Addiction is a chronic disease, meaning that even when treatment is complete, the work is never done. The recovering addict will have to work on maintaining sobriety every day of their life. One of the best ways to set yourself up for success after leaving rehab is to make your home a proper recovery space that will motivate and encourage you to stay in recovery. Setting aside a dedicated space for recovery and making the overall home environment welcoming and ready for recovery will be one of the best things you can do to set yourself up for success.
When you are preparing to leave rehab, you are most likely feeling a mix of emotions. You may be scared about what the future holds, excited to return home, and nervous to see your friends and family. It can be scary to face the unknown, especially after being away from the environment where you were using substances for so long.
When you leave rehab, it is important to go home to a place that is encouraging to your recovery and doesn’t have triggers. Without taking the proper precautions, it can be easy to slip back into old habits and relapse. This is why it is crucial to ask someone to help make your home recovery-ready for your return.
Something that should be done before you even return home is to have it cleaned. Removing all drug and alcohol paraphernalia and having a clean space to come home to will make so much of a difference. This is because there will be no triggers, and the space will be clean, which is great for reducing stress and improving mental health.
However, once you do return home and have been there for a little while after rehab, you should take the time to cleanse your space and dedicate an area for recovery. This can be setting aside a desk for journaling, reading, or activities related to your recovery and sobriety. Having this dedicated space will remind you to do work towards your recovery every day, especially in the days after rehab. This will help keep you on track and motivated.
Transitioning back to life at home can be difficult. This is because rehab is structured, with a strict daily schedule full of nutritional meals, individual and group therapies, exercise, reflection, and more. When you go home, you are suddenly responsible for your own schedule. This is why you must take the time and make a schedule that you will stick to every day.
You can do things such as setting an alarm, making your bed in the morning, and keeping your hygiene routine consistent. Having objects that signify when it’s time to do something can help as well. For example, you may work at your dining room table and struggle with stopping to eat. By simply putting a placemat down, you can train your brain to realize it’s time to eat and to take a pause from work.
You can also do things such as set reminders on your phone, download a habit tracker, and more. Having a daily routine will keep you busy and actively progressing in your recovery. It will keep you from isolating yourself as you take part in sober activities and aftercare appointments. This will help to prevent relapse.
When you are lost in your own world, it can be hard to realize how intense your thoughts can be. This is why being aware of your mental focus after returning home from rehab is crucial. Ways that you can do this is to meditate or journal during the day or at night before bed. This will bring forth self-awareness and help keep you from spiraling negative thought patterns.
Being aware of how much you are working, how you’ve treated yourself, and how you are taking care of your mental health will keep you on track in recovery. This is because you can monitor your emotions such as stress, depression, and anxiety and take the proper steps to alleviate them. Staying aware of your mental focus while at home in recovery will help keep your recovery space an encouraging and healing environment.
Just as your mental health and awareness are important, you must also be conscious of how you are treating your body in recovery. In rehab, nutritional meals and exercise are part of the daily routine. It can be hard to maintain this at home if you are not used to doing it on your own. This is why you must be aware of how you are treating your physical health. You cannot expect to be successful in recovery without giving your body the proper tools it needs to heal and stay on track.
Keeping a nutrition log or taking part in an exercise plan can help you maintain awareness of how you are treating your body. However, remember to show your body some love for all that it is doing for you as you take care of it. Just as you are working to nurture it, it is working to heal you. Be grateful for what it can do for you and how far it has come in your sobriety. This will create a healthy relationship of body awareness and care.
Coming home after rehab can be a difficult transition. You are suddenly responsible for self-care, eating healthy, exercise, keeping a daily routine, and more. Creating a recovery-ready environment in your home will help this transition. This way, you can come home and be prepared to transition into daily life in recovery. Taking the proper steps to make a recovery space within the walls of your home will do wonders for keeping your recovery on track as you return to daily life. Do things that will make you comfortable and set you up for success in sobriety. At Northstar Transitions, we want to give our clients the best possibility of maintaining sobriety outside of our treatment facility. For more information on life after rehab and creating a recovery space in your own home, call us today at (303) 558-6400. We are here to help you both inside our facility and out!
