Whether you are entering a rehab facility for drug or alcohol addiction, it is normal to wonder what life will be like after treatment. Will you be taught life skills and certain ways to cope once you are back into your daily routine? Will you be taught how to maintain your sobriety and increase your chances of success after completing a rehab program? The answer is yes. Without being taught life skills at your rehab facility, your chances of maintaining sobriety are not as strong. Being taught life skills greatly increases your chances of sobriety and it is absolutely necessary to teach life skills in order to “survive in the real world”. Teaching life skills helps individuals get to the root of their drug or alcohol problems so they can face them head on in real life and not just in a facility.

Types Of Life Skills

Some examples of life skills you may be taught include: financial decisions, setting goals, how to live a healthy lifestyle, artistic expressions, problem solving and coping tools, and healthy communication skills. For example, those who are recovering from any addiction, chances are they could have misused their money and are in debt. One of the life skills taught in rehab facilities is being financially responsible with your money. Patients learn to answer questions such as:

• Now that I’m sober, what is my financial future?
• What steps can I take to be more responsible with my finances?
• What are good money decisions I can apply to my life?
• How can I take control of my financial situation and stay on track now that I’m sober?

Health And Wellness Skills

Another really important life skill that patients are taught is healthy living. Perhaps addiction has caused the patient to neglect personal hygiene or maybe their diet has only consisted of unhealthy foods for years. Some things that may be taught in a facility regarding health and wellness are:

• Cooking and meal classes
• Encouraging exercise
• Eating healthy foods and developing a better understanding of nutritional needs
• Self-care
• Cleaning and organizing personal living spaces

Life Skills To Help Cope

With any addiction, sometimes your relationships (family or dating/marriage) suffer a great deal. Many times those suffering from addiction find ways to blame those around them for their problems. In this situation, connecting with those family members or friends and teaching them ways to stop enabling the individual and be more encouraging of decisions that reflect positive living and sobriety. Then, after that, the recovering patient will work with counselors and loved ones to realize they are placing blame incorrectly on their friends and family. The individual will then internalize that their friends and family are not to blame and are there to help.

Introspection is a key to recovery. When the patient self-internalizes that they are the ones to blame for their addiction, this helps break the cycle of their addiction when out in the real world. The patient will be educated about spirituality or connecting with their partner or friends and family to start rebuilding their relationships.

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While this list of life skills does not include everything one may learn, it helps give a better idea of what areas individuals can expect to address. Life skills are taught to increase your chance of maintaining sobriety after rehab and have been proven to be successful tools on your journey to a full recovery.

The more a patient internalizes their behaviors and applies the life skills they are taught, their chances of long term recovery and sobriety are greatly increased. If you have further questions about this topic or others, please contact us at Drugrehab.org today.