You’ve finally done it: you detoxed, completed rehab, and got sober. Congratulations! But now that rehab is over; you’re maybe wondering how to proceed with your life, what to do with yourself, and how to keep yourself on track. Here are some tips.that will help you focus, help you make a plan for a healthy future, and help you stay moving in the right direction with your sobriety.
Here Are Three Lifestyle Tips for After Rehab:
1. Make New Friends and Find New Hobbies
One of the most important things you can do when you leave drug or alcohol rehab is to leave your old life behind, or at least the parts of it that revolved around your substance use. Seeing old friends that you used to drink or get high with can trigger a relapse, as can hanging around the same old places you used to when you wanted to use. Now that you’re clean, you should focus on building relationships with new friends, exploring new hobbies that promote sobriety, and staying busy with activities that will nurture your overall wellbeing.
2. Focus on Your Health
Being healthy in your body and mind can help you stay clean, and there are lots of ways you can work toward cultivating healthy habits and a healthy lifestyle. Physical feelings like hunger, thirst, and exhaustion can also lead to unexpected cravings, and healthy habits can help you avoid and combat these.
Diet: Eat a balanced diet that’s rich in fruits and vegetables, incorporates lots of lean protein, fiber, and vitamin- and mineral-dense foods. Drink water when you’re thirsty, limit your sugar and salt consumption, cut down on junk food, and focus on healthy fats from foods like avocados and nuts.
Exercise: Exercising for half an hour three to five times a week will increase your circulation, improve your mood, help you sleep better, help you manage the symptoms of depression and anxiety, boost your self-confidence, and increase your energy levels. And the great thing about exercise is you don’t have to go to the gym and spend hours on a treadmill to get it. Instead, find something you love to do, and that will be a fun way to exercise, such as:
- Walking or jogging
- Swimming
- Dancing
- Cycling
- Yoga
- Martial arts
- Boxing
- Aerobics
Sleep: Sleep is an essential part of human health, and adults need an average of eight hours per night. Especially if your addiction led to irregular habits, it’s even more important to get into a good sleeping routine now. Getting enough sleep every night will improve your mood and mental wellbeing, help you focus and concentrate more, give you more energy, reduce your chances of heart disease, help you lose weight, improve your immune system, and much more.
3. Set Your Sights on the Future
Setting goals and having a plan for the future is another important element when you want to stay on track with your sobriety with an aftercare program. Not only will short-term and long-term goals give you something to strive for, but they’ll also help keep you headed in the right direction, and prevent you from slipping back into old patterns. And don’t be afraid to celebrate and reward yourself for achieving your goals, even small ones.
Completing rehab is a very important step on the road to sobriety, but it’s not the end of the journey. Sobriety is a choice you have to make every day, but there are lifestyle choices you can make that will help you along the way. Call us today at 888-743-0048 to learn more.