What To Do After Rehab

Following your release from Above It All, you may be anxious in regard to the direction you should head next. In order to achieve the happy and fulfilling lifestyle you’re after, you’ll need to place a heavy emphasis on implementing the lessons learned throughout your substance abuse rehabilitation experience. If you do not continue your efforts once you’ve arrived home, the chances of maintaining your sobriety will quickly diminish. In this entry, we will offer up a few tips to help you through the transition from rehab back to everyday life.

Therapy

Locate a support group. Hop online and search for local 12-step meetings in your area. Most every region has meetings available, and membership is free of charge. Consider asking your Above It All addiction counselor for a recommendation on area groups. Not only will these meetings help maintain your commitment to sobriety, but they often provide members with a forum to express themselves openly while meeting and engaging with new friends.

Financial Rehab

Obtain a job that does not require you to handle alcohol or drugs. Your addiction counselor and family should be able to point you in the direct direction, but you must be driven to work. Sit yourself down and write out a plan to help pay off your expenses and debt. Stick to your plan, keeping a budget and paying off your debts one by one over time.

Relationship Rehab

Write out a list of the people that have been hurt by your actions prior to obtaining drug and alcohol addiction help. Next to each name, jot down the ways in which you hurt the individual, along with a way to rectify the situation. It’s important to note that not every situation may be fixable. In certain instances, the only way to make things right is to focus on your recovery, and show the individual how you’ve changed.

Sober Living

Make sure to determine your living arrangements prior to leaving Above It All. If you already have a home in mind, be sure to consider the potential outcomes of the arrangement. Does your family mind having you back? Do your friends have space available? Do your friends use alcohol or drugs?

Research local sober living homes and call a few to locate one that suits your needs and goals. Most homes will have a list of rules and guidelines to follow in order to maintain your residence. Rent will be due each month. Can you meet these requirements?

Relapse Prevention

Perhaps the most important concentration area post rehab is relapse prevention. Know your triggers and avoid situations that may include them. If certain triggers are unavoidable, be sure to have a plan set in place to deal with them properly. By sticking to your sobriety and the support system you arrange, there’s nothing you can’t accomplish.

 

Creating Healthy Boundaries

Boundaries work to help individuals assert who we are in relation to others. They aid us in our quest for understanding in regard to responsibility in our own lives as well as the lives of those surrounding us. When an individual is admitted to a rehabilitation facility, it’s crucial to establish healthy boundaries in order to get the most from the experience. In this entry, we will provide a few tips to help create these boundaries.

Instructions

1 – Get in touch with your counselor to determine a healthy set of boundaries. If you are to be successful in setting boundaries with other people, you must first gain a basic understanding as to what they are. Your counselor should be able to provide you with reading materials and worksheets to help in the education process.

2 – Avoid substituting your addictions. When making the transition into a sober lifestyle, it’s not uncommon for repressed emotions to come out. Though the experience can seem overwhelming, it’s important to work though your emotions without covering them up with a new addiction. Immerse yourself in the treatment experience and treatment program activities to ensure a positive and healthy transition into sobriety.

3 – As feelings surface, it’s important to face them head-on. Confront your emotions by keeping a journal and sharing your feelings in group and private therapy sessions. This will not only allow you to work through emotions in a positive manner, but will open the door to positive peer support with other individuals working toward similar goals.

4 – Remember the golden rule? The same basic principal applies at our California alcohol rehab facility. Write out a list of your personal boundaries and hold yourself to them in regard to your interactions with others. What types of responsibilities to you have? What do other people do that make you nervous? Having a firm grasp of your own boundaries will help you respect the boundaries of others.

5 – Communication is key. If you’re ever in doubt, it’s never a bad idea to ask others whether their boundaries are being crossed. Different people hold different values and different levels of comfort. Though one person may enjoy a good hug, another may find the advance a little strong. Play it safe and make sure to ask before acting on impulse. The results of your continued communication and respectful manner will ultimately help you on the road toward the happier, sober and fulfilling lifestyle you’re after.

