How can someone stay clean after leaving an inpatient drug rehab?
This is a very important question for someone just leaving treatment. The following suggestions will help make or break someone’s recovery:
1) Take their suggestions
You went to rehab because you could not stop using drugs on your own, right? There are two main functions that the treatment center provides: one, to physically detox you, and two, to show you how to live without putting drugs and alcohol into your body. Obviously, drug rehab centers specialize in helping people to not use drugs, so you might do well to actually take their suggestions and follow through with them.
The first two times I went to treatment, I did not do this. For example, they suggested I go to long term treatment, and I refused. In shunning their advice, I ended up relapsing very quickly after leaving both of those rehabs. The last treatment center I went to, I did take their suggestions, and followed their recommended treatment plan to a “tee.” I have been clean and sober ever since.
2) Do what other people think you should do, not what YOU think you should do
For the longest time, this was a huge stumbling block for me. Why should I let other people decide how I should live my life? I figured that I (me, personally) should be the most qualified person to make decisions about my life. Turns out this was not the case, because I continued to slowly kill myself with drugs and alcohol when left to my own devices. Amazingly enough, when I started taking advice from others, my life started to get a whole lot better–and a whole new world of freedom opened up to me. It still baffles me that this could come from letting other people suggest how I should live my life. This was the form of drug rehab help that I resisted for so long, and finally had to surrender to in order to get better.
3) Participate in any follow-up treatment
Most detox and residential programs that make up drug treatment centers are composed of very short visits these days. Many programs used to be 28 days in length; most of them are half of that or less nowadays. The length of time you will spend in a residential treatment program is a drop in the bucket, and you should not expect to live “happily ever after” without some serious follow up to your stay in drug rehab. Recovery is a life long process. Therefore, any recommended after care that they suggest should be taken seriously and approached with enthusiasm. Many treatment centers follow up with IOP programs (intensive outpatient), and these can be a strong source of support for people who are just leaving a residential program. Bottom line: follow through with your aftercare.
4) Go to a long term treatment program
This is the number one most effective form of aftercare, and I believe it is anyone and everyone’s best shot at maintaining long term sobriety. This should be especially inviting to you if you have been to drug rehab before and failed to stay clean. Ask the therapists at rehab if they know of any long term treatment programs that they can set you up in after you leave. Long term treatment is the only thing that worked for me, and I consistently see the higher success rates that it provides for recovering addicts at my workplace. Long term treatment works.
5) Go to meetings every day in early recovery
This is something that will be emphasized heavily while you are in drug rehab recovery: you need to go to daily meetings during early recovery. It’s a no-brainer, really. Tons of support from other recovering addicts. Twelve step meetings are widespread and are there to help you. Take advantage of the support they offer. “90 meetings in 90 days” is heard like a mantra in treatment centers, and for good reason. Daily meetings will improve your chances of staying sober in the short run. Long term sobriety entails expanding beyond simply making meetings, but this is still a good strategy for early recovery.
6) Get a sponsor and call them every day
After leaving a drug rehab clinic, get a sponsor, fast. Go to a regular outside AA or NA meeting and ask someone with some significant clean time to be your temporary sponsor. Anything to get you in the door with someone. Most sponsors will have you call them every day for the first 30 days. This might seem silly to you. Do it anyway.
Finding and using a sponsor is another no-brainer. If you choose a bad sponsor, let them go and get another one immediately. A sponsor is someone to help guide you through the twelve steps.
7) Consider an holistic drug rehab
If you do not do well with traditional rehab recovery, then consider going to an alternative drug rehab where the emphasis is more holistic rather than simply being 12 step based. Holistic rehab is powerful because it draws from multiple recovery strategies in order to help you to stay clean and sober.
Holistic recovery is all about encouraging long term growth in several different areas of your life. For example, you would be encouraged to grow spiritually, but also seek emotional stability, work on physical fitness and nutrition, and practice meditation, and so on. Expanding growth beyond traditional recovery programs is what holistic treatment is all about.
Recommended Reading
- Overcoming Addiction
- 10 Reasons that Struggling Addicts or Alcoholics should go to Rehab
- Convincing a Friend, Husband, Wife, or Family Member to Go to Drug Rehab or Seek Addiction Treatment
- Drug Rehab Information
- Holistic Addiction Treatment Center
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@ Cody – I think you are headed towards a point where you will not be happy even when you are high.
Notice if that starts to happen.
If it does, that is when you might say: “Why am I doing this? Why am I chasing this high that is never good enough any more?”
It gets tiresome.
When you get tired, ask for help, and change your life. I recommend rehab.
Worked for me.
