Abstaining from drugs and alcohol is
the cornerstone of addiction recovery, but without making other positive
lifestyle changes and following are lapse prevention plan your chances of
staying sober in the long-term are slim. The following guide will help you keep
on track with your recovery and give you an overview of the things you must do
in order to stay sober.
Addiction Recovery Survival Guide
1. Find healthy ways to relieve stress.
Many people begin using drugs and
alcohol to wind down after a long day, let loose, and forget about daily
stressors. Once you are addicted, drug and alcohol abuse becomes your
one and only coping strategy for managing stress. Developing new healthier ways
to deal with stress is one of the first things you will need to master within
your recovery.
The following are several ways you
can reduce stress without using drugs and alcohol. The key here is to try
several strategies until you find the stress relief techniques that work best
for you.
Exercise.
Over and over, exercise has
been shown to reduce stress, and improve mood. Exercise therapy is making its
way into addiction recovery programmes, and can be a key aspect to living a
sober life.
Eat healthy.
Did you know that healthy
eating habits will help reduce stress? Diet
plays an important role in our overall physical and mental well-being. Eating
well will help proactively keep stress out of your life.
Take a time out
Practice taking frequent breaks to
avoid getting stressed in the first place. If you feel your anxiety and stress
levels rising, take a few minutes away from what you are doing to simply
breathe deeply or practice any other stress reducing technique that you prefer.
Practice yoga and/or meditation.
Yoga, stretching,
and mindfulness meditation are all practices that have been shown to
effectively help keep stress levels low.
Talk with a friend.
Speak out! Do not let stress build
up to the point that you feel overwhelmed. Call on friends, family, and people
in your addiction recovery circles to support you.
Find something that relaxes you.
Hot tea, scented candles, calming
music, or a hot bath can lower your stress levels very quickly. Take time to
relax each and every day (no matter how busy you might be) to keep your stress
down.
Learn to say no.
One of the major causes of stress is
taking on too much. Especially in early addiction recovery it is
important to find a balance between having too much down time and overloading
yourself with responsibility. Saying no to things you honestly do not have time
or energy for is not wrong or selfish; it is a practice of appropriate boundary
setting and self-care.
Keep a stress diary.
Keeping a stress journal will help
you recognize more clearly when and how you become stressed so that you can
work to prevent stress from developing in the future.
2. Manage Triggers and Cravings.
One of the key aspects of relapse
prevention is knowing what your triggers are and avoiding the people, places,
and things that could trigger use. Strong cravings may arise without notice and
you will also have to learn how to manage and ride out these cravings without
giving in.
To manage triggers, first make a
comprehensive list of all the possible triggers you can imagine — and do not
forget to think outside the box. Sometimes triggers are less obvious and can be
tied to positive life events such as getting a raise.
Once you have your list, decide what you need to do to avoid
or manage these triggers. Some examples are:
Take a new route to work to avoid driving past old hangouts
or bars.
Just the sight or smell of old
hangouts can trigger intense cravings. Do what you can to avoid these places.
Do not make the mistake of hanging out with old friends who
are still using.
It will be difficult, but to stay
sober you will need to avoid old friends and make new ones who
support your addiction recovery.
Avoid becoming tired, angry, or hungry.
Becoming tired, angry, and hungry
are common relapse triggers. Work to structure your schedule so you can
avoid these states.
Practise healthy distraction.
Running, reading, or engaging in
hobbies are all examples of healthy distractions that can help you ride out
drug cravings. Want to pick up a drink? Go for a run. Feel like using? Pick up
the guitar. Keep your mind focused on something more productive.
Keep the phone number of a sponsor or supportive friend or
family member handy.
When you experience strong cravings
to use it is important to talk to someone — either a friend, loved one, or
sponsor. This will help you pinpoint where the craving came from as well as
talk through the urge to use.
Challenge and change your thoughts.
When cravings arise, remind yourself
of why addiction recovery is the best choice. Challenge thoughts about how
great it would be to use with the reality of the despair that alcoholism or
drug addiction has caused you.
3. Build a meaningful life.
When your life has meaning and
purpose, returning to old patterns of addiction will become less appealing.
Addiction recovery is all about creating healthy lifestyle habits that will in
turn increase your confidence, self-esteem, and quality of life.
Volunteer.
Volunteering in your community will
give you a sense of purpose and help you meet like-minded people.
Discover your interests and pick up a new hobby.
Addiction recovery requires finding
out who you really are without drugs and alcohol. Try new things, take a class,
and re-discover what you are interested in.
Set goals.
Working towards meaningful and
realistic goals will give you a sense of direction. It does not matter if they
are related to your career, lifestyle, or health, as long as they are
meaningful to you.
Adopt a pet.
Pets are great companions, and if
you are sure you can take on the responsibility of having one, a pet will help
you feel loved and needed.
Help others in recovery.
Many people find that helping others
in recovery helps create a strong sense of community and purpose in their life.
Once you are ready, become a sponsor or even help set up local recovery
meetings in your area.
4. Take care of yourself.
Practicing self-care is one of the
most important ways to prevent relapse. While setting goals and working towards
building a meaningful life for yourself is important, you do not have to make
drastic changes all at once — nor should you. Taking care of yourself means not
taking on so much that you become overwhelmed, keeping your physical and mental
health a priority, and always keeping your addiction recovery at the very top
of your priority list.
Practicing gratitude is another
self-care strategy that many people find helpful in their recovery.
5. Form a support network.
Lastly, but possibly most importantly,
surround yourself with supportive people and attend recovery groups. You
cannot do it alone; addiction recovery requires making healthy connections with
others who have been down a similar path and will help you create a meaningful
sober future.
Shafa
Home is country’s premier organization for treatment of alcohol/drug problems,
de-addiction, rehabilitation, counseling, treatment for females, nasha mukti,
psychiatric disorders and secondary addictions like gambling, internet etc.
We encourage you to contact one of our counsellors today if you want to
know how to stay sober in Addiction recovery.
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