An Aftercare Plan Will Save your Life
An aftercare plan is a map for survival. You can’t start a sober life without a roadmap of what to do after the initial stages of recovery. Having an aftercare plan could even save your life, so making this plan is incredibly important for your future success.
When thinking about your aftercare plan, the first thing you should consider is what your triggers are. You may find it helpful to take some time and write a list of triggers. For example, after the work week, disagreements, celebration, success, grief, and excitement can all be triggers.
If you’re not sure what triggers you to use or drink alcohol, take a few days and make notes about times you use. Note your feelings, thoughts, and actions. Once you have a general understanding about your triggers, now you can plan to avoid them and implement new habits.
You can’t get rid of old, destructive behaviors without first replacing those behaviors with something more positive. Planning go-to behaviors for times when you have a craving or a difficult time in life is extremely important. Since you have already written down triggers and thoughts, try making a list of positive actions for when things are tough.
Some common actions are:
- Go to a meeting
- Call a sober friend
- Treat yourself to ice cream or a good meal
- Travel
- Exercise
- Explore nature
- Plan an adventure
One of the most important things to include in your after care plan is an arsenal of phone numbers. You need to have a list of supportive people to call when you feel a little shaky. You can meet supportive people at meetings and support groups. You can even enlist the help of a personal recovery assistant to help you.
Last but not least, go to meetings. Although AA and NA are the most well known recovery support meetings, not everyone prefers 12-steps. There are plenty of recovery support groups to be part of. No matter what you do, make sure that you don’t isolate and make sure that you are attending a recovery support meeting.
Hired Power is an expert in bringing compassion to addiction treatment. If you want to find out more about how having a personal recovery assistant and an aftercare plan will give the best results, call Hired Power today at 714-559-3919. Hired Power is the expert you need to help you become empowered in your recovery journey, one day at a time.