Good luck Cody.
I have a son that I lost 12 years ago to drugs. He is finally coming back to me at age 22. He went to rehab at Clays Crossing and Rob’s Ranch in Oklahoma for almost 120 days and is now at a Half Way House. He is enjoying life and making progress day by day. I recommend Rob’s Ranch. The counselors their are the best. I just wish I would of helped my son sooner. However, at a younger age who knows if he would of taken this seriously. It has not been easy and he has had his set backs. However, at this point in time he is headed down a positive path.
My brother has not technically been sober since the age of 18. He was on alcohol till the age of 23, and instead of going to rehab, he dropped alcohol himself, and rather than suffer the withdrawal symptoms, he started sniffing Ritalin, and counteracting with Kinz (nalbuphine), and Xanax. The thing is, initially, it wasn`t that bad, but it got to the point of breaking in to our closets and rooms to get money for the drugs, and at that point, we sent him to rehab. The counsellors tell us he`s doing much better, but will he be able to stay clean when he comes out, or would taking him away from this place be a good idea? A change of scenery, a vacation? He`s 27 now, and I`m worried about him. Any advice would help. Thank you.
My very close friend/lover was just released from rehab (marijuana smoking, coke snorting, maybe heroin snorting) after 20 days. He was good at hiding it except the smoking. He had a no visitors directive he signed so that meant I couldnt see him in rehab or go to the educational meeting but I did leave him a note at the desk. I saw him stop in his house a couple times in the last two days but he only stays 10 mins and leaves and I know he picked up a few things from the house. He has made no contact with me or my family. I know he thought we were mad at him for slipping into the hard stuff but we arent and I hope he knows that from my note. I am not a drug user but will drink alcohol but not around him if it would jeopardise his recovery. I just need to know how I should handle this situation and support him. I did text him and said welcome home and invited him to stop in here. I wish I could have been in the rehab meeting for visitors…this whole situation is going to lead me into a nervous breakdown of my own.
I agree with wholeheartedly on your points on recovery. I am not here to bash AA but they have gone to the way of the world just as many churches have. They have compromised there belief and there faith and this is why the success rate has dropped so dramatically, somewhere around three percent today. I also believe this is why groups like Celebrate Recovery are popping up all over the place. True recovery only comes from the one and only true Higher Power, Jesus Christ. Let Go and Let God!
Staying clean is harder than getting clean, I was clean for 1 year 3 months and then I fell back. I lost my job and had relationship problems, and personal problems and how I felt about myself. That’s when I started using again to help me deaden the hurt and self hatred it was yet again that crutch. Maybe if I had been in meetings witch I was not because I thought I was tough enough to handle it, now I’m so sorry that I didn’t have the support when I needed it. I’ve just destroyed my 1year 3month stint and now have to start at day 1. I was of track for 4 months mostly in denial but I’m 3 days clean again and back on my way to that 1 year mark.
Hi ,
I was just surfing and i been clean for about 6 monthes now and at one time in my life i had 5 years clean
and sober !!!!!!! The one thing i want to share the day someone told me that i was strong enough to stop
doing what i used to stay clean and sober was the drinking spirit finding the way to get back into me !!
the bad thing is i was unaware of the power of the spirit world and over a period of 4 monthes i was
drinking again !! As I looked back at that time I felt the second that person said that all my doors i closed
slowly opened up …….. THE one thing is that i take owner ship on my actions !!!!
The funny thing is what happened 24 years ago came back to me in the same way and ended in the way !! See i look at that after i picked myself up and got clean and sober again is that i needed more
wisdom and i need to noursed to healthy thinking, living, and emtional to overcome my down falls
i want to say more and ill leave you with that note
chrissy eaton
I would like to say that I agree wholeheartedly with the person who mentioned holistic treatment centres. I have been to four treatment centres, went back to using after the first three that were 12 step based. I finished my latest treatment centre the end of september. It was holistic and so very much more effective for me than any other one. It really made a world of difference. I do wish there were more meetings that were holistic also. I haven’t been to a meeting since I came out of treatment for two reasons. One of them is that I live in a very small town where there are only the odd AA meetings and they are very old school, and NA is much more up my alley. The other reason is that I’m just not enthusiastic about the whole 12 step thing. I am moving to a city nearby at the end of this month, and have been considering going to meetings after I move, mostly to meet up with others who are clean. I find myself wondering if that’s a good idea though, given the fact that I’m not much into the step. I don’t want to be a hypocrite. I would appriciate hearing other people’s opinions about this.
In writing this, I am hoping it finds the reader(s) having a good day and loving been clean and real.
Cheryl
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