Getting professional help for your substance abuse issues is a huge step worthy of congratulations. As they say, the first step is always the hardest. And it actually is, because most people tend to turn away from the solution before it even begins because of a lot of reasons: denial, fear, insecurity, and more.
What makes the first step hard, too, in the context of a rehabilitation program, is that it’s the first. There are many other steps that must be taken before one can truly say they are cured of their addictions. As rehab graduates would usually say, the men-only rehab program is never really over. You get out of the program, yes, but every day is still an exercise in making the right choices to ensure they stay on the path of recovery.
If you or someone you love are about to embark on this journey of rehabilitation, it would help follow some tips that can make the experience more effective for you.
Be Accepting, Be Open
Substance abuse and eating disorders tend to drive people into isolation. It’s easier to keep secrets that way, after all; easier to deny that they have a problem to deal with. Eventually, they begin to learn how to distrust people, viewing anyone to be a threat to their addiction.
That’s why it becomes difficult to interact and relate with other people once they enter a treatment program. Group counseling sessions, which are encouraged, put the patient in a highly vulnerable state, especially because they are compelled to share their feelings and innermost thoughts–things they would otherwise have been content keeping to themselves.
If you’re joining a substance abuse treatment or an eating disorder treatment program, then you must be accepting and open as well. Trust in the process, even though it means being uncomfortable along with many other people you don’t know. If you or your loved ones suffer from an eating disorder, there is a good facility like Clementine St. Louis which provides a residential treatment program exclusively for adolescents of all genders seeking eating disorder treatment.
Participate
Patients cannot be forced to share during counseling sessions, although it is highly encouraged and, eventually, expected. Apart from these sharing sessions, there are also other activities lined up, with the intention of encouraging the patient to improve their social skills. Monte Nido Roxbury Mills offers state-of-the-art, evidenced-based residential programming for eating disorders and co-occurring presentations.
This is a crucial aspect of the program because it helps develop empathy, which could be very useful especially when it comes to rebuilding personal relationships that may have been damaged or compromised because of the addiction.
Get Active
If you’re checking in as an inpatient in facilities such as Ocean Recovery (http://oceansrecovery.com/), you could try squeezing in some fitness goals by bringing a pair of running shoes with you.
Some facilities would have their own amenities for exercise, but even without one, you can always go for a quick run in the area. Not only will you be improving your physical wellness, but you will also be improving your ability to focus and concentrate on a task.
And if improving your overall health and fitness becomes your desire, then you can check out this kettlebell ab workout | Strong and Fit for ore info!
Be Mindful
As you recover your physical fitness and regain control over your urges, beating addiction, it’s also important to keep your mental well-being in check. Being in denial is one of the foremost instigators of substance abuse.
However, if you keep mindful about your actions, and are armed with the tools you’ve learned thus far from your counseling sessions, it puts you at a better vantage point to see if and when you’re beginning to slip back to old habits.
Keeping a journal is one way for you to stay mindful and aware of your progress. Be honest in your entries, acknowledge your true feelings, and then look back on it at a later time when you’ve reached a more objective viewpoint from it.