Once you reach this point, you’ll likely feel a mixture of emotions. Some will be positive when thinking about life after addiction treatment, seeing your return home as a fresh start, as an opportunity to improve your quality of life and to revert the changes that gambling or drug addiction has caused. Yet, some will be negative, where you’ll feel worried and anxious about life after addiction treatment, carrying concerns of relapse.

Experiencing both positive and negative emotions is normal. You’ve experienced a life-changing encounter of rehab, which can flip your life upside down, for the better. Yet, through this achievement, sober living will take some getting used to.

Down to the unknown of life after addiction treatment, boosting your awareness will be recommended, helping you learn what to expect and how to excel through your new norm. At Ocean Recovery, we are here every step of the way for you, helping you safeguard the progress that you’ve made this far after addiction.

 

What to expect from life after addiction treatment?

How do you truly feel about life after addiction treatment? Do you feel worried about returning home, where independent recovery will be promoted? If so, having anxieties about this transition is very normal. After all, you’ll feel a sense of vulnerability, while celebrating your sober status.

Many recovering addicts, in fact, feel like they are walking on eggshells, hoping to avoid any sign of relapse. This outlook is reasonable, however, to sustain a sober life after addiction, it is important that normalising sobriety is aimed for.

At Ocean Recovery, we avoid sugar-coating this transition, as it is important that you know what’s ahead post-rehab. You will have very happy and joyful moments linked to your drug or alcohol freedom, linked to overcoming the burden of addiction, and linked to the achievements that you’ve fulfilled.

Yet, part and parcel of addiction recovery, there will be lower days, where doubts present themselves, and where you feel like life after addiction will take a turn for the worst.

However, through these times, there are ways to rebuild your life positively, helping you cope and sustain sober living through life after addiction treatment. Some will be activated throughout your addiction treatment programme, while others will be promoted through aftercare services.

Yet, all in all, by knowing that life after addiction treatment will carry a whirlwind, yet a worthwhile one at that, you’ll be prepared to advance through long-term recovery.

 

The importance of planning for post-addiction treatment

Planning for life after addiction treatment is very important. This is exactly why at Ocean Recovery, we ensure that relapse prevention and post-rehab planning is incorporated into our programmes, ensuring that our clients can withstand the vulnerabilities of post-rehab life.

If planning was overlooked, many clients would return home, ready to continue life after addiction. Yet, once high-risk situations present themselves, understanding their next best steps will be lacking, causing relapse risks.

With this in mind, we feel a duty of care to ensure that our clients are prepared for life after addiction treatment, and that recovery can continue into the future if they intend for it to.

 

Ways to rebuild your life after addiction treatments

Rebuilding your life after addiction is very important. You will be exposed to a new norm, which you must learn to live with, sustainably.

While rebuilding your life after addiction treatment can seem like a lot of work, it is in fact worthwhile, helping you avoid ongoing addictive habits.

It’s also important to note that once you’ve grasped an addiction-free lifestyle, it will be easier to maintain and will soon become your reality of choice.

Find a purpose 
Finding a purpose to remain sober is a good starting point. Whether you’re recovering for your own health, for your loved ones or for the sake of your own quality of life, using this as a motivator will be beneficial.

Set yourself some recovery goals 
We’re all driven by goals, especially when accountability is present. By setting yourself some goals for life after addiction, you’ll have something to work towards. Many individuals believe that recovery has been achieved post-rehab. This is true to an extent, yet you must continue after addiction treatment to uphold recovery efforts. Setting goals is a great way to keep motivated.

Maintain aftercare services 
Aftercare services will be available to you, in place to ease your transition home. By maintaining an active schedule of aftercare services, you’ll have professional guidance in place to direct you through life after rehab.

Make changes to your lifestyle 
Making some positive changes to your lifestyle will benefit your life after addiction treatment. Changes will in fact prepare you for what’s ahead.

Making some changes to your daily routine, your hobbies, your sleeping habits, your nutrition, your relationships and your environments will do you the world of good. Yet, ensuring that exposure to your initial causation is minimised.

Place focus on a sober activity 
Prior to addiction treatment, your life may have revolved around drug and alcohol abuse, gambling or whichever addictive stimulus you were influenced by. Now is your chance to rebuild your life by focusing on the sober activity.

Rely on your relapse prevention plan 
Your relapse prevention plan will be created alongside your addiction treatment sessions. It will act as a director if you do experience any signs of relapse. By relying on your plan, you’ll be confident that you can maintain life after addiction.

Remain honest  
Life after addiction treatment is branded as positive. However, many individuals look at it through rose-tinted glasses. There’s a likelihood that you will experience some negativity. Remaining honest and realistic is recommended, with yourself and with others. This will reduce the pressure which can build up in regard to sober living.

Invest in positivity 
Finding inner peace and positivity is very important. Investing yourself into what makes you truly happy, in what will act as a healthy distraction, and into relationships which will help you grow away from addiction. This will be the greatest way to rebuild your life post-rehab.

Sustain life after addiction treatment 
Sustainability should be aimed for, for life after addiction treatment. While easier said than done, by preparing yourself and by practising the above steps, you’ll have a greater opportunity to lead the future that you hope for. See this time as a new beginning, which you can control.

Naturally, life after addiction treatment may influence concerns for you. While setting yourself up for the reality of sober living is recommended, it’s time to plan ahead, it’s time to rebuild your life, and it’s time to invest some positive energy into your capabilities.

Contact our team at Ocean Recovery for further support through life after addiction treatment. This is your chance to sustain a life without the hindrance of addiction.

John Gillen - Director at Ocean Recovery

John Gillen - Author - Last updated: January 13, 2022

John is one UK’s leading professionals in the addiction recovery industry. Pioneering new treatment techniques such as NAD+ and ongoing research into new therapy techniques such as systematic laser therapy, John is committed to providing the very best treatment for people throughout the UK and Europe. During his extremely busy schedule, John likes to regularly update our blog section with the latest news and trends in the industry to keep visitors to our site as well informed as possible on everything related to addiction treatment.