10 Tips for Staying Free From Alcohol After Rehab

Attending treatment for alcohol addiction can help you turn your life around. Not only will you get treatment for alcoholism, but you’ll get to work through issues you may be contending with. You’ll also get to learn some valuable skills that will help you as you get back home.

Accomplishing treatment or a sober living program is wonderful. You can commend yourself for such an accomplishment. As you get back to your everyday life, you want to assure that you do all you can to remain alcohol free. Chances are you created a relapse prevention plan while you were in treatment. You’ll want to follow that closely, as well what you learned from your treatment team.

As you navigate the sobriety path back home, keep the following tips in mind:

1. Get Into A Support Group

There are support groups in many communities that will give you a place to go to share and receive encouragement. Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) is a 12-Step support group where you can meet with others on the recovery journey. There’s also SMART Recovery. There are various meetings throughout the week, and many are offered online. It’s encouraged to attend several meetings per week when you’re fresh out of treatment. Over time, you may choose to decrease the frequency of meetings the stronger you become in your recovery.

2. Stay Busy

If you sit around bored, you’ll be more apt to think about drinking. Keep yourself busy with work, hobbies, and hanging out with a good group of friends or family. Of course, you can take some down time and relax too, especially if you’re prone to being overly busy. Seek a balance with your work, family, friends, tasks, and hobbies. You might even want to try some new hobbies!

3. Follow Your Relapse Prevention Plan

In treatment you probably created a relapse prevention plan with your counselor. Be sure to follow the plan and stay away from your triggers as best as you can. This means not hanging out with old drinking buddies and staying away from places that cause you to want to drink. If you find yourself facing triggers or intense cravings, reach out to someone in your supportive network.

4. Self-Care

There is a delicate balance of caring for others and caring for yourself. Do your best to start practicing self-care. There’s something in the support groups called HALT. This stands for hungry, angry, lonely, and tired. Try not to get into those states by practice self-care regularly. This means eating a balanced, healthy diet, managing your emotions, spending time with family or friends, and getting adequate rest. When you are taking good care of yourself, you’re less apt to feel triggered or crave alcohol.

5. See A Counselor

It is always a good idea to see a counselor regularly at the beginning of your recovery. Working with a therapist can help you:

• Continue to work on any issues you may have, such as anxiety, depression, etc.
• Rediscover yourself at this stage in life
• Learn better coping, communication, or conflict resolution skills
• Be able to discuss your sobriety journey
• Receive valuable techniques and resources to help you create a better life

6. Get Familiar With Recovery Blogs

There’s a plethora of excellent recovery blogs online. Do some research and read your favourite recovery blogs that teach valuable lessons on addiction and recovery. You can also find others that share their strength and hope online. You may even want to share yours.

7. Stay Connected

Get yourself a support network together and stay connected with them. Take some time weekly to hang out with friends, family, and your support buddies. Quality time with loved ones can help you keep a positive attitude and have some fun.

8. Stay Inspired

Take time regularly to inspire and motivate yourself for continued sobriety and a better life. If you like to read books, choose those that will give you inspiration or help you improve your life. You can also find great videos on YouTube that may give you that daily dose of encouragement. Also, if you enjoy retreats and workshops, take the time to attend them regularly. There are ones focused solely on recovery, but there are also ones that focus on topics like personal development, spiritually, and more.

9. Continue Educating Yourself On Addiction Recovery

For many people, the more they learn about addiction and recovery, the more apt they are to stay on the sobriety path. Putting a little bit of time into reading books or listening to educators talk about addiction recovery can help you along your journey. And, you may be able to pass that knowledge onto others down the road and help them out.

10. Stay Optimistic

A good attitude goes a long way. Do your best to keep your spirits up. You may have days when you get down or experience negative emotions. That’s pretty normal. But you don’t have to let those moods rule your life. As you continue to learn tools for managing emotions and experiencing a better life, those negative moods should occur less and less. If you find yourself struggling more than normal, reach out for help.