Drug Rehab Success: 4 Questions That Help Predict if You Will Stay Clean & Sober
1. Are there trigger situations in your life? When undergoing drug rehab, you will learn to avoid your trigger situations. What are these? Trigger situations differ for different people and are those situations you find yourself in that bring on the feeling of cravings that, in turn, cause you to want to use or drink. And, these are usually connected to lifestyle choices that addicts can learn to change.
For example, if you and your friends are accustomed to playing pool every Saturday night -- and having a few cocktails while doing so -- then playing pool may be a trigger for you. The regular association of those events triggers an emotional memory that the addicted mind perceives as a craving. That's why you will hear it said that there must be lifestyle changes in order to maintain recovery. Triggers may involve people, places, or activities in your life. Recovery will show you how to be open to developing and enjoying new relationships and leisure activities.
2. Can you handle stress? For drug rehab to be successful, managing your stress is going to play a major part in how successful your recovery is. Stress is a significant factor that can lead to relapse.
Almost no one can avoid stress completely, but recovery treatment programs including cognitive approaches are very helpful. In many drug rehab programs, cognitive behavioral therapy is a form of psychotherapy used to help the recovering addict or alcoholic learns to develop more healthy coping skills and behaviors.
Cognitive behavioral therapy helps addicts to modify how they think and act. The drug rehab therapist works individually and in small group settings with clients or patients, helping them develop new thought patterns, belief systems, and life skills that affect how one personally thinks, feels, and acts.
3. Are you open to being honest about your past? As it pertains to drug rehab, what this means is being willing to get honest with yourself, others, and your notion of higher power. Processing past hurts will help you let go of the past while also seeing how your past has helped shape who you are today. Twelve step philosophy incorporated by many drug rehab programs will help you to come to a place of acceptance where you will neither regret your past nor wish to shut the door on it.
It is a part of the overall change process you will undergo to help you successfully stay clean and sober. For many, it will be the first time they've ever delved into their past. And, while it may be painful, it can be a tremendous opportunity to confront angers, fears, abuses and other hurts that may have contributed to the addicting behavior of addiction.
With skilled facilitation by trained counselors, releasing the pain of the past can allow for the hope of new -- clean -- beginnings.
4. Can you forgive yourself? Many drug addicts have done things that they would never have done had they not been addicted. Whether it's stealing from loved ones or being dishonest with significant others, addiction often leads to violation of one's values and morals and contributes to low self esteem.
An important part of going through a good drug rehab is learning how to forgive yourself and others. Understanding that drug addiction is an illness, not a statement on who you are as a person, is one significant hurdle many drug addicts face. Forgiveness doesn't mean forgetting. But it does involve letting go of the emotional charge and moving on with life with self respect and dignity.
These questions are not meant to be exhaustive, but merely address important considerations as you contemplate the recovery process with the hope of successfully completing drug rehab and staying clean and sober.
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