After completing your inpatient addiction program, it is essential to prevent a relapse. Here are a few valuable ways to prevent relapse back to a dangerous drug addiction.
Way 1: Move to a New Location
If your old neighborhood is a danger zone for you with drug dealers on the corners or gangs of friends who want you to use heroin, then moving to a new location is recommended. There are various ways to move to a different area, including continuing your education at a university or finding a job in a different city.
Way 2: Continue Professional Counseling
It is essential to continue your recovery with professional counseling. Fortunately, most outpatient recovery programs include private and group counseling sessions. If you return to your previous home or move to a new neighborhood, make sure to learn more about the outpatient rehab centers that are available nearby.
Way 3: Journal Your Way to Success
While in your inpatient program, you probably kept a journal about your recovery, and you should continue this good habit throughout your life. Carrying a journal with you will help you to keep track of your feelings about overcoming an addiction, and you can also keep track of the problems that increase your cravings for a drug.
Way 4: Have a Regular Schedule
It is important to have a regular schedule after you leave your residential or inpatient rehabilitation program. If you have a job or a school to attend, then you will have a place to go to several hours a week, but you should also have plans for after your school or workday ends.
Way 5: Consume a Nutritious Diet
While you were immersed in an addiction, you may have neglected your health by eating poor-quality foods. During your rehabilitation program, you are provided with nutritious meals that improve the health of your brain. Make sure to consume a healthy diet while you are continuing to recover.
Way 6: Religion or Spirituality
Many recovering addicts find comfort in spirituality or religion where there are guidelines in place concerning how to live their lives. Seeking out others who have the same beliefs can help you to avoid a dangerous relapse back to illegal drugs.
Way 7: Engage In Physical Activity
Daily exercise is one of the best ways to prevent a relapse back to drug use. You can hike, cycle or swim to avoid thinking about drugs. If you wasted your time at drug parties during your addiction, then engaging in daily exercise is a way to socialize with others who believe in a healthier lifestyle.
Way 8: Meditate to Focus Your Thoughts
Meditating is an easy way to focus your thoughts, and it is a free way to prevent a drug relapse. You can meditate anywhere for a few minutes to clear your mind of the troubling thoughts that may make you want to return to drug use. You can also give yoga a try since there are many benefits of yoga in addiction recovery.
Way 9: Have an Enjoyable Hobby
Everyone should have one or more enjoyable hobbies to turn to for fun after work or school. Before your addiction to drugs or alcohol, you may have had other interests, so you can return to these hobbies to make connections to new friends.
Have a Life Plan
Many recovering addicts experience a relapse because they haven’t created a plan for their lives after completing their treatment, but by using these ways to prevent relapse, you can avoid this problem.
