Getting Past The Hard Part: 5 Early Recovery Tips

5 Early Recovery Tips

Early sobriety is hard. Indeed, many say it’s the hardest thing they ever did. Therefore, if you’re newly sober or just getting out of drug rehab in NJ, you’re likely struggling. But don’t worry. That’s normal. To try to help you win this battle, we have some advice. By using these 5 early recovery tips, you can get through this. Here are some examples of early recovery tips to make your path a little easier:

  • Don’t go it alone.
  • Make a plan.
  • Talk to your doctor.
  • Exercise.
  • Be kind to yourself.

Don’t Go It Alone

Firstly, it’s important to know you’re not alone. Certainly, it can be tempting to try to do everything yourself. After all, you did much of your use alone. But sobriety doesn’t work as an addiction. In fact, it often needs to work in the opposite way.

The most critical part of early recovery is community. Often, you’re going to feel isolated. It’s likely you’ll also have emotions that you haven’t felt in years. There may even be some that you haven’t ever felt before. This is because in addiction, your brain has been taken over by drugs. Since drugs have been calling the shots, you’re not going to be ready to face all these feelings. This is why you’ll need people who have been through the process to help you.

In order to find these people, you’re going to need to get out of your comfort zone a little. This means seeking people out. Fortunately, there are some excellent places to do this. Here’s where to find sobriety support:

  • Peer support groups.
  • Therapy.
  • Ongoing Treatment.
  • Sober Friends and Family.
  • Online Support.

Peer Support in Recovery

One of the ideal places to start is with support groups. Groups such as Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), Narcotics Anonymous (NA), Rational Recovery, Celebrate Recovery or Refuge Recovery are enormously helpful. There are many others. Try them all to find one that works for you.

Therapy

Having a good therapist can help you process a lot of your emotions. Pick someone who you like and who genuinely cares about your recovery.

Many local therapists offer group meetings in addition to one-on-one counseling. These are slightly different than peer support groups. They’ll include things like Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)

groups. Typically, these are run by local therapists. Contact mental health workers in your area and ask if they have anything to help someone in recovery.

Ongoing Treatment AKA Aftercare

You may have heard of things like Partial Hospitalization (PHP), Intensive Outpatient (IOP), Outpatient (OP) or other rehabilitation programs. These can be part of drug rehab, or they can be part of an aftercare program, once you leave an inpatient rehab facility. All of these are extremely useful in recovery. If you need any of these or are looking for drug rehab in NJ, contact us and we can help you.

Sober Friends and Family

In addition to new, sober friends, it helps if you can use the ones you already have. By asking for help from the people who love you, you strengthen personal bonds and can find new meaning in old relationships.

Online Support

Simply doing a quick internet search will yield countless results.

Use all of these if possible. After all, you need all the support you can get.

Make a Plan

As the saying goes “If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.” Nowhere is this more true than in sobriety. In addition to support, you need to make a detailed recovery plan. This plan should cover how you’re going to live your life. More importantly, it’s going to be your roadmap for how you’re going to do it sober. Here’s some of the things your plan should include:

Where are you going to live? – This needs to be somewhere safe and sober. If you need to go to a sober living facility, include that in your plan.

Who are you going to spend your time with? – These need to be people who are going to support your sobriety and not endanger it.

Where are you going to work? – This also needs to be a safe place free from temptations. For example, if you’re a bartender, it might be time to think about a career change.

What are you going to do with your free time? – Unstructured time can destroy sobriety. Have a list of fun ways to spend your days. If you find yourself bored, start checking things off the list.

Do you need aftercare? – Programs such as PHP, IOP, OP, and sober living should be considered for anyone new to sobriety. Include these in your plan.

What are your goals? – In early recovery, it helps to feel like you’re accomplishing something. By setting a lot of small, easy goals, you have things you can check off your list. These lead to bigger accomplishments. Just be careful not to expect too much from yourself. Take it easy.

Talk to Your Doctor For Early Recovery Tips

A doctor can provide you with Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT) in addition to other early recovery tips. When you’re new in recovery, the chemistry in your brain and body are constantly changing. This is because they have gotten used to having a regular intake of drugs. Your body is going to crave those drugs to feel normal. By using the proper medications, you can feel better and reduce the desire to use.

Exercise

The value of exercise in early recovery cannot be understated. This is because the brain and body are linked. Research has shown that when you exercise, it helps to treat addiction. It also helps with depression, anxiety, and other mental health issues as well. These are all common in early sobriety.

In order to exercise without making it a chore, find something you enjoy doing. Start by taking a simple walk. Then, find activities that are fun. Not only will this improve your mood, but it will also provide you with a way to fill your free time and avoid cravings.

Be Kind to Yourself

Addiction is a deadly disease that kills thousands of people each year. This means that if you’re in early recovery, you’re fighting for your life. Just like someone battling cancer, heart disease, tuberculosis, Alzheimer’s, or diabetes, your whole goal is to merely stay alive. In order to do this, you need to treat yourself with compassion. Being forgiving of yourself and kind in the way you think and talk to yourself are important. Remind yourself you’re doing your best. Even if you relapse, don’t beat yourself up. Just reach out for help and move forward.

If You Need a Drug Rehab in NJ

As a certified drug rehab in NJ, we’re able to help with every single one of these things. When you need support, care, medical assistance, therapy or help with any other part of addiction recovery, let us assist you. We have a qualified staff who can help design a recovery plan for you. We understand that staying sober is hard enough. To give yourself the best chance at lasting sobriety, you need people who care about making your life better. That’s what we do. Call today and allow us to ease the burden of early sobriety.


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