Recovery from an addiction to drugs or alcohol is a lifelong process. To manage your illness and reclaim your health, you’ll need to recommit to remaining sober one day at a time. After completing a comprehensive addiction treatment program, you may discover your most difficult challenges still lie ahead of you. Developing and sticking to a daily recovery practice can help you stay strong and avoid relapse.

The Role of Ongoing Therapy for Your Daily Recovery Practice

During inpatient rehabilitation, you will participate in a range of traditional and alternative therapies that help you learn to identify the root of your addiction and improve your mental health.

After you have adjusted to your initial treatment period, you might begin to feel much more motivated to pursue your recovery. Therapy will help you understand and begin to fully appreciate how your self-destructive thoughts and actions have intensified your relationship to your substance of choice. The speed bump comes when this renewed sense of resolve begins to fade naturally as time goes on.

That’s where ongoing therapy can be so valuable. Outpatient therapy and aftercare can help renew your momentum and your sense of purpose after your initial inpatient treatment period ends and you reenter the “real world.” These programs also provide you with a support system that helps you remain strong as you encounter new roadblocks that may represent a threat to your recovery.

The Value of Peers in Your Daily Recovery Practice

Another invaluable aspect of inpatient addiction treatment is building a new peer group of other people who are learning to live a life in recovery. The community aspect of group therapy helps keep you accountable to everything you have learned and achieved on your journey. As part of your aftercare program, we encourage you to join a group such as a 12-step program or a secular alternative, which are relatively easy to find in most communities.

In addition to finding a recovery fellowship, it can also be tremendously beneficial to find a recovery sponsor – someone who has successfully achieved long-term recovery and can advise you on how to do the same. You may also discover joining non-recovery-related groups, such as a club or meetup of people who share the same hobbies, can also give you a sense of purpose that helps you stay motivated.

A Healthy Lifestyle Supports a Daily Recovery Practice

It’s impossible to overstate how essential it is to keep your body and mind healthy and resilient, so you have the energy you need to fuel your resolve to remain sober. When you consider that addiction is a chronic brain disease, it should be obvious how critical it is to stay in good physical shape through exercise and nutrition. Doing so helps keep your body and brain equal to the challenge of staying healthy and preventing relapse and other self-sabotaging behaviors.

Here are a few areas of holistic living to consider adding to your daily recovery practice to help you maintain your sobriety:

• A balanced diet
• Regular physical activity
• At least seven to eight hours of sleep each night
• Good grooming habits
• Routine yoga and mindfulness meditation

Don’t Lose Hope

If you’re living with the burdens of a drug or alcohol addiction, Seabrook’s accredited New Jersey recovery facilities can equip you with the tools you need to renew yourself in recovery. To learn more, call us to ask about the benefits of our addiction treatment program and what we can offer you.