Sobriety, especially early in the process, can be a bit overwhelming. Addiction and drug abuse tend to take over a person’s entire life. Its effects ripple out into every part of their life starting from education/work, to friends, family, relationships and all other aspects of their life. Subsequently, addiction eliminates any sense of structure from the addict’s former life.
As such, once an addict completes a withdrawal program and is no longer using drugs, it’s natural for the person to feel that nothing about their “old” life is the same anymore. It’s time to face reality where escaping to their old drug or alcohol habits is no longer an option.
These challenges can be adequately addressed by building a routine, which helps create positive new habits and makes way for better choices. In order to deliver a successful recovery plan, we focus on helping a person get some sort of structure back to their life. The renewed structure is designed to help people get their life back on track.
Structured Life
Structured life can be defined as organizing your daily routine in a way that makes sense to you, which implies having a balanced daily routine or timetable.
When it comes to addiction recovery, structured living refers to organizing your daily activities in a way that keeps addiction and chances of relapse at bay. It involves adhering to a daily routine, and a set of tasks, and is considered as a step down from the typical restrictions of a rehab programme, but at the same time provides the necessary aftercare that prevents relapse.
Life structure building is an aftercare component of rehab programs, as it helps addicts take their mind off of drugs and keeps their headspace occupied with positive things that make them feel productive. It acts as a lifestyle tool that helps the individual rely on himself and stay sober.
Our Rehab Programs Build Structure
Our drug rehab programs whether long term or short term, residential or outpatient; adhere to certain principles of treatment which encourage structure. This type of structure helps patients feel safe and comfortable in the environment they’re in.
However, for a rehab program to be entirely successful maintaining abstinence following the treatment is paramount. Neglecting appropriate aftercare tends to cause a relapse. Hence, creating structure even after rehabilitation is equally essential as staying sober. Life structure building offers the vital aftercare and enables the patient to succeed in long-term recovery.
Benefits of Life Structure Building
Our addiction specialists agree that life structure building is the best way for recovering individuals to get sober. There are immense advantages of following a prescribed course of action on a daily basis in ensuring long-term recovery. Life structure building helps with sobriety by:
- Treating Addiction Behaviour
Addicts develop behaviours and ways of thinking to get around their addictions. Everything on their schedule revolves around getting and using drugs. From figuring out how to get money to buy drugs and how to buy drugs, to creating excuses and stories to cover up for their behaviour. This makes their life chaotic, unpredictable and discourages any good habits.
Structured living encourages a person to make the right decisions every day. The daily routine set out for them makes them less likely to procrastinate or become overwhelmed. Scheduled activities prevent them from worrying about what to do next and keep all distractions at bay.
- Reducing Stress and Anxiety
Individuals who suffer from drug dependency are exposed to uncertainty and at times dangerous situations as well. Furthermore, the chaos of addiction and a reckless lifestyle triggers stress. Mental health disorders like heightened anxiety and insomnia are common among recovering addicts. Structured life provides familiarity and comfort when they return to their old life and hence eases their stress. This also ensures that they regularly take time out of their day to socialize, and be with their friends and family, which in turn reduces loneliness and stress.
- Preventing Boredom
Boredom is a common relapse trigger for individuals in the early stages of recovery. Structured life and a well-planned daily routine helps ensure that their time is filled with positive activities and fewer periods where they can get bored. Filling the schedule with definite plans also keeps their mind off drugs and makes them more productive. Furthermore, it offers some stability to a life that was previously chaotic and unpredictable.
- Establishing Accountability
Life structure building involves religiously following a strict routine. Having a routine teaches people to plan instead of living life as it happens. It also teaches them to deal with challenges head-on instead of avoiding them which creates accountability – something that their lives were previously lacking. It helps them learn and imbibe significant life lessons like punctuality and keeping up commitments that allow them to better maintain their relationships.
- Helping recovering addicts remain sober
Addiction has a long-lasting effect on the brain that alters people’s thinking habits, behaviour, desires, and attitude, which makes recovery and maintaining abstinence challenging. To ensure long-term sober living and prevent relapse, a stable environment following treatment is vital. Structure helps a person adapt to a positive and constructive long-term lifestyle and empowers the individual to stick to their healthy habits that they learned during rehab.
Steps to Build a Structured Life Post-treatment:
- Create a daily schedule with a clear list of what to do and at what time to do it, so that you can stay on track of everything. Make sure you outline the schedule for your bedtime, daily chores, exercise, work, and so on, and make sure you plan out all hours of the day.
- Schedule activities that strengthen recovery, like workouts, meditation, yoga, etc.
- Focus on your diet, sleep, and physical exercise to rejuvenate your body and get back in shape.
- Learn and practice a new skill or hobby.
- Learn about the things that may trigger you to relapse, and develop a coping mechanism to fend off your cravings.
- Talk to someone. It can be your friend or family member, a fellow recovering addict, your sponsor or a mentor. Reaching out and connecting with someone who can support you throughout the process is essential.
- Prioritize meetings and attend support groups, especially during troubling times or when you see signs of relapse. You may also want to continue seeing your doctor or therapist.
- Limit social engagements for a while until you are confident about effectively maintaining your sobriety under all circumstances.
We are committed to helping recovering addicts with life structure building. Our rehab programs are built around offering a structured recovery which can lead to long-term success. We aim at facilitating the end of addiction and beginning of a new life chapter that is filled with participation and purpose.
