After Alcohol Rehab: What to Expect

What’s Life like After Alcohol Rehab?

In this article we will look at what it’s like for a person after alcohol rehab and we will look at some of the alcoholism prevention strategies that should not be neglected.

Relapse

Statistics for addiction recovery reveals that only between 40 and 60 percent of people make it through their first year of recovery without relapsing. However, this isn’t as bad as it sounds since addiction is well-known to be a “chronic, relapsing disease”.

If a person relapses after alcohol rehab, then it doesn’t necessarily mean that the treatment didn’t do anything. If a person were to lapse after alcohol detox, then their treatment plan can be adjusted. If they return to alcohol abuse after alcohol rehab, they can return to rehab, or use some of the less-intensive outpatient programs to help get them back on track.

Alcoholism Prevention Strategies

After alcohol detox, a person is expected to go through a treatment program in order to learn crucial addiction prevention strategies that they can use in times to come. There are many techniques that one can use and finding substance abuse prevention strategies that work for you is as important as getting the right kind of medications for an illness.

The following are some of the ways that you can prevent a relapse:

• Know what the signs are – Relapse occurs over time, not usually in an instant. It begins with the emotional stage of relapse. This is the best time to act in order to stop a relapse from occurring. The signs to be on the lookout for are anxiety, anger, isolation, mood swings, poor sleeping and eating habits and intolerance. Even though it may be difficult, you must reach out to someone who can help to stop the process from escalating.
• Wait for cravings to fade – When a person starts to crave alcohol, it can be an all-encompassing emotion. Thankfully, it’s very short-lived. Most cravings will dissipate in as little as 15 to 30 minutes, so all you have to do is wait out the cravings for a short time.
• Find a distraction – If you have nothing to do and find yourself filled with boredom, then find a way to distract yourself. It can be watching videos on how to create crafts or reading an inspiration book. Anything constructive will do.
• Speak up – If you start having urges to have alcohol again, talk to someone about it. It can make all the difference just reaching out to someone who cares so that you don’t feel alone in your struggles. Phone your sponsor, a friend, your counselor or someone in your family and tell them that you’re having cravings. Help is always there if you just reach out!
• Yoga and meditation – Meditation and yoga have been used as effective ways to deal with stress and improve mental and physical health for centuries. If you’re finding it hard to cope during your recovery, then take up yoga or meditation, or both. They can help to calm your mind and improve your motivation to stay clean and sober.

If you or a loved one is struggling with addiction, get help right away. Make a phone call that will connect you to a professional drug treatment center. The call you make may save your life or the life of someone you love. Call us today at (800) 429-7690.