A Closer Look At Our Addiction Center Activities

At Above It All, our addiction center activities seek to help patient rehabilitate the body, mind and spirit. Located in the San Bernardino Mountain range, with full access to nature’s unsurpassed elegance, serenity and beauty, our wealth of outdoor activities affords patients the ability to appreciate both themselves and their surroundings in a positive supportive and sober mindset. Below, we will provide you with a general outlook in regard to what patients should expect from our rehab and recovery activities program.

A large number of our treatment program activities revolve around the idea that experience can be utilized as a way to enhance the rehabilitation process. Nature is implemented in a wide array of activities, including boating trips, day outings and hiking. The activities available to patients typically change with the season, but whether it’s the height of summer of depths of winter, we make certain to include nature as a viable and constant treatment asset.

It’s not uncommon for various aspects throughout the addiction treatment process to become overwhelming for residents. As such, it’s important for patients to commit themselves fully to the activity – yoga, boating, meditation, etc. – at hand. In this way, the individual is best able to focus and reflect on their struggles, recovery and pursuit of happiness.

Keeping a solid balance between activity participation and therapy serves in helping patients move past the negativities associated with their addictions. Our structured activity platform allows clients the opportunity to relieve the stresses of old, while working towards a positive and happy tomorrow. When combined with daily counseling and group therapy sessions, this platform is capable of establishing a foundation from which patients can make a healthy transition back into society.

How Family Counseling Aids In Addiction Recovery

By the time an addict has reached our drug rehab center in LA, the families are typically through with the heartache and drama that’s been caused. Though the family still loves and supports the addict, it’s not uncommon for members to feel as though their attempts to help the individual only serve in making the situation worse. Why would a stay at Above It All be any different.

Support for family of addicts is one of the main focuses at Above It All. Here, friends and relatives of the addict are invited to take part in the recovery process with the aid of a licensed addiction specialist. In this way, family members are better able to understand what their loved one is going through, and the efforts being made to combat the addiction as a whole. Counseling can take place either in person or over the phone, and can take place as often as 1x per week.

Truth be told, the single greatest thing you can do to help your loved one succeed in their recovery is making a commitment to attend Al-Anon meetings. These environments provide participants with the knowledge and support they need to fully recognize their own involvement in the addiction. As the old saying goes, “your only as good as the company you keep”. By making a concerted effort to better yourself, you will in effect be doing your part to aid the individual in question. Addiction is never a solo journey… and the same rules should apply to recovery.

Even with family counseling and Al-Anon meetings, it’s important to know that there are no guarantees for complete recovery. In some cases, it may even take years for the addict to truly commit to the recovery process.  Make a point to keep tabs on the addict’s attendance in regard to 12 step meetings once they have completed their treatment. A willingness to continue maintaining their sobriety through counseling and support groups is a good sign that the individual is invested in a positive change.

If you’re considering your rehabilitation options, take a moment to contact one of our licensed addiction counselors. He or she will be best able to assess the situation at hand and provide you with available options in addressing the addiction.

Deep breaths… Positive thoughts… Love & Compassion… We’ll get through this yet!

Explaining California Drug Treatment To Kids

Without the aid of a California drug treatment program, alcohol and drug dependency often leads to negative consequences for both the addict and their loved ones. Many addicts have trouble understanding the effect of their addictions on those surrounding them. The truth is, addiction is a serious disease, often prohibiting individuals from noticing exactly how their behaviors are affecting others. This poses serious issues for children forced to live alongside the addiction, often requiring a sober parent or family friend to explain the dependency in a manner that the child can comprehend.

Step 1 – Discussions should be catered to the audience. Kids under 5 years of age may not be able to understand, nor should they be subjected to the intricacies of the abuse. If a particular behavior must be explained to a child in this age range, do your best to make it short a sweet; explain that the individual isn’t feeling well.

