Falling into drug addiction is easier than most people imagine. What starts with recreational use can put you on a slippery slope that often ends with a debilitating, toxic addiction that consumes your life. Drug abuse comes with a range of undesirable side effects, which can be incredibly challenging to free yourself from.
As you keep using, your body grows increasingly more accustomed to the drug, and eventually, you’ll need substantial amounts to achieve lasting effects. This habit of dependency can be tough to break but never impossible.
If you’re breaking free from drug usage, you have a long, challenging, and rewarding journey ahead of you. Practicing abstinence is difficult, but there are a few tips that can help you stay on track. Below, we’ll list the top four tips which can help you stay clean and maintain your sobriety.
Enter a rehab facility
Working towards abstinence isn’t impossible, but that doesn’t mean it’s easy either. The journey can be incredibly challenging, and for some, impossible to complete without help. The first few stages in your journey to sobriety are challenging, and without the proper support, it can be hard to find your footing.
As you start detoxing, you can experience a range of withdrawal symptoms that can affect your physical and mental health profoundly.
Even nicotine comes with severe side effects, and the situation is much worse if you were addicted to harder drugs like cocaine, heroin, or meth. Entering a rehab facility can then be your best bet on staying sober and abstinent.
Rehab & recovery centers like Serenity help you detox in a controlled and nonjudgmental environment. The professionals here take you through the challenging journey of quitting drugs and motivate you to stick to your recovery plan while minimizing the chances of a relapse.
Stick to a schedule
Recovery can be a susceptible period, where the minor factors can often make the most significant difference. To ensure that you stay clean and reduce your chances of a relapse, you need to ensure you create an optimal environment for recovery.
Creating a schedule for each day can be one of the most vital factors in maintaining your sobriety. If you have a disorganized, chaotic plan, you are more prone to relapsing.
Conversely, you won’t experience as much uncertainty or anxiety in your everyday life with a set schedule. A daily routine can make life much more dependable and gives you some much-needed predictability.
This is even more important if your addiction is fueled by mental health disorders such as anxiety and depression. A schedule gives you little time to be left alone with wandering thoughts and makes it easier to stay focused on things that matter.
Sticking to a schedule is especially important in the earlier stages of recovery, where spending time aimlessly can cause you to fall back into old patterns.
Maintain accountability
Accountability is one of the most vital factors when working towards long-term abstinence. Monitoring your progress and checking in with others can keep you grounded. If you have someone checking in on you regularly, there is much greater pressure to stay sober than if you weren’t.
When maintaining accountability, you need to check in with friends, therapists, and loved ones who can motivate you to keep trying.
Furthermore, accountability also has a personal element. Drug abusers often blame external factors for the addiction instead of owning up to their actions. If you continue placing blame on external factors, you’ll find it incredibly hard to maintain sobriety.
It isn’t always possible to change your circumstances and surroundings, but it is possible to change yourself. You will always find detailed factors that push you to use drugs, but if you maintain accountability, you’ll be able to break free.
Build a support system
When you’re going through this challenging phase, you’ll need support more than anything else. Drug abuse can be incredibly alienating, and even a few months of usage can cause you to push away your loved ones. Friends and family members may distance themselves from you due to your drug habit, and the constant lies and deception don’t make things any better.
A life of isolation can make staying clean incredibly challenging. You might lack the motivation to be better and suffer from low self-esteem. Conversely, having a solid support system on hand can help you immensely as you stay sober.
Your friends and family members can give you constant motivation to be better for yourself and them. Furthermore, finding love and support when you’re at your most vulnerable can work wonders. Having people stick around as you go through the challenging phases of staying sober can be a massive motivator for maintaining abstinence.
Conclusion
Struggling addicts often find it challenging to pick themselves up after they fall. Working towards sobriety can seem nearly impossible, but you can make the journey a little easier if you follow these tips.
It’s common to stumble along the way, but as long as you can pick yourself up after you fall, you should be able to make it through. With a bit of help and a lot of perseverance, you can beat your addiction and pave a better life path for yourself.
