The Importance of Continuing Care After Breaking an Addiction

Long-term recovery after addiction doesn’t involve getting to a specific destination. Instead, recovery is better seen as a journey. Every day is a new chance to embrace the mental, physical and social benefits that come with sobriety.

For this reason, individuals who have been through inpatient and outpatient treatment and recovery programs need to take their after-addiction care seriously. In fact, people who prioritize addiction aftercare programs and processes are statistically more likely to remain sober than those who do not.

What Does Addiction Recovery Aftercare Look Like?

Aftercare programs for those recovering from addictions like drug use and alcohol use disorder can vary. However, most professional, robust continuing care treatment options include several elements:

• Individualized support: This resource usually comes in the form of one-on-one or group therapy sessions. After sessions, the recovering person may be asked to complete homework assignments to foster healthier relationships, emotional responses and everyday choices.
• Access to therapy programs: Those in recovery may want to have the chance to drop by therapy programs in their local areas. For instance, those recovering from alcohol use disorder often lean on local Alcoholics Anonymous gatherings to provide the encouragement and assistance to remain committed to their sobriety.
• Family therapy: Addiction doesn’t just affect the individual struggling with substance abuse. It also affects relatives and loved ones. Aftercare should therefore include a familial component that addresses the unique family dynamics and roles everyone will play during recovery.

What Are the Clear Advantages to Continuing Addiction Aftercare Programs?

Many people who seek recovery want to put their experiences behind them. However, seeing addiction as a one-time event only leaves room for future addictive habits.

Addiction should be seen as a historically significant part of someone’s life journey once they decide to seek recovery. Continuing addiction care supports this viewpoint and provides specific benefits as the person moves ahead:

• Provides a clear process: Aftercare allows the recovering patient to understand that detoxification does not equal recovery. Detox is a vital component of leaving substance use behind, but it is only one step in a lifetime process.
• Acts as a safety net: Continuing care offers a safety net in case of relapse. A relapse does not have to mean the end of abstinence or sobriety. Aftercare provides a safe zone for a person working through substance use disorder to talk about relapses and learn from them rather than turning back to daily addictive behaviors.
• Promotes a sense of renewed purpose: After months, years or decades of addiction, a person in recovery may feel uncertain about what’s going to happen next. A thoughtfully designed and implemented aftercare recovery program will help the individual establish goals and move toward dreams.
• Facilitates treatment of related medical issues: Some people with substance use disorder have physical and mental health concerns related to years of a harmful substance impacting their brains and bodies. Therefore, a customized aftercare strategy may include regular visits to medical professionals to keep conditions like diabetes, heart disease and depression under control.

Embracing After-Addiction Programs and Treatment

Reaching sobriety deserves celebration and joy. Still, it’s the beginning of the next phase of life for those recovering from substance use disorder, and it marks progress that those who have attained it want to hold on to.

If you’re struggling with substance use and want to change your life, get help now from GreeneStone Centre for Recovery. Our comprehensive services include aftercare solutions to provide the best possible chance of recovery.