It is one thing when patients come to our inpatient drug rehab in Florida, but it is an entirely different story when they have to leave. Sobriety is a lifetime commitment but transitioning from the controlled environment of rehab back to your everyday life can be intimidating. While you may feel prepared, sobriety is likely new territory that takes time to learn how to navigate.
What to Expect in Early Recovery from Addiction?
Life after drug rehab can be filled with surprises, both good and bad, but knowing what to expect in early sobriety can help make the long road to recovery a little easier. At Behavioral Health of the Palm Beaches, we are sharing a clearer picture of what to expect in addiction recovery to help you confidently navigate your early recovery.
Mixed Emotions
Although you should feel good about getting sober, early recovery is often an emotional roller coaster. Along with feeling triumphant and happy about your sobriety, these emotions are usually accompanied by irritability, frustration, depression, loneliness, and anxiety. Early sobriety is a confusing time with new hurdles that bring out a wide range of emotions. Not to mention that withdrawal often leads to mood swings. Especially if you used your addiction to numb your feelings, you may feel like your emotions are out of control. This reaction is normal and will get better with time.
Relationship Troubles
Even though you are now sober, mending broken relationships takes time. You should not expect everyone in your life to forgive you overnight or for your relationships to immediately get back to how they were before you developed a substance abuse problem. Even if your relationships are okay, you may also feel like your loved ones are walking on eggshells around you because they are unsure how to act. There are programs for families of addicts that could help you all move forward.
Good Days & Bad
In early recovery, you should expect to have both good and bad days. Life in recovery is filled with triggers and obstacles, but it can also be filled with triumphs and small victories. You should take sobriety one day at a time and remind yourself that tomorrow will be better when times get tough. Over time, you will find that there are far more good days than bad.
Addiction Cravings
While a medical detox can help you wean off of drugs and alcohol, it does not stop you from having drug cravings. While you may not know exactly what to expect in early sobriety, you should anticipate drug cravings. Triggers are everywhere in early recovery especially when you first leave the controlled environment that is rehab. These cravings can be very intense and are hard to control. Be sure that you practice relapse prevention strategies and ask for help.
Your Past May Haunt You
While you may be ready and eager to get a fresh start, you cannot escape your past completely. The choices you made while you were an addict may come back to bite you in the butt now that you are sober. You may need to recover from a financial fall out or face those you hurt. You could still be recuperating from legal issues or need to find a new job. You cannot erase your past completely, but you can learn from it and strive to do better as you pick up the pieces of your life.
Recovery Takes Effort
Detox and treatment may have been challenging, but outside of rehab your recovery is only just beginning. Staying sober, especially at first, requires effort and commitment. Do not become complacent with your sobriety just because you are no longer being supervised. If you want your sobriety to last, you will need to work at it every day.
Addiction recovery is a long and trying journey, but we want to help you along the way. To begin your journey to recovery or to find out how you may be able to help a loved one, call us today at 561-220-3981.