Step 2 – There is a fine line to walk with children ages of 5 – 9. Here, you will want to color the conversation in a way that helps the child understand that the addiction is actually a disease. Explain how people with this particular disease must obtain help to overcome it. Be sure to emphasize that the behaviors exhibited by the addict are not the child’s fault, as it’s not uncommon for children to place blame on their own heads.

Step 3 – Once a child has reached age 10, it’s appropriate to be a little more direct. Sit the child down and calmly explain the intricacies of the addiction disease. If you’re dealing with someone in their early teens, it may be a good time to stress the importance of avoiding alcohol and drugs in their own life. Children with addiction in their families have a much higher risk of becoming addicts themselves. As such, it’s important to make sure the child understands the risks associated with their own experimentation.

Step 4 – Explain that the addict is seeking help for their dependency at a drug rehab in California. Outline the treatment process, and provide the child with a basic understand of what to expect (visits, timeline, etc.) throughout the recovery. Most substance abuse centers in California offer family counseling to patients and their loved ones as part of the recovery process. In this way, children can gain a better understanding of addiction, and the best means for supporting their family members.

The Alcoholic Addict and Dealing with Other Addictions in Sobriety

As alcoholics in recovery we may or may not encounter other forms of addiction that can pop up throughout our sobriety. There are some alcoholics that only need alcohol addiction help or some addicts that only need a 30 day rehab, AA, or a Los Angeles rehab because they don’t experience the addictive behavior with things other than alcohol or drugs. Then there is the other type who after getting sober realizes that  either they’ve replaced their main addiction with  something else or have  began to see that they have had problems in other areas all along but weren’t aware of them until now. For this kind of alcoholic it seems sometimes more difficult to address these situations then it was to address our alcoholism partially because the devastation and wreckage from alcoholism was perhaps more noticeable then these other addictions. Addictions can begin to surface in areas least expected such as food, men, women, shopping, excersising etc. Though not necessarily shocking. After all we as alcoholics are constantly seeking elevated moods. Whatever it is we pray and work the steps around it the way we do with alcohol. We begin to realize that if we have faith and do the work the battle with any addiction can be won. We begin to get more connected to our truest , and purest selves and start to see that if we love ourselves then we don’t need to constantly try to fill the hole with people, places, and things  that not only hurt us but also never really fix us either.

Our Prescription Drug Treatment Programs

Our prescription drug treatment program has been carried out on many patients throughout the years. A number of factors dictate the type of treatment required for a successful recovery; the most important of these being the type of drug on which the individual is dependent. The number of prescription medications known to result in addiction is vast, and includes sedatives, stimulants, and painkillers.

Each medication possesses a specific set of effects and side effects. With this in mind, it’s important to note that treatment must be specific to the type of drug addiction being combated. Patients who have built up an addiction to these types of substances must first be carefully evaluated and examined prior to fully committing to a long term drug rehabilitation plan.

In many ways, prescription drug treatment is quite similar to treatments used to combat other types of addiction. A large sum of the techniques used throughout our prescription program are found to be just as helpful as those utilized in heroin and oxycontin rehab plans. In most of our rehabilitation programs, the best treatment in weaning patients from prescription drug medications comes in the form of a combination of several treatment options. However, before a proper treatment plan can be determined, a proper detoxification program must be implemented

Detox is used as a way to help counter the withdrawal symptoms commonly experienced once drug consumption is halted. Different symptoms are associated with different medications, and vary in severity and intensity depending on the use history and amounts.

Additional methods used during treatment include addiction counseling and cognitive behavioral therapy. Both methods serve in altering exactly how the individual approaches drug issues and daily life.

Truth be told, there is only one sure-fire way to achieve a complete and successful recovery: A commitment to oneself to address the situation head on. Counselors and addiction specialists can attempt to educate patients regarding the dangers associated with their addictions, but without the proper drive and push, the risk of relapse is almost inevitable.

The Alcoholic Addict and Step 12

“Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to alcoholics, and to practice these principals in all of our affairs.”

