5 Tips to Help You Survive the First 30 Days of Sobriety

You’ve done it! You have completed your time at the addiction recovery center, and the program was a success. You are ready to leave drug rehab and restart your life. That is great news. Now it is time to set your goal to get through the first 30 days of sobriety.

While you were in the drug treatment program, you have probably been given many different tips and suggestions about staying sober when you leave the program. All of this information is relevant and important to remember. However, during your first 30 days, you are encouraged to use these five tips the most to help you get through this crucial time.

• Make Sure Your Support System Is In Place

Your substance abuse counselor has undoubtedly stressed how important it is to have a support system in place when you leave the program. This support system helps you get through any possible temptations and personal struggles that you may encounter. Some of the preferred support systems include:

1.  Daily Meetings: These programs are very beneficial because it gives you a connection to people who understand what you are dealing with at this time.
2.  Personal Therapy: If you are struggling with your emotions in any way, it may be beneficial to work with a therapist for a while after leaving the recovery center. It is an added form of valuable support.
   
3.  Family and Friends: Supportive family and friends are necessary during this time. However, if a family member or friend is not supportive, is critical, or tries to influence you to break sobriety, avoid them at all costs. The pressure from this is not something you should face when you have just left the drug rehabilitation center.

• Set Up A Routine

You need to make sure that you have a routine in place now that you are on your own. In rehab, there was a routine to follow each day, and that helped you focus. Take that strategy with you when you leave the center.

Make a schedule for yourself that includes things that are necessary as well as things you enjoy. This way, you always feel like you are in control. It is also important to avoid becoming too bored during these crucial 30 days; boredom can lead to anxiety, leading to a relapse.

• Avoid old friends and old habits

During your first 30 days, it is probably in your best interest to avoid old friends and habits that may be associated with your former addiction even if these may seem harmless, such as going to eat at a particular restaurant every Wednesday or hanging out with a group of friends for movie night on Saturday nights.

Old habits, even if they are not drug or alcohol-related, can trigger cravings. Your brain registers the comfort of the old routine, and then it also wants to go back to doing other things that gave you comforts, such as using drugs or drinking.

Avoiding these old habits also gives you a chance to really start new. You now have a chance to change everything about your life. Breaking old routines may actually be an overall good thing.

• Don’t Live In The Past

When you leave rehab, you will have to face some things that are part of your past. They may be good things, like seeing your pet again, or they may be things that may not make you happy. The important thing to remember is that the past should remain in the past.

Dwelling on the past will only make you feel miserable. It will undo all of the progress you have made, and it may even trigger a relapse. You cannot change the past. But you have made an effort to change your future. Grasp on to this, even when things get hard, that it is the future that matters, and you are ready to make yours the best possible.

• Give Yourself Some Credit

Entering into sobriety was not an easy task. You know what you went through to get sober, and you should be proud of your accomplishments. Now that you are sober make sure that you take just a few minutes each day and give yourself credit for achieving this goal.

Take the time to say that you are proud of yourself for becoming sober and staying that way another day. Make yourself feel happy knowing that it will be to a brighter future where you are in control of your life when you wake up the next day. Enjoy the happiness that this gives you – you deserve it!

Always Seek Help If You Are Struggling

While these five tips can be handy during your first 30 days of sobriety and beyond, it is important always to remember to seek help if you are struggling. It is not bad, or wrong, or even a sign of weakness if you need extra help. Seeking help is a sign that you are committed to giving yourself the best possible future now that you live a substance-free life.