For many people who have attended a residential drug rehab centre, the day they leave the treatment facility and re-enter mainstream society is one of the most challenging parts of the journey to recovery…

Once you have completed a rehabilitation treatment program, you need to make a solid effort to prevent relapse. The following seven tips will help you remain clean and sober and achieve long-term recovery.

1. Change your Circle of Friends

After completing a substance abuse treatment program, you must stay away from old friends that still use drugs and alcohol. You might think that they are good friends and will respect your decision to live a clean and sober life, and I am sure they don’t want to jeopardize your recovery. Still, they won’t change their lifestyle because you did, you will eventually see your friend using drugs and alcohol around you, and you won’t need peer pressure to go back at using. You have to stay away from all temptation, and friends that are still using will put a dent in your recovery.

Avoid situations, places and events where you think people may be using drugs. For example, don’t go to a party if you think people will be using drugs there.

2. Keep on Working on your Recovery

Make sure you participate in a supportive aftercare program. It is essential to have plenty of support after you leave a drug rehab center so that you can ease your transition back into society. A strong aftercare program will keep you focused on staying clean and prevent you from relapsing. People who seek aftercare therapy have the highest success rates. Some private treatment center has an aftercare program included in their services; if you don’t have an aftercare program included in your treatment planning, make sure you have some options before leaving your residential treatment center.

3. Love Yourself

Following a set routine and taking care of your body is essential to your long-term recovery. Eating right, getting plenty of rest, and exercising are great ways to take care of your health. If your health isn’t in good shape, you will be more likely to relapse. If you feel stressed out, tired, or out of control, the risk of resorting to drug use to make yourself feel better will increase.

4. Boredom is a Killer

Pursuing new hobbies and keeping yourself busy after leaving a drug rehab center is essential to stay on the road to recovery. If you have too much downtime on your hands, you might start to overthink. It’s time to think outside the box and be creative. Stay active, set yourself some goals that are unrelated to substance abuse. Do things that you always desired to do. Get in the action. You are embarking on a new adventure; you are starting a new life, make the most out of it.

5. Have a Relapse Prevention Plan Ready

It’s easier to stay sober in a residential treatment center than at home because you are in a safe surrounding and away from temptation and daily life stresses. After returning home, do whatever you can to avoid the triggers and situations that could cause you to relapse. Before leaving the drug rehab center, you most likely established a relapse prevention plan with your counsellor; stick with it. Make sure to have that relapse prevention plan at the forefront of your mind once you return home after treatment, so you can implement it whenever necessary.

6. Stay Emotionally Well-Balanced

Positively channel your energy. Leaving your feelings to accumulate inside of you could cause you a significant amount of stress and increase the chance of relapse. Use the communication skills that you have learned in rehab. Writing or blogging is a great way to release pent-up emotions and get things off your chest. Attending some support group meetings might also be an excellent way to express your feeling to one who comprehends what you are going through. Other good ways to channel your emotions are yoga, meditation and art.

7. You are the Master of your Destiny

Completing a rehab treatment program is a huge step towards recovery, but it isn’t an overnight solution. Achieving recovery from drug addiction is a lifelong process. By being diligent about attending aftercare therapy and surrounding yourself with supportive people who want to see you live a happy, healthy, productive, clean and sober life, you will highly likely succeed in your endeavour to achieve lifelong recovery.