The Art of Aftercare

You wouldn’t buy a car and fail to maintain it. When you adopt a pet, you enroll it in training classes and take it to the vet. Whether it is a hairstyle, a computer, or a lawn, you maintain it to keep it working correctly. Same goes for aftercare. An investment, no matter the size or cost, is worth putting the time in to defend. Anything worth the effort takes time.

Time is precious; it holds us accountable and can slip away. You spend time taking care of external objects or creatures; now, it’s time to take care of yourself. When you began treatment, you committed yourself to change your negative behaviors to positive behaviors. Since then, you have learned coping skills that support your effort to maintain positive behaviors. As time goes by, the progress you made can go by the wayside if you don’t take the time to maintain the progress you achieved in treatment.

Maintaining Healthy Habits

Maintenance is the time and cares you put into keeping something working. Recognizing that recovery is a process that takes time is essential. How long will recovery take? Recovery is a lifelong journey. Stay involved in treatment – join groups focused on healing, attend post-treatment sessions, or maintain a schedule to meet with your therapist. When going to see your therapist at their office is difficult, there are times – schedule an appointment via telemedicine. The effort put into remaining sober is worth the result.

The choice to enter treatment is a step towards a healthy lifestyle. When you are in treatment or aftercare treatment, your healthy options make you feel better. Throughout therapy, you can face setbacks. Don’t let those setbacks control your present or future lifestyle; when you experience a setback, resolve to become more involved in your aftercare. Consistent aftercare treatment will help you with setbacks and provide you the tools necessary to cope with your feelings.

Your healthy choices affect more than your mental well-being; they also affect your physical health. Recognize your habits. Positive and damaging habits can become a part of your routine. Spotting negative patterns occur when you maintain a relationship with your therapist. Continuing to see your therapist builds on the first step you took to make a healthy change in your life. During treatment staying on track is easy because there are people around you who help you remain focused on your sobriety. Once treatment has concluded, you can feel alone, but regularly scheduled therapy sessions help reduce feelings of isolation.

Eliminate negative influences from your environment. Assess people and objects in your life that promote or make slipping into an old habit easy. Pay attention to people, places, or things that bring back memories of your past. Find a way to stay focused on your goals.

A journal or activity tracker is an essential tool in keeping you on track because you can use them in your therapy session. Discuss with your therapist your daily activities and determine if changes are necessary.

Focus On Your Goals

Your future is a blank page. Your choices determine how you can work on your present and establish healthy habits for your future. Discuss your future with your therapist. Maybe you don’t have a clear idea of what you want a year or more from now, but instituting a healthy lifestyle now will lead to a better future. There are ways to continue making healthy decisions, and practicing self-control allows you to recognize when you are experiencing a distressing event or thought and react in a healthy way.

Seek out positive forces in your life. Positive influences are those people or places that bring you happiness, create a sense of well-being, and lead you to self-discovery. Expand your beliefs to include healthy habits such as proper nutrition, exercise, spirituality, or affirmative decision-making.

Happiness, Health, and Lifestyle

Happiness comes from various sources. People find joy in physical, artistic, or spiritual forms of expression. Belief in something aids people in achieving their goals. What many people don’t realize is happiness takes work. Beginning a journey to mental and physical well-being starts with identifying why a person wants to achieve their goal.

Goal-making is a process that can not be rushed. There are a few fundamental steps to creating a realistic plan for a goal.

• Identify a goal by narrowing down what is essential. People can start by assessing what they feel is important, what they want to achieve, and how to reach their stated goal successfully.
• Create short-term and long-term goals. Success doesn’t occur overnight. Every goal worth achieving is worth taking the proper amount of time to accomplish tasks. Set weekly, monthly, or yearly goals and review them as their deadline approaches.
• Life throws curveballs—acceptance of obstacles and changing methods or deadlines to accommodate new plans is essential.
• Determination is one part of achieving a goal, as is accepting help or support from others. People can do great things when they work with those who believe in them.

A life filled with healthy life choices starts with how you treat yourself. Take advantage of all of the nutrition classes at your treatment center. Explore different activities that connect the mind with the body and spirit. Be bold, go out of your comfort zone, and learn to love yourself. Maintaining your well-being is as important as anything else in life. Recovery is a lifelong process, and you need to commit to the process. Aftercare therapy is essential in your effort to sustain your mental and physical health.