you have many medical professionals to watch you while in rehab, staying sober after rehab is largely a battle you have to face by yourself.
This article will walk you through a few tips on how to avoid a relapse after rehab, and help you in your battle for sobriety.
Tips for Maintaining Sobriety After Rehab
1. Join a Support Group
It might be the most cliched option out there, but it might also be the most effective.
A common misconception about support groups is that people go to them to have some sort of “big brother” protection in their life. People think that Alcoholics Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous, and other similar programs, offer a level of authority for people to defer to. Nothing could be further from the truth.
12 step programs are often modeled to be as freely structured as possible. Everyone is someone else’s sponsor after a certain amount of time. It was founded on the principle that helping others stay sober is the best way to stay sober yourself.
2. Make New Friends
Often, people fall into alcohol addiction, or stay in alcohol addiction, as a result of toxic friend groups. It might hurt to hear, but the best thing for your fight for addiction could just be joining a new group of friends.
Making new friends can help you get into other hobbies which will keep you away from your addiction. You might get into playing board games, tabletop roleplaying games, or enjoying movies on movie nights.
You might also make a group of friends who are dedicated to an artistic endeavor. These friends can encourage you to take up writing, explore a musical talent, or engage in a local theatre scene.
3. Count Your Money
The average person spends about 484 dollars on Alcohol a year. Dividing that up comes down to around 40 dollars a month — not an insignificant sum. It’s likely that you spent even more than this on your alcohol addiction; if you were addicted to something else, it’s likely that you were spending even more than this.
Take that extra cash, and buy yourself something nice with it. Go out to dinner at a fancy restaurant with your sober friends, and enjoy the extra money you have in your pocket from your good choices.
For more information on recovery and staying sober, visit sanalake.com.
Maintaining Sobriety Is Possible
While maintaining sobriety is often the hardest part of the battle against addiction, it’s not impossible. Join a support group join a new group of friends, and count up all of the money you saved, and you’re far more likely to stay away from your old lifestyle.
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