Treatment programs are the first step in your recovery process. When you leave the center, the next phase begins. You’re going back to your everyday life, but you’ve got to use all that you’ve learned to avoid relapsing. In order to do that you need to learn to recognize triggers and stressors to be wary of when first leaving rehab for drug addiction.
The more educated you are about how to handle life after rehab the better off you’ll be in your recovery process. In order to stay addiction-free, you will ultimately need to make changes so you can keep the addiction out of your life so it will never return. Here, we’ll discuss what some stressors and triggers are, that you may need to avoid and some tips to help you prevent situations from causing a relapse in your life.
Stressors to be wary of when first leaving rehab for drug addiction
Addictions don’t happen overnight. They’re the result of an ongoing fixation of a drug. When drugs become an addiction in your life, it’s there, sometimes, because of a few common things. Those would include:
Relationships
Situations
There are usually people connected to the drug addiction you’re facing. It might be a friend or co-worker who used the drugs with you. Or, it might be a dealer you know who sold you the drugs you use. Also, there are usually different places that can spark a memory of your drug use. This could be an apartment or place of employment where you used the drugs in the past. These locations and some people in your life cause a flood of memories to overcome you. In response, it could cause the old cravings to creep back. If you give in, the addiction is free to move right back to start controlling you again.
Some situations can be tough to handle. Driving in heavy traffic is stressful and can make anyone turn to drugs for release from their stress. Debt collectors aggressively trying to collect is another thing making life hard to deal with and drugs become the preferable way to relieve stress. It may also result from a habit, like meeting with friends after work where you ended up doing drugs together. The more you take part in that kind of activity, the more it becomes a habit that will be much harder to break. The reason for that is that you do it almost without thinking.
Triggers to be wary of when first leaving rehab for drug addiction
Triggers are internal feelings and emotions that drive one to crave the one thing they think will stop them. Fear, anxiety, and depression are negative feelings that no one wants to have. Often, when an addict does a drug, they experience the exact opposite and become happy, calm and overall feel good. The feeling of euphoria is short-lived, however, and they’ll return to the negative feelings once again. The cycle repeats itself over and over.
They may experience emotions on the other end of the spectrum. Intense feelings, such as anger, irritability, and jealousy drive an addict to use a drug for the purpose of finding a release for those strong feelings. They’d rather avoid dealing with their emotions in a more suitable way by simply trying to make them go away quickly with drugs.
How to help prevent stressors from causing relapse when first leaving drug rehab
Before leaving a drug rehab program, you will need to consider all the things in your life that could be stressors or triggers. Think of all the places you’ve done drugs at. If possible, consider avoiding all the ones you can, so you’re not tempted to begin the addiction again. The people you’ve done drugs with might cause you to relapse, so you may want to pursue new friends to hang out with, that don’t do drugs.
Have someone you trust, go through your home or apartment and get rid of any drugs or drug paraphernalia that might trigger a relapse. Getting them out of your sight will eliminate some cravings or temptations that you could face when leaving the rehab program.
After finishing treatment, you’re going to be vulnerable. Surround yourself with people who can hold you accountable for your recovery. Attend any aftercare programs your treatment center sets up and avoid anything that linked you to the drugs before you entered a drug rehabilitation facility. For more information, call us at 302-842-2390