Returning to life after rehab can be difficult. You have to reinsert yourself into the rapid flow and rhythm of a world that offers no allowances for your struggle with addiction or substance abuse and hope you can survive the onslaught of stress, triggers, and other issues that threaten to push you into relapse on a daily basis.
However, recovery is possible if the addict can apply the lessons of rehab, which makes the role of education and skill-building in life after rehab of paramount importance.
Addiction is not something someone generally walks into with open eyes. It is, rather, something someone slides into backwards, taking one step after another into substance abuse unknowingly, unaware of what their actions are adding up to until they’re in the throes of addiction with little hope of escaping without assistance.
Once they get that help, however, they have the experience of their own personal history to serve as a warning of the insidious nature of addiction. But while that’s invaluable to the recovering addict, it only gives them a limited window of the overall causes of substance abuse.
The educational aspect of rehab can give patients a more comprehensive view of the causes of addiction and substance abuse and a wider window into the mental health concerns involved with such issues. Such knowledge can help the patient better address the root causes of their own addiction and also hopefully avoid falling back into substance abuse after rehab.
Skill-building can be vital, too. Addiction can leave patients with little experience or stunted abilities in common skills needed in the everyday world. This can be as simple as the need for education in such seemingly normal actions like time management and personal organization. Such skills often fall by the wayside in the grip of addiction, but mastering being on time and controlling your personal surroundings and schedule is important to better keep up with recovery goals and maintain a healthy lifestyle.
Other skills and educational needs can include vocational skills, which can aid in job hunting after rehab, allowing the recovering addict to establish themselves in society during recovery, and social skills, necessary in simple dealings with everyone they’ll meet after rehab, from prospective employers and co-workers to simple interactions with people encountered in everyday excursions.
Financial literacy is another skill that nearly everyone needs and many have little education to provide it, even those not struggling with addiction. Learning to budget and control your personal income is a vital skill for the recovering addict, as proper money management and solid financial standing can help prevent relapse by ensuring the recovering addict is not experiencing additional stress from that avenue.
At Good Landing Recovery, education and skill-building are essential parts of the rehab journey to ensure patients are better prepared for the world they will face after treatment. Recovery is difficult enough when dealing with cravings and fears of relapse. There’s no need to add more problems when proper education and skill-building can prevent such issues from arising.
The role of education and skill-building in life after rehab cannot be underestimated. Give Good Landing a call today and let them show you how both can help you better navigate recovery from addiction.
