“You don’t recover from an addiction by stopping using. You recover by creating a new life where it is easier to not use.”
In recovery, you will learn to create new habits, attitudes, and a way of life that will help you change your path from addiction to a better, healthier, and more positive life. Otherwise, you will stay in the same path and your addictions will eventually catch up with you again along the way.
While you don’t have to completely change your life or reinvent yourself, there are a few things that you can change–and many things you should let go of. One of the things you should say goodbye to now is your old life of addiction and compulsion. Remember, the more you hold on to the things that you have been doing or thinking in the past, the harder it is for you to move on to your new life of recovery and sobriety.
Here are some important life skills that can help you pave the way for a more successful, more long-term recovery:
1. Avoid high-risk situations.
Avoid situations wherein you feel the following: hunger, anger, loneliness, tiredness (HALT), which we have previously discussed in another post.
Another way of looking at it is to assess yourself at the end of the day, everyday, because this is the time when you are usually feeling the abovementioned feelings or situations.
Additionally, you should also avoid the following:
- People who use or remind you of using, as well as people that may serve as triggers for you to use.
- Places where you used to do drugs or alcohol, or those that remind you of them.
- Things that remind you of using or drinking, or paraphernalia that can make you crave to use.
The first thing to avoid these high-risk situations is to be aware that you’re in those situations so you won’t be caught off-guard. Also, maintain a healthy diet, lots of rest, and an overall healthy lifestyle. Learn to manage stress and have people you trust to turn to in case you need a support system or just a listening ear.
Remember, recovery is not one big change. It’s about lots of little changes you decide to make everyday.
2. Learn to relax the right way.
People often use drugs and alcohol to escape, unwind, relax, cope, and reward themselves. Once you are in recovery, you should learn other more positive alternatives to be able to do these things without resorting to drugs and alcohol.
Another way is to learn to relax without having the need to resort to these substances. This skill is very crucial in your recovery. From writing on a journal, going for a walk, to finding a new hobby and being with a new set of friends, there are many positive and more productive ways to spend your time and relax.
3. Be honest–with yourself and with others.
One of addiction’s most common symptoms is lying. You lie to get the drug or alcohol, you lie about using or drinking, you lie to cover up what you’ve been doing, you lie to hide the consequences of addiction, and overtime, this may have become second nature to you. Eventually, you become so good at lying that you lie to yourself too.
Lying traps you deeper into your addiction and you can find yourself with barely a way out. With one lie, you have to cover up lying with more lies, and it goes on and on.
Recovery requires you to be honest with other people and yourself. By being honest, you don’t give your addiction any room to hide as the shadows of lying disappear.
4. Take this chance to change your life.
See your addiction as a chance to change. And, as with anything, changing from addiction to sobriety can be very difficult–but it will be all the more rewarding in the long run.
When you were addicted, you were just sleepwalking through life, going through the motions just seeking your next fix. Now, you have the chance to experience life to the fullest and be more self-fulfilled.
Once you become accustomed to your new life in recovery, you will find that it gets easier. The longer you are recovered, the lower your risk of relapse. So hang in there and keep your head high. Just remember these life skills in recovery and be open to learning more. You can do it.
my husband is a drug addict . I concluded that he is because other people told me that he is and I had seen once a sachet of shabu inside his bag though am not sure …it is shabu. added to those that made me to conclude that he is into drugs were changes in his behaviour and in his physique. he always asks money that is why I am financially drained all the time for I give in to everything he requested for I thought these were all true. I found out some of these were lies. my money went to hid gambling.womanizing and most probably drugs. now I am not staying anymore with him in our boarding house because I stay with my sick mother. to stay and take care of my mother was my excuse to my husband why I am not staying with him.since he is jobless.I provide food for him and also feeds for his chickens, rent of the house,allowance,etc. he cleans the house,wash his clothings,feed the chickens in our poultry ,and plays tong its to keep himself busy . my problem is his addiction to drugs and gambling. and his constant asking of money which made me financially drained all the time. and worst, he sometimes become violent by challenging our neighbors for a fight when he is out of his mind. one time I ran out from iur house because he got angry and irritated because his sleep was disturbed by the noise created by our electric fan and he blamed me for it so he looked for a hammer because he wanted to break the fan with it. because he cannot find the hammer he punched the fan . then he was not contented. he looked for his gun….when he went out to look for it in our chicken’s house, I ran out due to fear….and went to our neighbor to hide the whole night and did not go back anymore until now. I just visit there sometimes. he told me that he did not mean to harm me with the gun. he actually pitied me when he learned that I ran . so,is there a hope for him….
Hi! Your husband is exhibiting some of the many signs of drug addiction, and your concern for him is justified. There are many who are irritable and would often resort to violence when they are under the influence. Your decision to stay with your mom is justified as well, for your own safety. In cases like yours, you have to remember to take care of yourself first. However, you may consider seeking help for your husband, before anything worse happens to him, to you, or to other people, especially since he has a tendency to be violent and he carries a gun. Please call us at 09175098826 if you’re considering treatment for your husband for your own peace of mind as well. Thank you for sharing.