The addiction recovery process is not certain. Not everyone knows what to expect from the first year of sobriety.
Addiction recovery is one of the toughest treatments. It is the only treatment process with a more than 60% failure rate. And for the rest who have managed to complete the addiction treatment program, that is just the beginning.
Addiction treatment is a lifelong process. The first step is to identify your addiction and the next step is to take all the necessary measures to cure this chronic disease.
You cannot rest easy after completing medical detox and all the other therapies and counseling.
So, what to do next?
After your treatment is completed, you must articulate your energy and focus on finding new ways to cope with addictions and relapses.
Although everyone recovers from the addiction in their own way, there are some general common mistakes that patients make in the early stage of their recovery.
We know you have already started scratching your head, thinking about what mistakes we are talking about!
However, don’t get impatient. Just stick with us; you will get all your answers.
Mistakes That Leads To Relapses
Recovery from addiction is quite complicated!
You have to learn new coping skills, make new friends, change your lifestyle, and make other significant changes within a very short period of time.
This exposes you to make mistakes. In fact, most patients do make mistakes that push back their addiction recovery process or simply relapse.
However, the good news is that these mistakes can be avoided by being extra careful of your actions while recovering.
Here are a few common mistakes that you need to be careful about.
Mistake 1: Thinking You Can Do It Alone
Perhaps the hardest part of addiction recovery is not accepting the problem. But, it’s also hard to ask for help. People feel embarrassed talking about their addiction and try to fight the addiction independently.
Trust us; this is a bad idea!
If you alone had been sufficient enough, you would not have been standing here right now. Taking help from others will help you with recovery.
Mistake 2: Neglecting Your Mental Health
The first thing that comes to our mind for addiction treatment is detoxification and the therapies. But, we forget that we have mental health as well to take care of.
A person suffering from addiction goes through several mental health issues like depression, anxiety, PTSD, personality disorder, and others. If you try to get sober without addressing these issues, the recovery process will be much harder.
Mistake 3: Comparing Your Progress With Others
We always tend to compare ourselves with others. Perhaps this is why we are never happy with what we have achieved. The same thing can be said for the addiction recovery process.
People are so obsessed with comparing their progress with others; they miss out on the point that they are making progress. This results in feeling demotivated.
Forget comparing yourself with others; compare yourself with the past-you and see how much your addiction recovery process has progressed.
Mistake 4: Not Taking Therapies & Counseling Sessions
Many people think that completing the detox process is the end of addiction recovery treatment.
– However, that is not the case.
– It is just the first step.
The addiction treatment process starts after the detoxification. In fact, experts believe that detoxification is only the preparation phase.
If you have completed your detox, follow the addiction therapy and comply with all the addiction therapies and counseling sessions asked of you.
Mistake 5: Expecting Instant Results
Recovery is a slow process!
You cannot expect instant results. You have given your body enough time to get used to the substance and alcohol. So, how come you can ask it to get used to it without it in a short time?
Let your body wash out all the toxins, experience the withdrawal symptoms, and only then will your body be able to adapt to normal functioning without any substance and alcohol.