Even after you’ve been through an addiction treatment program, your struggle to stay clean will continue. Many recovering addicts don’t anticipate the difficulties they will face as they return to society, and fewer realize that their own families can be a source of strength. By incorporating tactics to help you stay sober and allowing your family to participate, you can significantly reduce the likelihood of a relapse.
Getting Your Family On Board
Once you return home from completing a treatment program, you will be starting a new life in a very literal sense. If you just return to your old lifestyle, a relapse won’t be far behind. Your family can help you make the necessary changes to your life by pledging to make your home a sober environment. This means no one in the home drinks and no one brings controlled substances into the house.
Create a System for Keeping Medication in the House
You’ll need your family’s cooperation with this too, because it involves creating a new system for handling medication in the home. Members of your family will need medication to treat their own health problems from time to time, but leaving drugs on the kitchen counter or a bathroom shelf can serve as a powerful trigger. Instead, it may be best to keep drugs in a lock box and keep the key and box out of your accessibility. When someone needs to take a medication dose, it should be done out of your sight.
Spend More Time with Your Family
While you were struggling with your addiction, you probably pushed your partner or children away. One of the things rehab taught you was that you now have to mend those relationships. You can do that and help yourself stay sober by looking for fun, physical activities that everyone can do together. Exercise will help reduce the stress that serves as a strong internal trigger for relapse, while group activities will help your family bond. Try swimming, hiking, bicycling, or taking up martial arts together as a family.
Create a Healthier Diet
This is another change your family can make together and it’s one that will benefit everybody in the home. Foods with unhealthy fats, high sugar content, and other unhealthy substances do more than cause us to gain weight. These foods can cause depression and mood changes, which inspire us to make more unhealthy choices. By switching to a primarily plant-based diet, you’ll experience less stress, depression, and fatigue. As your body uses healthy foods to distribute energy more evenly throughout your day, you’ll feel better about yourself. This will encourage you to make more healthy choices, such as staying sober.
Sometimes You Just Need a Break
Don’t be afraid to take a few minutes to yourself from time to time. Finding a place to be alone with your thoughts, where it’s quiet and peaceful, can help you relieve tension. While you’re alone, recite a few daily affirmations. These are positive statements about yourself or your life. If you’re religious, try saying a prayer instead. This is an opportunity to refocus your thoughts and remind yourself of the reasons you choose to live a sober lifestyle.
The suggestions listed here are just a few ways you can help yourself stay sober. Above all, turning to your loved ones may be the best way you can ensure your continued recovery success. The support you receive from your family can be even more effective than the peer support you experience in group meetings.
