Addiction Recovery is the most complicated phase of any addiction treatment. Avoidance is the best method of avoidance. It’s so simple a notion that it sounds almost ridiculous, but as creatures of habit, it can be surprisingly difficult to achieve.
Avoiding the substance, you’ve found yourself addicted to can be extremely hard to do without dramatically changing your life. Add to that the cravings that will undoubtedly occur, and t犀利士
he catalysts beyond your control that reinforce negative behaviors, and it seems an impossible challenge to get sober and stay clean. It’s not impossible, but it’s also not easy. It requires disruption to the normalized cycle of your life. Achieving a new normal as part of your Addiction Recovery program depends on your individual circumstances, but it can be achieved regardless of your situation.
Stop Using
The first step is to stop using. A desire to stop is all that is needed. It may mean a painful few days or months depending on the substance of choice, or it may mean a full-blown medical detox. You have probably already reached this point, perhaps even more than once, and you already know that this is where the real work begins.
Disrupting the Behavior during Addiction Recovery
Addiction is built on patterns of behavior, but replacing old patterns with new ones may not be enough to avoid relapse. The new patterns have to be reinforcements for a positive clean and sober lifestyle.
Behavioral Therapy. It might be a 12-step program or more individualized cognitive behavioral therapy, but this is often the most accessible form of disrupting old behaviors to avoid relapse. Taking time to learn about yourself and your addiction can help you understand how you arrived at this point and avoid regression. It can also help you form alliances with others in Recovery who understand what you might be going through and can help when the path to Addiction Recovery seems too difficult.
Diet & Exercise. Malnutrition is often a major factor in addiction. It’s important for everyone in Addiction Recovery to understand the impact of diet and exercise on your overall health and sense of well-being, as well as your ability to avoid relapse. Not only can eating right help you avoid cravings, but exercise can relieve stress and increase endorphins and other brain chemicals that help decrease the desire to use. A healthy diet and regular exercise also increase the likelihood of better decision making in general.
Creating Change. Often the thing that is missing most in terms of disrupting the patterns that lead to substance abuse is a change in daily routine. The triggers found in a daily routine are often the catalysts for relapse. It’s incredibly important for those in Addiction Recovery to make as many changes to their routine as possible, and this includes the possibility of moving. However, since moving is a stressful event for anyone, those in Addiction Recovery should take care to make it as stress-free as possible. Perhaps that means hiring local movers, which helps ease the mental and financial stress of moving while reaping all the Addiction Recovery benefits of this major change.
Whether you chose an inpatient or an outpatient track to get on the road to Addiction Recovery, staying the course can be a challenge without good tools and a lot of commitment. It’s much easier to face those challenges when you know what to expect, and you can either prepare effectively for them or figure out a way to negate or avoid them altogether. You still have to put the work in to stay clean and sober, but knowing the potential pitfalls and planning ahead can make it much easier to accomplish.
Addiction Recovery in Philadelphia
If you are in an addiction recovery phase and need help contact Philadelphia Addiction Center and ask for an appointment with Dr. Tsan.