What Can Improve Your Chances Of Staying Sober After Addiction Treatment?

Nearly one in 10 Americans are addicted to either drugs or alcohol, and many of these individuals will never find a way to break free. If you have an addiction and are serious about breaking it, it is possible; however, it is much easier to do if you have help. If you really want to stop abusing drugs or alcohol and live a sober life, you may want to consider getting help from a drug and alcohol treatment facility. After going through a rehab program, you may want to take additional steps to make sure you stay sober for the rest of your life. Here are three important things to understand about this.

Educate Yourself In How Your Brain Responds To Substances

Breaking an addiction is not easy, by any means, but it is the best decision you could make, and breaking it may be easier if you can understand how alcohol and drugs affect your brain. When you abuse these substances, your brain is trained to need them. When you use drugs or alcohol, it causes your brain to produce chemicals that make you feel good, and your brain will feel lost when you are not using.

Because of this, you will need to understand that breaking an addiction will involve retraining your brain, but this is not something that happens overnight. In fact, many recovering addicts will still crave drugs or alcohol years after becoming sober, which is why many recovering addicts end up relapsing. This could happen right away, a month later, or even years down the road. This kind of long term craving can be helped by utilizing inpatient treatment and 12 step programs. 

Utilize Inpatient Treatment

To break an addiction completely and reduce your chances of relapsing, you should consider long-term treatment. Addiction is a disease of your brain, and you should remember that you will never be completely free of this addiction. The cravings may pop up here and there, and this often happens during stressful times in life.

A good first step to take is seeking help from a center that offers inpatient drug and alcohol treatment. Staying at a drug and alcohol rehab center for a few days, weeks, or months can offer a great start to a sober life. During this time, you will go through a detoxification process to eliminate all the drugs or alcohol from your body. After that, you will receive counseling and therapy. This can help you understand what the addiction is doing to you, and what it will do to you and your family if you continue using.

Recognize That Long-Term Treatment Improves Your Chances Of Success

To improve your chances of success with breaking your addiction, you should consider getting help from a support group. Many people join 12-step programs for help. These offer support and encouragement to recovering addicts, and they are designed to help addicts stay accountable to others. According to studies, it is hard to state exactly how effective these are, but one study showed that 33% of people who attended a 12-step program stayed sober for over 10 years.

In addition, you should find resources to use during times when you cannot meet with your mentor or support group. This can include finding organizations you can call when you feel tempted to use drugs. If you have the right resources, you may have a better chance of staying sober for the rest of your life.

Breaking an addiction may be the hardest thing you ever do in life, but you will never regret it. Contact a center that offers drug and alcohol addiction recovery services to learn more. 

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