Staying Clean: Your Relapse Prevention Plan

Choosing a sober life takes courage and effort. Remaining sober requires you to make that choice every single day.

Nobody will claim that this will be easy, but it is worth it. Read on for a relapse prevention plan that will keep you on track!

Let Go of Old Habits

When people come out of rehab, they often feel powerful and excited about their new way of life. But, old habits die hard when they go home and fall back into the same routine.

When creating a relapse prevention plan, you need to let go of the things that keep you in your old life. This means staying away from places that tempt you to use and people who still use it. While letting go of habits, stoop smoking cigarettes, or doing anything else that you feel dependent on. 

This may feel difficult at first. Breaking habits takes about 21 days, so it will eventually get easier to make your new way of life habitual.

Create Goals

Create clear goals and work towards them every day. Some might sound small, like stopping swearing. Others might appear huge, like getting a college degree.

Write them down and say them out loud. Hold yourself accountable for taking steps towards those goals daily.

Build a Healthy Network

Surround yourself with people who want to see you succeeded. Create a network that you can turn to when you need help.

This network should include:

• Counselors
• Doctors
• Encouraging Family
• Sober friends

You might choose to start building this in a religious community, where people dedicate their lives to serving others and truly want to help.

Take Care of Yourself

Your chances of relapse increase when you do not like the way you look or feel. For relapse prevention, take good care of yourself.

Shower each morning, even when you don’t feel like it. Make it a point to dress in a way that makes you feel good and productive.

Eat healthy foods, rather than snacks. Make nourishment a priority.

Start exercising. Take walks, go to the gym, or join a yoga class. It doesn’t matter what you do, as long as you do something you enjoy that keeps you in shape and motivated.

Don’t skip appointments! Go to your counselor and all of your doctor visits to keep yourself in good health both mentally and physically.

Create a Relapse Plan

You do not want to relapse. But, 40-60% of people in recovery do.

Create a plan with your network for what to do if it happens to keep everybody on the same page. Read this blog article for help with developing a plan. 

Stick to Your Relapse Prevention Plan

Once you create your relapse prevention plan, stick to it. Do not get lazy or think that you outgrew the plan completely because recovery lasts a lifetime. Whenever you revise your plan, run it by the people in your network.

We know the importance of keeping up your new lifestyle. Let us help you stay on track with the health section on our website!