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    Why Rehab Aftercare Matters

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    Posted in Drug and Alcohol AddictionVote Up0Vote Down
    Going to a drug treatment facility is a very small piece of the journey in comparison to the journey that follows once you get home. This is why treatment aftercare is so important and should be a top concern when choosing a rehab.

    Once you walk out the doors of the treatment center, while you should feel great and accomplished, you will probably wonder, very soon, what in the heck are you supposed to do now? Your safe and controlled environment is gone and you are now in charge. This may be very scary since you don’t seem to do so well on your own; there are too many temptations and memories.

    If you choose a treatment center that has a great aftercare program, you will have somewhere to turn that is familiar, if you think you may get yourself in trouble. It cannot be stressed exactly how vital that is. Make sure they have alumni get togethers, meetings, someone to talk to, and refreshers on the tools that you were taught in rehab.

    It can be very effective to get together with others that have walked your path and learn various techniques and more importantly, to make friends with people that are clean and sober. These are the things that you can do that are productive, not counterproductive.

    Get a sponsor, hit a meeting, and attend an alumni event. You do whatever it takes to stay strong, clean and sober. Knowing that you have people behind you that believe in you is worth its weight in gold.
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    • 5 Commentsby Likes|Date
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      dominicadominica
      i think an aftercare plan is very important, and even if you don't attend rehab, creating a plan is very helpful to stay on the road to recovery.

      it shouldn't be a hit or miss kind of thing when it comes to staying sober and clean.  it takes a bit of strategy and planning most of the time.

      like this article says, go to meetings, get a sponsor....go to counseling, educate yourself....do whatever it takes!!!!!!!!!!

      do you have a strategy or plan for continued recovery??? do you stick with it?
    • Vote Up0Vote Down
      DdraigDdraig
      My strategy for ongoing sobriety pretty much ran out after the first year. Yet it remains as difficult to be sober today, as it was when I first tried to do it alone, and right now, with some additional challenges that I'm facing, I'm finding it harder than ever to not relapse. 

      I think that, in addition to seeing my therapist, I need to ask for recommendations for a group meeting to attend.
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      DeanDDeanD
      Rehab is the foundation for the "house" that is recovery. It gives people a firm platform to build on, but they have to keep on building the house. Meetings, therapy, community...these are just a few of the tools people need to continue building. It's like learning to play an instrument. You can take piano lessons and learn how to play, but you have to keep practicing...or you'll forget most of what you've learned.
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      HarvardsbestHarvardsbest
      Very nice input! A support group is definitely needed for those of us coming out from an extensive rehab stay. It can be so easy to go back to old ways when no force is influencing you to continue on the sober path.
    • Vote Up0Vote Down
      hereiamhereiam
      What people don't realize is that rehab is just the first step. You're not going to walk out of there and magically be free of your addiction for good. People need a lot of support, because relapse happens way too often and in a way it can be prevented if the people around the addict are willing to step up and help them get more help and stay on the right track.
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