Drug addiction is not easy to defeat. If you have been through the situation, you must be aware what we are talking about. Most drug addicts are physically or genetically inclined towards addiction. They often live around ‘drug triggers’. However, if you have been through a rehab, you must know that 30 days or 60 days are simply not enough to restore your normal life. You must refrain from making the mistakes mentioned below to avoid falling into the drug trap again:
Do not think that you are cured
Just because you have spent a month at a rehab center, it does not mean that you are completely cured. You might have to cure yourself throughout your life. Detoxification for a month does not detoxify your mind. It implies that you need to dedicate at least a few months to adopt new way of thinking and healthy habits.
Do not come home earlier than required
During the early phase of recovery, your patterns of thoughts and habits are tender. In such circumstances, if you decide to come home too early, you will definitely feel overwhelmed by the triggers. Triggers essentially do not need to be strong; they can be something as casual as driving across the bar you used to visit frequently, the liquor store that sold you alcohol, or even seeing the same bathroom that you used to use for taking drugs. Spend the stipulated time at the rehab to develop skills to cope with such situations.
Do not hang around with your old friends
Hanging around with your old friends is also a trigger that leads to relapse. They might induce old habits and behaviors, and your addiction will surface again later or sooner.
Choose a job carefully
Once you come home from a rehab, you might be in dire need of money. However, you must avoid working in bars, casinos, restaurants, or nightclubs. When you see other people indulging in drugs or alcohol, you will feel the craving to have them. And being a fresh recovering addict, it will be difficult for you to resist.
Loneliness and boredom
Addicts often stay busy with the other addicts before rehab. However, once they return from the recovery centers, they end up having a lot of empty time every day. When they feel helpless and they cannot hang around with old friends, they result in getting back to substance abuse again. To avoid loneliness and boredom, you must indulge in other activities such as volunteering, exercise, and contacting sober people for making friends.
Do not seek romantic relationship
Out of loneliness, many recovering addicts often seek romantic partners for companionship. Quite often, the excitement of a new relationship replaces the addiction; but it gives you a new kind of addiction. Rather than learning to live a sober life, you might end up developing a cross-addiction. In addition, more often, you are likely to return to addiction in case your relationship fails. You are better off learning to cope with boredom on your own.