Life After Rehab – What Next?

If you’ve taken the very powerful step to go through a drug or alcohol rehab program (or rehab for any type of addiction for that matter), it can be a bit overwhelming to think about what happens next. What will your life after rehab be like? What should you do? How important is aftercare?

If those questions are flooding your mind, rest assured it’s perfectly normal for anyone who’s finishing up their rehab treatment! You’ve already started the process of making a huge change in your life, so figuring out the next steps can be a bit confusing.

For starters, it’s really important that you realize that you do not have to continue your journey of sobriety entirely on your own. In fact, that’s the last thing you should do! In most cases, various options are available. Which ones you should consider as you being life after rehab will depend on your individual needs as well as the resources available to you.

As a general rule, it’s really important that you continue with some type of treatment after you leave rehab. There are always underlying issues that contribute to an addiction – which may not have been recognized or addressed in rehab. As your life after rehab continues, making ongoing treatment a priority in order to address these issues is critical. Not only will doing so give you valuable insight that may help prevent relapse, it may be the key to your long term success.

The type of aftercare you need once you leave rehab depends partially on whether or not you have a mental health disorder, such as anxiety, ADHD, or depression for example. Many addicts start using as a means to self-medicate symptoms of another disorder. Now that you’re clean and sober, symptoms will be more obvious, as substances can mask them to a significant degree.

If you suspect you have depression or any other type of mental health issue, seeking an evaluation and treatment is ideal way to start your life after rehab. If you don’t take this step, you may find yourself very tempted to use again in order to cope with the symptoms. The last thing you want to do is relapse after all the hard work you’ve already done!

Psychotherapy is typically an important part of treatment for mental health disorders. One of the great advantages of therapy is that it can help you learn effective coping skills. You can start putting those into practice as you continue your life after rehab. Good coping skills will benefit you in every area of your life.

Another important benefit of therapy is that it can help you understand and recognize the various triggers that caused you to use prior to rehab. Your new coping skills will help you manage those in a way you weren’t able to prior to rehab.

You want to do everything you can to support your new clean and sober lifestyle. If psychotherapy isn’t an option due to finances or other reasons – or if it isn’t necessary – it would still be good to participate in a support group. A support group is a great way to enhance whatever support system you already have in place. It can give you a safe place to share your experiences, struggles, feelings, and hopes with like-minded individuals who understand where you’ve been and where you’re at now.

Life after rehab can be both scary and wonderful. But with the right after-care treatment and support in place, the scary part will be short-lived!