After a major accomplishment, there is always the next step to consider. That’s certainly true of people who step forward to fight back against their drug/alcohol addiction issues. It takes a lot of focus, commitment, and determination to get through an entire treatment program and walk out of rehab with sobriety.
For the ones who do walk out of rehab, there is an immediate need to start focusing on that important next step. For some people, it easy to return home and start living again. They have this amazing ability to set their addiction issues behind them and never look back. Unfortunately, that’s the exception and not the rule.
For most people, there are a lot of challenges ahead that need to be met head-on after completing rehab. That’s why the addiction treatment community works so hard to make sure exiting clients have access to meaningful aftercare options and programs.
If you are fresh off completing your stint in rehab, you need to decide whether or not you feel secure in your recovery. If you don’t, you owe it to yourself to start thinking about what you can do to protect your sobriety. With that in mind, we offer you this list of popular aftercare options for your consideration:
- Involvement with 12 Step programs like Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) and Narcotics Anonymous (NA)
- Continuing outpatient counseling
- Participation is rehab related alumni programs and events
- Spending time in a sober living home
Whatever you decide to do as the next step in your Delray recovery, you need to continue focusing on staying sober. Of the four options mentioned above, we would like to focus on two of them for your benefit.
A Look at 12 Step Programs and Sober Living
If you leave rehab with the intent of immediately returning home, the best aftercare option you will have at your disposal would be 12 Step programs. No matter where you live, you should have no problem finding meetings that you can attend on the regular basis.
Membership in 12 Step programs is free. The only requirement for members is they must have a desire to get clean and stay clean. The real value of a 12 Step program lies in the way that people in recovery are willing to step up and help other people in recovery.
The main emphasis of the 12 Step concept is getting members to work on the “12 Steps of Recovery.” The actual 12 steps provide a roadmap for building a recovery that can endure trying times.
If you don’t feel secure about immediately returning home after treatment, you might want to consider living in a sober living home. Sober living homes provide recovering addicts with a place to go until they feel their recovery has a sound foundation.
While residing in a sober living home, residents are expected to follow some very strict rules. These rules exist as a way to help residents develop structure in their lives. To give you an idea about the seriousness of sober living, here are some common rules that residents must follow:
- There is zero tolerance for any drinking or drug use without a doctor’s prescription
- No inappropriate behavior towards other residents
- All residents must participate in doing chores around the home
- All residents are expected to participate in 12 Step meetings or continuing outpatient counseling
- All residents must maintain some form of employment and pay rent on time
- All residents are subject to random drug testing
For the most part, residents can stay in sober living until they feel ready to return home. As each resident makes progress, they can get more in terms of responsibilities and freedom. If any resident fails to follow the rules, they are dismissed from the home.
If you have not yet gone to rehab, that is the first step you need to make towards recovering from your addiction. You will have plenty of time to worry about the next step after completing treatment. We suggest that you give us a call at 833-846-5669. During that initial conversation, we would be glad to tell you about our facility and addiction treatment services. We would then want to suggest that you come to our facility to start treatment. From that point on, we will be doing everything we can possibly do to help you get clean and stay clean after treatment.