“Practical experience shows that nothing will so much insure immunity from drinking as intensive work with other alcoholics. It works when other activities fail. This is our 12th suggestion: carry this message to other alcoholics! You can help when no one else can. You can secure their confidence when others fail. Remember they are very ill. Life will take on new meaning. To watch people recover, to see them help others, to watch loneliness vanish, to see a fellowship grow up about you, to have a host of friends- this is an experience you must not miss.” pg 89 working with others from the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous

Our primary purpose is to stay sober and to help another alcoholic achieve sobriety and that is exactly what step 12 is all about. Whether we went through a 30 day rehab program, other facilities, or did it without the help of treatment, once we seek alcohol addiction help, work the steps, and recover as a result it is then time for us to pay it forward. We give back what was freely given to us, so that others may have a shot at sobriety. There is great joy in knowing that we have recovered from a seemingly hopeless state of mind and body and an even greater joy in giving that gift to someone else. It’s how we stay sober. Newcomers are our lifelines. Just like we went to any lengths to recover, we’d go to any lengths to help the newcomer. Perhaps it’s a matter of reaching our hand out, talking, meeting up with them, or maybe it’s a matter of speaking whether it be in a meeting or places such as a California alcohol rehab we make sure that we are the best example we can be and that we carry the message of recovery. Through sobriety we get to live such a blessed and amazing life. Let’s stick around and do the work, so that others may get this opportunity as well.

The Alcoholic Addict and Step 11

“Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscience contact with God as we understood him. Praying only for the knowledge of his will for us and the power to carry that out.”

Step 11 suggests power and meditation we should be shy on this prayer. Better men than we are using it constantly. It works, if we have the proper attitude and work at it- pg 86 into action from the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous.

It is also suggested to us that when we retire at night we review our day, we ask ourselves were we resentful, selfish, dishonest, or afraid? Do we owe an apology? Have we kept something to ourselves? Were we kind and loving towards all? What could we have done better? We also ask ourselves if we were thinking about what we can do for others versus thinking of only ourselves. When we wake up we also review the 24 hours ahead as well. This step is about maintaining a conscience contact with a higher power and remaining unblocked so that we may be able to help the newcomer. It is also about getting in touch with our highest self. Is and when we go to a 30 day rehab program and decide to work the steps there will be counselors available to help teach you about step 11 and the other steps, especially since these days most LA rehab programs incorporate 12 step addiction practices. This is extremely helpful in relation to the 11th step in the sense that the guidance that is needed will be available to you without having to seek it out in many different areas. In program there is a saying, “more will be revealed” and that’s exactly what the results in the 11th step. Not only do we get a conscience contact with our higher power but also with ourselves and our fellows as well. This is the core from which our peace, compassion, brotherly love, and happiness derive from.

The Alcoholic Addict and Step Ten

“Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it.”

“This brings us to step 10, which suggests we continue to take personal inventory and continue to right any new mistakes as we go along. We vigorously commenced this way of living as we cleaned up the past. We have entered the world of the spirit. Our next function is to grow in understanding and effectiveness. This is not an overnight matter. It should continue for our lifetime.” – Into action pg 84 from the Big book of Alcoholics Anonymous

In step ten we continue to watch for selfishness, dishonesty, resentment, and fear. When they crop up we ask God at once to remove them. Step 10 is a maintenance step. We review our fears, resentments, and parts on paper. We then look at where we had been selfish, self seeking, and dishonest. We ask ourselves where had we been dishonest? Did we arouse jealousy? Whom had we hurt? If anyone was harmed we immediately make it right. We admit our faults and amend our behavior. When we sought alcohol addiction help we agreed to go to any lengths to stay sober. Cleaning our wreckage up is a small price to pay as well as a rewarding experience. Through places like drug addiction detox, 12 step programs, or perhaps a drug addiction facility in LA we are taught how to work the steps, and adapt to this new way of living. Those of us in recovery are given an amazing life beyond our wildest dreams. All we have to do is ask for help and be willing to do the footwork.