Home » Drug Rehab » 5 Tips to Avoid Relapse After Drug Rehab

5 Tips to Avoid Relapse After Drug Rehab

Completing a drug addiction rehab program is a wonderful accomplishment. It is not, however, the end of your recovery experience. What you do after drug rehab is just as important—and in some ways, more so—as what you do during drug rehab. In point of fact, maintaining discipline and obtaining proper aftercare is a critical step in maintaining abstinence from drugs or other addictive substances especially during the period of adjustment right after returning home.

Because drug addiction is a chronic disease, warding off relapse and avoiding relapse triggers is a huge factor in staying clean once you return home. At Orchid Recovery Center, we provide relapse prevention education as a part of our drug rehab as well as a comprehensive aftercare treatment.

After Drug Rehab: 5 Tips to Avoid Relapse

The weeks and months immediately following rehab are the most delicate and critical times in your life. Any reputable treatment program will have resources in place to help you through this time after your treatment ends, but there are five things you should keep in mind that will help you avoid a relapse:

1.) Don't bottle up your feelings and let them build up inside of you; let them out instead. If you go to support groups as a part of your aftercare support, use them to express your emotions and feelings. This way, you'll be able to let off some steam and get help from peers who are experiencing the same thing and mentors who have been where you are.

2.) Get involved in hobbies or other activities to occupy your spare time. Take up running, play an instrument, volunteer at a retirement home, enroll in some classes at your local college or university or learn how to paint. Don't let yourself get bored!

3.) Avoid friends and acquaintances who don't support your recovery and your journey away from drugs. Surround yourself with family and friends who support you and can help you if they see you starting to slip.

4.) Avoid situations that may place you in the path of temptation. This includes physical environments as well as emotional circumstances. If you must go places or be around people who cause you to dwell on the time when you were addicted, be sure that you have an "escape plan," so that you can get out as quickly as possible.

5.) Finally, if you do slip up, don't think of it as a failure. Pick yourself up, and keep moving forward. Don't let one slip become an excuse to return to an addicted lifestyle. Rather, let it be a lesson and a reminder that you must remain vigilant, resolve yourself not to let it happen again, and contact one of your supportive friends, peers or mentors to help you through this tough time.

Drug Rehab at Orchid Recovery Center

At Orchid Recovery Center located in south Florida, we provide resources to women who are suffering from drug addiction and substance abuse as well as co-occurring disorders. We provide a holistic drug and alcohol rehab as well as intervention services and aftercare, providing you with a complete recovery experience. Contact us at Orchid Recovery Center for more information.