The Five Most Important Life Skills to Build During Rehab
- May 20, 2021
- Prosperity Haven
- Addiction Treatment
When your life is dominated by substance abuse, it can sometimes be difficult to meet your own basic needs — and for individuals in rehab, developing or practicing life skills is an important part of thriving in recovery. This is especially true for young adults, who may have never gotten the chance to develop these skills at the same time as their peers due to addiction.
While independent living skills like finding a place to live, finding and holding a job, maintaining a clean living space, and doing household chores will come with time, here are some bigger-picture life skills we help our clients develop and practice during treatment at Prosperity Haven.
1. Practicing Self-Care
Self-care is one of the most important recovery skills we teach. Even individuals who have never experienced an addiction can sometimes struggle with this, but it can be especially difficult for those in recovery to take the time to care for themselves.
At its core, self-care means taking actions that will help you feel better about yourself, such as practicing good hygiene, eating nutritional meals, exercising regularly, and doing activities that bring you joy, so you can feel mentally and physically well.
2. Establishing a Routine
Healthy habits go hand-in-hand with self-care and establishing a routine can help you accomplish small goals throughout the day and prepare you for the structure that will come with regular employment.
Waking up at a reasonable hour every day, planning healthy meals, setting aside time to go on a walk or to exercise regularly, and performing daily personal hygiene in the morning and at night are little things you can do to set yourself up for success.
3. Managing Stress
Life is full of stressors, both big and small — and some of them may have even led you to use a substance in the first place, in attempt to relieve whatever was stressing you out.
One of the most important things you’ll learn in rehab is how to use coping mechanisms to manage your emotions and to work toward managing stress, especially if this stress was a trigger for substance abuse. Once we can help you manage your stressors in a healthy way, you’ll be less likely to relapse in the future.
4. Communicating Effectively
It may seem like a no-brainer, but communicating effectively is sometimes easier said than done, especially since breakdowns in communication are common when addiction begins to take over your life.
Many people have a hard time expressing emotions to others and asking for help, but being able to talk about your feelings and your needs will go a long way toward building trust and having meaningful conversations with others, both in rehab and well into recovery.
5. Building Healthy Relationships
Addiction may have left you feeling isolated and utterly alone, but in rehab, building and preserving relationships will help you emotionally heal from substance abuse.
Whether you’re building new relationships with others in rehab or repairing relationships with your loved ones, surrounding yourself with people who support your recovery is essential to maintaining your sobriety.
Life skills are the foundation for a successful recovery and a healthy life, and these recovery tools help our clients more easily transition into a normal life after rehab. Our Life Skills Therapy at Prosperity Haven helps to build and strengthen this foundation so our clients can experience a lifetime of success as they maintain their sobriety.
If you or a loved one are struggling with addiction, contact Prosperity Haven today at (440) 253-9915.
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