Getting Reintegrated after Rehabilitation: How Can Counseling Help?

Finding help to achieve sobriety and complete rehabilitation requires courage. For those major accomplishments, you deserve a pat on the back. However, your engagement with getting well is far from over. Relapse is a significant problem you should be worried about. Without getting proper help to avoid relapse, it can easily put you back where you started.

To reintegrate into your family and society in general, and to fully recover from alcohol or drug addiction—your ultimate goals—there is more work to be done. It starts with finding and committing to a professionally assisted aftercare program.

The Truths about Relapse

Relapse is a major concern for all people who have undergone drug or alcohol rehabilitation. Many say it is a normal part of any recovery process because it is common for people to succumb to relapse, despite being serious about becoming sober or clean for life. There are other experts who say it is not an essential part of recovery.

Alcohol Rehab says, “While a relapse may be considered a normal part of recovery it should never be viewed as a necessary part of recovery.” Viewing it as necessary is a dangerous step that can weaken your resolve to overcome addiction.

What are the dangers that relapse may bring? When you relapse, there is a danger of getting worse and not finding the courage to go through rehabilitation again. Re-experiencing sobriety can make you acutely aware of the difference in your quality of life and increase your misery. It can stop the healing of your brain and body. It can make you doubt your self-efficacy and ability to do positive things for yourself. And finally, it can delay your progress and your chance for a productive and happy life.

Many people have successfully become sober or clean on their first attempt. It is also quite common for people to fail and relapse back into addiction after rehabilitation, and failed attempts can be very discouraging, but the key is to stay positive and hopeful. This is why you need professional help and aftercare on your way to recovery and reintegration after rehab.

Aftercare: What Is It?

The fact that relapse, the monster that will try and stop you from being sober or clean, is so strong should not scare you into giving up easily. Aftercare will help you fight it, especially when you have already developed an emotional condition or dual diagnosis as a consequence of addiction.

It is important to acknowledge that the effects of addiction on your brain and body cannot be treated overnight. According to the American Psychiatric Association (APA), “These substances can cause harmful changes in how the brain functions. These changes can last long after the immediate effects of the drug . . . addiction is a chronic, relapsing disease that may never be completely ‘cured,’ only managed from one day to the next.”

Aftercare can be integrated into a recovery program. If you wish to keep the matter private or you prefer a tailored program to suit your needs and ensure the best outcome, you can go to a private facility. Emotional conditions can complicate drug or alcohol addiction. APA says, “The mental illness may be present before the addiction. Or the addiction may trigger or make a mental disorder worse.” These complications can mean you need extended, if not lifelong, treatment. Thus, in such situations, it is imperative to find an experienced mental health professional to assist with your aftercare, like a therapist/counselor that you trust.

Enjoying a Clean/Sober Life with Aftercare

Relapse can make your recovery and reintegration quite difficult, even with great resolve, commitment, and motivation. It has nothing to do with being weak, flawed, or not driven enough. It is just the way it is, because drugs and alcohol can change how your brain is wired and how you respond to tempting, addictive substances. To overcome it, you need effective aftercare before addiction ruins your life and relationships.

Like any chronic ailment, addiction requires you to change your lifestyle, and you may need a lifetime of healing to make your systems functional and healthy again. To prevent you from relapsing and losing your progress, your commitment, resolve, and motivation need to be reinforced and sustained by an aftercare program, such as those led by trustworthy professionals independently contracted with Carolina Counseling Services – Fayetteville, NC.

Don’t let your hard-won sobriety go down the drain. You need a concrete foundation for attaining your ultimate goals of recovery and becoming reintegrated into your family and society. Let a committed and caring therapist independently contracted with Carolina Counseling Services – Fayetteville, NC, help you achieve a drug-free life; life after recovery may not be perfect, but it’s beautiful and rewarding in so many ways.

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