Aftercare is an essential part of recovery treatment programs. Aftercare programs include services that help recovering substance-use-dependent persons adjust to everyday life after completing earlier treatment and rehabilitation. Rather than simply leaving the supportive environment of treatment facilities, aftercare programs allow you to transition from higher levels of care back to daily life.
Long-term care is part of the recovery journey, and aftercare programs provide an opportunity to address the challenges that may be associated with abstinence and recovery post-treatment. Here, we discuss the importance of aftercare programs and how they can help you.
The Nature of Recovery
To appreciate why aftercare programs are so crucial, it is first necessary to understand the nature of recovery. Recovery is non-linear and characterized by continuous growth. It is essential to recognize that improved functioning may come with setbacks, a natural part of the process.
These challenges make it necessary to foster resilience in recovering individuals and their families. By preparing for these setbacks and challenges, you can approach the recovery journey with more patience and compassion, both for yourself and others.
Initial treatment is only the first step. A more accurate indicator of recovery is when you graduate from the program and leave the treatment facility. Saying no to drugs and alcohol is much easier in an environment geared toward teaching people to do so. However, continuing to say no after returning to your daily routine is an entirely new challenge. Therefore, programs after treatment are still important.
Components of Aftercare Programs
There are several components of aftercare programs.
One is structured group meetings and support groups. Substance use support groups play a multifaceted role in recovery. They serve both people who are currently trying to get sober as well as those who have completed recovery programs and aim to maintain their sobriety. Studies have shown that individual group counseling is as effective as individual counseling. These support groups provide the nurturing and sustenance needed to ensure your continuous growth and strength.
Aside from support groups, there is also individual therapy. This is a very powerful intervention in the addiction recovery process as it helps address underlying issues, such as trauma or negative experiences and emotions. Sorting through the emotional pain and changing unhealthy patterns is essential to long-term recovery.
There are also workshops that can help build recovering individuals’ coping skills, which are behavioral patterns or characteristics that improve your ability to adapt. Here, you can learn how to regulate thoughts, emotions, and behaviors when confronted with stressful events. Coping mechanisms can help soothe or distract, help you face the challenges of recovery and take action, or be flexible and motivated to solve the problem.
Aftercare programs also include medical checks and medication management programs. The long-term goal is to lead an individual into recovery without the use of drugs. Medication management may involve tapering, which is reducing your dosage of medications to wean you off them completely.
Each person’s recovery journey is unique, which highlights the crucial role of case management in substance use treatment. The various aspects of an aftercare program may help you in different ways.
Benefits of Aftercare
There are several benefits of aftercare programs. Let’s look at them in more detail:
Provides Continued Support
Addiction is a chronic disease that does not have a cure; it can only be managed. As such, maintaining sobriety becomes a lifelong process where some form of support remains necessary. People engaged in aftercare can continue to attend support groups, access therapy, and learn new coping skills to continue healing and rebuild their lives.
Reduces Risk of Relapse
Long-term sobriety is the number one priority when affected individuals leave treatment centers. Relapse is the most significant risk for people once they resume daily life. Fortunately, individuals at higher risk for relapse can benefit greatly from aftercare. Much of the support provided by aftercare programs focuses on relapse prevention.
Builds Coping Mechanisms
Coping mechanisms are one of the ways that people can avoid drug use. While it is impossible to avoid triggers and stressors that may cause relapse, it is still possible to develop healthier coping mechanisms. It is a process that begins during treatment and extends into aftercare programming. Attending workshops, therapy, and support groups can build and refine coping mechanisms that you can implement when you get cravings or want to use.
Gives Structure and Stability
Aftercare can give you a sense of structure and stability after the changes you’ve gone through during treatment. Starting on the road to recovery can be a scary new step for many people who struggle with addiction, and it can be even more confusing and overwhelming to resume daily life after treatment.
Getting used to a new routine can help replace feelings of fear with feelings of stability. Routine allows you to develop new habits, which can help you feel like you are replacing your substance use with new, healthier practices. A routine can also help you feel more secure when your life feels different or when you feel especially vulnerable. After your first couple of months of sobriety, you may find that your new routine feels more familiar and intuitive.
Helps Families and Loved Ones
Aftercare doesn’t just help you; it also helps your family while you are going through the process of recovery. Addiction can affect your loved ones as well, so they will also need to adapt as you heal. Aftercare programs also include family support and care so that everybody can move forward.
The Bottom Line
Aftercare programs aren’t just optional supplementary initiatives for people seeking addiction treatment. They are essential and provide indispensable value to the recovery ecosystem in such a way that you can manage addiction with continued support throughout your life.
Given that aftercare programs provide a continuum of care for the long term, it is highly encouraged that anybody in recovery should consider these programs as an investment for their well-being. If you’re thinking about the benefits of aftercare and its role in long-term recovery, then join us at Roots Through Recovery today.
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