According to the NIDA, “Addiction treatment must help the individual stop using drugs, maintain a drug-free lifestyle, and achieve productive functioning in the family, at work, and in society.” It’s easier to achieve these goals while you are being led by counselors and held accountable for your behaviors throughout the drug addiction rehab program, but, what happens after rehab is up to you.
We can help you find treatment for addiction. Call 800-481-6320Who Answers? toll free anytime.
The Four Dimensions of Recovery
There are many things you can do to maintain your recovery after addiction treatment.
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) defines the term “recovery” as a “process of change through which individuals improve their health and wellness, live a self-directed life, and strive to reach their full potential.” To do this, the SAMHSA has identified four dimensions of recovery from substance abuse including:
Health: overcoming or managing one’s disease(s) or symptoms—for example, abstaining from use of alcohol, illicit drugs, and nonprescribed medications if one has an addiction problem—and for everyone in recovery, making informed, healthy choices that support physical and emotional well-being;
Home: having a stable and safe place to live;
Purpose: participating in meaningful daily activities, such as a job, school, volunteerism, family caretaking, or creative endeavors, and having the independence, income, and resources to participate in society; and
Community: engaging in relationships and social networks that provide support, friendship, love, and hope.
Dealing with Cravings after Drug Addiction Rehab
You learn, in drug addiction rehab, to identify areas of your life that may “trigger” cravings and how to avoid those issues, but, that doesn’t mean cravings won’t appear on their own without ever consciously thinking about the drugs. Any psychoactive drug that has the ability to make you feel good or get “high” interacts with dopamine receptors and the reward centers of the brain to cause “conditioned cravings” as a reinforcing mechanism to repeat the use of those drugs.
It is important to have a strategy in place to deal with cravings when they arise and to have a plan in case of relapse. Addiction is a chronic, relapsing, brain disease that, while treatable, is almost never cured and you must stay vigilant in your recovery motivations. Relapse is likely for some and should not be viewed as failure, but, recognized as a need for reinvested or intensified recovery efforts.
Call 800-481-6320Who Answers? toll free anytime for help finding treatment for addiction.
Dealing with Ongoing Issues
Most addicts suffer insomnia, depression, anxiety, or other mental health disorders as a result of their addiction and in some, it’s an underlying cause. These issues can be uncovered and treated in the drug addiction rehab, but, once you are on your own, the residual effects can remain harmful for a long time or get worse as you face continuous challenges to remain abstinent.
The changes in your life to remain drug-free can be frightening and stressful in and of themselves. Outside of professional help, family and community support systems such as those found in 12-step recovery groups are advocated for positivity, encouragement, and guidance in your continuing progress.
Within an intimate or family-based relationship, patterns of abuse in any form can spell trouble down the road for the person being abused. Patterns of abuse can escalate without warning, turning violent and even deadly. According to the National Institute of Justice, one out of every five women injured or killed by a significant other….
Dual diagnosis conditions bring out the worst in addiction and mental illness, leaving those affected helpless to take back control of their lives. Conditions like depression, anxiety and schizophrenia actually make a person more susceptible to drug abuse practices. On the flip side, someone engaging in chronic drug abuse faces a high risk of developing….
Thousands of people need interventions in order to successfully overcome addiction and regain control of their lives. The fact is, interventions save lives, but it doesn’t always happen the first time around and in some cases, interventions do fail. If you’re not sure what an intervention is or what the steps are to intervening in a drug….
Ignoring the signs of addiction in a loved one can cause the most harm and without the encouragement and understanding of loved ones, the addiction could take a turn for the worst. Many loved ones will ignore the signs of addiction out of shame, anger, or in incorrect understanding of addiction but with the right….
Christian drug rehab can dramatically improve the chance of an individual overcoming drug addiction when that individual is strongly rooted in the Christian faith. Although Christian drug rehab programs are not for everyone, these programs are an excellent option for the individual who is accepting of a higher power for help and strength to overcome….
Many people believe they can get over their addictions on their own and without the help of professional rehab. Unfortunately, though, this option is often much more dangerous and usually more unsuccessful than attending professional care in the hands of healthcare workers. Addiction Changes the Brain Most people cannot beat addiction through sheer force of….
Financing a drug addiction has left more than a few addicts unable to pay for needed drug treatment help. Add to this the high likelihood of job loss before all is said and done and free rehab facilities can quickly become the only treatment alternative a person has. As drug addiction rates continue to climb,….
According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, the therapeutic community is the “best-known residential treatment model,” although many individuals do not actually realize what it entails or know how long treatment even lasts. Treatment Lengths for the Therapeutic Community Model “Planned lengths of stay [for therapeutic community patients last] between 6 and 12 months.”….
If you’re looking for a drug rehabilitation center to get help for an addiction to drugs or alcohol there are things you will need to take into consideration before you choose. Choosing a rehab center that has a program that calls to you is important. If you feel a connection to the group you are….
Calls to numbers on a specific treatment center listing will be routed to that treatment center. Additional calls will also be forwarded and returned by a quality treatment center within the USA.
Calls to any general helpline (non-facility specific 1-8XX numbers) for your visit will be answered by a licensed drug and alcohol rehab facility, a paid advertiser on RehabCenters.com.