What is a life skills therapy program, and do you or a loved one need to undergo one? It all depends on whether or not the essential life skills for recovery are part of your life.
The journey of addiction recovery doesn’t end after someone completes rehab. Many people believe this is when the real addiction recovery journey begins. After going through a formal addiction treatment program, people return to their daily lives. While this is a major achievement, it’s also a major transition for them.
Returning to daily life after rehab means returning to possibly triggering environments, people, and objects. Research shows that most relapses occur within the first six months of completing formal addiction treatment. However, by focusing on certain life skills, a person can decrease the risk of relapsing. If you’re looking for a life skills therapy program near Dallas, TX, contact Santé Center for Healing today. Call 866.238.3154 or reach out to our team online.
What Are the Important Life Skills for Recovering Addicts to Learn?
1. Emotion and Stress Management
Negative emotions and stress are some of the most common triggers that lead to relapsing. They may also be what may have led most people to develop addictions, in the first place.
You may have experienced using an addictive substance to escape feelings of pain and sadness, or to feel better in difficult situations. In cases like this, emotion and stress management could be one of the life skills after recovery that needs extra focus. Learning this skill involves practicing self-control and increasing the range of coping mechanisms and capabilities that are available for a person to deal with negative situations.
An addiction treatment program that features cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) can help develop this specific life skill. Consistent exercise, journaling, and meditation can also help people in addiction recovery learn emotion and stress management.
2. Financial Management
While not directly providing any mental or physical health advantage, financial management is one of the life skills for recovery that many should prioritize mastering.
Substance addiction can take a major financial toll both when a person is struggling with a substance use disorder and when they’re trying to overcome addiction. It can be difficult to dig yourself out of debt, especially if you’ve never been financially responsible. Financial management is an essential life skill for everyone — not just people in addiction recovery.
Some programs may give clients access to a mentor, sponsor, support staff member, or special services to help them learn how to manage finances and even look for a job after formal treatment ends.
3. How To Set Goals
Completing a professional addiction treatment program is a huge accomplishment. People in addiction recovery all have that goal behind them. Now that they’re sober and rebuilding their lives, they should set new goals to hit. They will not only occupy their time but also provide that same sense of accomplishment they felt when successfully completing treatment.
Goal setting is an important skill to learn because it’s what drives people forward. Goals give people purpose, promote feelings of self-worth, and inspire people to become the best possible versions of themselves.
4. Healthy Routines and Habits
It’s essential to establish healthy routines and habits during the addiction recovery process. In fact, in some addiction treatment programs — such as inpatient ones — this is given intense attention. Many clients need a structured schedule to help them focus on addiction recovery.
The same is true whether or not a client is in an addiction treatment facility or out in the “real” world. These healthy routines and habits could involve the following:
- Attending 12-step meetings and support groups regularly
- Exercising regularly
- Getting good and restful sleep
- Maintaining a nutritious diet
- Maintaining personal hygiene
5. Practicing Self-Care
One of the first steps toward making a healthy recovery is recognizing the importance of self-care. When you’re struggling with addiction, you’re not prioritizing yourself. You may have thought that you were looking after yourself but you were prioritizing your addiction.
The life skill that people in addiction recovery need to master is not just self-care but a consistent focus on it. You can do many things to give yourself a boost of self-care, such as:
- Maintaining a clean living space
- Getting your hair and nails done
- Practicing yoga and meditation
For more examples, think about what will bring you positivity in mind, body, and spirit. These are what will help you stay positive on your addiction recovery journey.
6. Social Skills
Before seeking professional help, many clients would have had social circles composed of mostly people with problems related to addictive substances. People in addiction recovery need to establish healthier relationships with those who won’t trigger them and will support their sobriety.
Many people in addiction recovery struggle with social anxiety or social insecurity, especially if they’re young. Suppose your addiction treatment program didn’t focus on improving social skills. In that case, you may want to get additional therapeutic care to bolster your self-confidence and make connecting with new people easier. Fortunately, many addiction treatment programs prioritize building social skills because they include group therapy and support group meetings.
7. Time Management
Time management is essential when you’re establishing healthy routines and habits. It is, after all, the point of having a structured schedule. People in recovery often need to rebuild their daily lives because their substance use disorder completely wrecked whatever routines they had before addiction.
Now that you have your life back, time management can help you keep up with your responsibilities and everything that matters — in terms of family, social, school, recovery, and work. Fill your day with positive events and situations, as too much downtime can be a trigger for relapsing.
What is a Life Skills Therapy Program?
If you haven’t mastered the essential life skills for recovering addicts, then you’d be an ideal participant of a life skills therapy program.
Integrating back into society can be difficult for people in addiction recovery. A life skills therapy program assists clients by teaching them how to survive emotionally, financially, and socially in the “real” world.” The goal of programs like this is to help clients handle their daily lives better.
Ready To Learn About Santé Center for Healing’s Life Skills Therapy Program?
Are you searching for a life skills therapy program near Dallas, TX? Contact Santé Center for Healing today by calling 866.238.3154 or reaching out to our team online.
