Admitting that you have a drug addiction is probably the biggest challenge you will face. The next step is recovery and there is absolutely no doubt that this can be both difficult and daunting.
Having an idea of what you can expect when you’re going through drug addiction recovery can really help. Exactly how you progress will of course be different to other people so there is no definitive guide to what you can and cannot expect in your first year of recovery.
Despite this however, there are some phases of recovery which are fairly common and which most drug addicts can expect to experience within their first 12 months of treatment.
Low moods
A lot of drug addicts experience feelings of depression throughout their first year of recovery. When depression hits, it not only interferes with your recovery, but also with your ability to participate in treatment. It is therefore important that you speak to your doctor or counsellor about what you’re feeling.
Try not to worry yourself too much if you’re feeling down within the first few weeks of recovery because this is a perfectly natural reaction to trying to withdraw from something. These feelings should pass as you get progress through recovery but if they persist or get worse, you should speak to someone about it.
It’s crucial to plan your days
During the early days of batting a drug addiction, it’s only natural that you will feel confused, scared of doing the wrong thing and even struggle to know how to get through the day. This is why it’s vitally important to get used to planning your days. Knowing what you’re doing and when you’re doing it helps you to stay focused, gives you purpose and will help you to avoid any temptations.
Don’t get overconfident
If your recovery process has been relatively smooth and straight-forward, it’s easy to start feeling overconfident. Because you haven’t relapsed you might think that you’re ok to see the people you used to take drugs with or go to places you used to hang around. Regardless of how strong you have been up until this point, it’s important not to put yourself in a situation where you could become tempted. It simply isn’t worth the risk and it will be much harder to say no than you think it will be.
You need to stay focussed on your recovery
Once you start to make your way through your first year of recovery, you will start to recognize the danger signs, your triggers, who you need to avoid and the places you need to avoid. With this under control you are likely to start thinking that you will be fine if you start cutting back on recovery meetings and counselling sessions and you may instead start focusing more on work or other aspects of your life.
Don’t be tempted to do this however. One of the quickest ways to derail all your hard work is to stop doing the very things that are keeping you on the straight and narrow.
The frequency of your meetings will naturally decrease over time but only adjust this at the advice of your therapist who can also advise you on other methods of help for drug addicts.
You may relapse
Relapse is most common within the first 90 days of recovery but the risk of it happening never completely goes away. You can help to manage this through addiction counselling and by avoiding your triggers. The good news is that the longer you’re clean, the less likely you are to have a major relapse. It is also critical to note that relapse is not inevitable. This is a real misconception and one that must be acknowledged. If you will do everything that you need to do (yes, that is a tall order!) and are accessing the appropriate level of care, you do not need to relapse.
If you think that you or someone you know could benefit from drug addiction therapy, please feel free to contact us and we will be more than happy to help.
