Plan for the Future During Your Recovery – 3 Plans for Everyone

Everyone worries about the future. However, during recovery, all of the attention is brought into the moment. Even if you’re not in the 12-step program, you’ve likely heard the mantra, “one day at a time.” Presents, in the now, is critical for people to have a successful recovery and stay drug-free. However, that makes it extremely difficult to plan for the future and have something to look forward to. At some point in your recovery, you’re going to have to look past this particular moment and into the possibilities of what the upcoming weeks, months, and years have in store.

Recovery is a critical and unique time in a person’s life where they can acknowledge significant milestones on a regular basis. It’s a time of recognition and acknowledging hard work and determination. However, pulling attention away from these milestones can derail the entire recovery and have you back to using and losing track of your life. So how do you balance the two? How do you acknowledge all the hard work you’re putting in now while also looking toward the uncertain future? Our Carolina rehabilitation specialists have three elements of planning that everyone in recovery or entering recovery should have.

Careers and Hobbies

Many people discover new hobbies in rehab, and a lot of people realize that they can have a fulfilling and lucrative career in the recovery system. People don’t just choose to work in recovery after they experienced addiction because it keeps them sober. Most people choose to work in recovery because they’ve experienced addiction firsthand and know that it’s possible to turn it all around.

If you develop a career or a hobby in treatment, then use that for your future planning. You shouldn’t have one life in a rehabilitation or Recovery Center, and then have to go back to your old life when you get out. Make a plan for your future that allows you time to explore your hobbies and to build a career. It’s possible that your hobby could become your career, so keep an open mind but have three or four different job options that tie into something you genuinely enjoy doing.

Living Situation

Where will you live? One of the primary mistakes that people make after leaving treatment is to move back into their old neighborhood. People that use Outpatient Therapy have a different advantage in that they’ve lived in the same spot and continued treatment and established a silver life. People that come out of in-patient therapy often go from a very controlled environment to the exact environment they lived in when they were abusing drugs.

Where will you live, and is it conducive to a sober life? Even with outpatient therapy, a lot of people choose to move out of their neighborhoods once they’re financially stable. A lot of drug use is environmental, and a lot of triggers or drug habits are also environmental. It is hard to stay sober if you are walking past the same corner where your hookup would drop off your supply.

Continued Recovery Management

Daily stress builds-up quickly, and it’s no wonder why so many people relapse shortly after treatment. They leave a secure and friendly rehabilitation center to enter the cold world of unemployment, debt, and guilt. A lot of this happens because rehabilitation centers don’t always emphasize the importance of looking toward the future for planning purposes.

It’s true. You do need to take your recovery one day at a time. However, you also need a strategic plan to handle things that might have built up while you were using or in recovery, and address a realistic look at life. Make sure you plan for continued therapy and to attend group therapy. That could be through the use of 12-step programs or through a rehabilitation center.

Start Your Outpatient Treatment

Anyone ready to start recovery should contact a local Outpatient Treatment Center. At Rehab Carolina’s, we help people who are ready to get sober and stay sober through a combination of rigorous therapy and arming the people in recovery with the tools they need to stay sober for years into the future. While you are putting the work into each moment in face, we are slowly providing you with the resources you need, so when you face the uncertain future, you’re prepared.

When you first contact our office, you’ll be able to speak with completely open-minded medical professionals, therapists, and concerned administrative staff. We pride ourselves on how involved are staff members are in the recovery process and for being there for you when it need the most.