Early recovery can be a struggle. However, if you have decided to step away from drugs and alcohol you have done one of the harder things in addiction.
After attending a medical detox to get through the worst of the withdrawal symptoms with the help of physicians it’s recommended to attend further treatment in a Partial Hospitalization Program (PHP) or an Intensive Outpatient (IOP) setting. This structure and stability will help ease you through the first 90–100 days of separation from your drug of choice. It is during this period that the cravings will be their strongest.
Unfortunately, substance use disorders don’t disappear overnight. Your journey on the road to recovery won’t cease after treatment. You will need to manage your cravings and set up a routine as you begin to reacclimate to everyday life. It would be advised to not jump into the same routine as you were in during your substance abuse. You should take care to build new and healthy habits.
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Tips for an Early Recovery
Here are some tips to help you better deal with your situation in early recovery:
Build a Routine
Just as the structure that was provided to you during treatment gave stability, you will need structure in your day-to-day life. Creating a routine for your day will help you in this endeavor. Create a schedule for how your day will go. It will be helpful to fill your day with things to do, such as:
- 7 am – wake up
- 7:15 am – make your bed
- 7:20 am – breakfast
- 7:30 am – shower and get dressed
- 8 am – head to work
- 6 pm – exercise
- 7:30 pm – dinner
- 8:45 pm – laundry
- 10:15 – bed
By building a routine you will provide yourself with a routine that becomes second nature over time. This will help you avoid too much idle time, which can be counterproductive in early recovery.
Have a Plan
In the early days of your recovery, you may be presented with situations and events that test your willpower. You should have a plan for these situations. Such examples of these times could be family gatherings, weddings, social outings, and birthday parties. You need to have a plan for situations where alcohol or drugs may be present. Some tips to deal with this are:
- Have an escape plan. Make sure you have an exit strategy if you feel uncomfortable in a situation. Either drive yourself or have a friend you can call for a ride.
- Set Boundaries. Ensure those you will be seeing know what you are comfortable with. This is for your safety. If somebody pushes these boundaries you need to remove yourself from the situation. A friend who disregards your personal boundaries is not that great of a friend.
- Separate from enablers. If there are people in your life that enable your addictive behaviors and actions, you can’t be around those people at this point in your recovery. It’s OK to need space from those who enable you. This may be a permanent distancing or a temporary one. In many cases, it will be for good unless the enabler changes their behaviors.
- Avoid bad situations. It is okay to admit you cannot be around some events or people. If you have a bad feeling you should listen to it. Reach out to a sponsor or sober friend for help.
Self-Care
Take care of yourself. Make some time to do something you enjoy. This could be anything that brings you joy.
Read a book, listen to music, take a hike in nature, you could even pick up a new hobby. You will find that things you once enjoyed that fell away in your addiction will bring new joy and meaning to your life now that you are sober.
Set Short-Terms Goals
Too often, when getting newly sober we think we need to hit the ground running to get our lives back on track. This is unrealistic.
We need time to build our life back and an effective way to do that is to establish short-term goals. Instead of jumping into things perhaps set small and obtainable goals that lead to your larger goals. An example of this is if your goal is to get a job. Then, a way to avoid undue pressure on yourself would be to break that larger goal into smaller ones, such as:
- Build a resume
- Look at job ads
- Put in four job applications a week
When you break down what you want to achieve into a sort of task list, it suddenly becomes less overwhelming. By doing this, you will find the end game becomes easier once you break it down into steps.
Don’t Be Afraid to Reach Out
Don’t be proud. You are at the beginning of a difficult journey. It’s OK to ask for help. Build a sober support network that you can reach out to and build connections with. You may find that the people you meet in support group meetings can become great assets and even better friends. Many of these people who have achieved long-term sobriety have faced what you are facing and can assist you in how they dealt with it.
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