Things To Avoid Doing When You Return Home From Rehab
Adjusting to your everyday life at home can be a challenge after you've spent several weeks or months living in a rehabilitation center. Now that you've put drug or alcohol abuse behind you, it's imperative that you make sure to live a healthy life each day. Certain mistakes after you arrive home can compel you to use again, so it's important that you avoid these mistakes. And, if you find yourself in a situation in which using is tempting, it's a good idea to contact a counselor from your rehab facility to talk about what you're going through. Here are some things to avoid doing upon returning home from rehab.
Subjecting Yourself To High-Stress Environments
You likely learned in rehab that stress can make you want to use drugs or alcohol, so it's imperative that you do all that you can to stay out of stressful environments. This may mean that you shouldn't rush back to work after returning home; a period of being at home and getting used to your change in environment can be healthy. Try to always evaluate whether a change in your environment may be stressful. If you deem that it could be, it would be better to stay at home and do your best to avoid this stress.
Rushing To Make Amends To All Those You Have Hurt
Part of the process of addiction recovery is to speak to those who were hurt by your addiction and make amends. This isn't a process to be ignored, but it also isn't a process to necessarily complete immediately upon returning home. There's little doubt that this process can be emotionally draining; you may have to sit with individuals for long periods to go through how you caused harm to them when you were using drugs or alcohol. Too many of these discussions in a row can cause you stress and emotional turmoil, which can be triggers to begin using again. It's best to space out these discussions and seek a professional's care if you find they're overwhelming you.
Spending Time With People Struggling With Addiction
After you've gotten sober, you might feel compelled to help those in your life who are currently struggling with addiction. This isn't advisable right away, however. Your sobriety can be fragile, and spending too much time around those who are engaging in habits that used to be part of your life can be a challenge. It's best to simply refer these individuals to a rehabilitation center so that you can focus on strengthening your own sobriety.