When you have already gone through the drug and alcohol program and completed successfully, you will now be required to learn some very important life skill that will aid in the recovery process. The skills will come in handy when you want to have a completely new lifestyle from the one that you had before that will keep you away from the drugs and alcohol. If you are in Los Angeles; you can learn the skills in sober living Los Angeles centers.
There are homes that deal with the people who are trying to leave sober. The homes have programs for both men and women and they are to teach life skill that will enable you to have a completely different life from the one that you used to have. Because of the stresses of everyday that may trigger the use of alcohol and drugs, the skills that will be learnt here will help in the management of this.
Four things that support recovery
when you want to start acquiring basic skills for recovery, it is important to ensure that the environment also supports the recovery process. Here are the four: –
- Health- The people who are in the recovery process should always make the right decisions when it comes to health. Everything that they do now should support the recovery process. They should now eat foods that are healthy and are nutritious. They should keep off drugs and alcohol completely. They should also exercise as it will keep them fit. Management of emotions such as anxiety stress and depression as it may trigger the use of drugs and alcohol again.
- Home- Individuals who are in the recovery process should have a place that is stable, safe and warm to live in. The place should make them feel secure to practice all that they have learnt in the rehab. They should also be able to share and live without fear and judgement.
- Purpose- Individuals in recovery should go with their life just like everyone else. They should have something to do that will give their life purpose once again. They can go to work, volunteers in rehabilitation centers, going for a creative class or go for a group activity with people who are also in recovery. When these people are active and independent, they will be able to live a life which has meaning and purposeful.
- Community- Is a very essential part of the recovery process of the individuals. If they are not getting the love and support from the community or they get hostility, they may go back to their behavior. For an individual to be completely sober, they should have healthy relationships that will be able to foster love, friendship and support.
The people who are in recovery have things that mostly help them in the process of recovery and they include: –
- Life of being sober again.
- Getting an employment.
- Having good relationships.
- Getting an education.
- Live achievements and fulfilment.
- Having a family reunification.
- Getting emotional health.
- Having good housing.
- Being able to help other.
Essential life skills for people in recovery
It is important for an individual to have a good home that they can go to that can help them recover completely. You can find these sober living homes in all of Los Angeles. When they are here, they are able to learn some important life skills that will help in the recovery process. The recovery process is also deemed to be personal, but the when individuals are in these homes they will learn a lot. Below are some of skills that individuals can learn: –
Self-care
When someone does not take care of themselves, mostly when they are just from the rehab. They are highly likely to relapse. That is why they should be taught the importance of self-care and how they should practice it every day. The practices should be those that help their sober living. Those practices can include sleeping well, eating foods that are nutritious, using strategies that will help in coping depression, negative emotions and thoughts and anxiety.
Cooking meals
Cooking is said to be a therapy and can help in the process of recovery. Those that are in recovery should make healthy choices and they are supposed to know how to make a good meal plan for every day, go to the groceries and shop and then later make the meal. When they are in the sober living home, they are required to do this on their own. This will help them develop the skills and have a program that works best for them. Having other people in the same place, will make the experience much better. This is because they will do this together and will learn a lot from each other.
Setting and achieving goals
When you want to achieve something in life, it is important to make goals. That is why those in recovery should also make their own goals that they hope to achieve in a certain period of time. When an individual has abused drugs and alcohol for a long time, they end up feeling depressed and hopeless. Having goals in life will give them something to look forward to and to want to achieve something. It will also help in not letting the bad habits back again. Some of the personal goals that an individual can have include: –
- Running every morning to keep a healthy life.
- Opening a savings account.
- Volunteering every now and then.
- Applying for jobs that you qualify for.
Whatever goals that you will have, they should help you in recovery and keep you away from drugs and alcohol.
Cleaning and maintaining cleanliness
Cleanliness is said is be next to godliness and will be very important in the recovery process. When one cleans after themselves and maintain a good living space they will not only be having a good practice, but they will have displine. This will also help to have a good relationship with the people that they will be living with in the sober living home or traditional home. After coming from the rehab, it is always very hard to live with other people and it will be even harder when one is not clean. When in a sober home, they will learn how to keep the environment and home clean and tidy. They will also learn how to respect and be sensitive to others.
Managing finances
This is another very important life skill that will help in the recovery process. This may be very hard for someone who was used to squandering all their money to drug and alcohol. This will be a new beginning for them as they will be required to manage their money to the last cent. When an individual is in the sober living homes, they are required to buy their own staff including what they will cook, pay their own rent, buy personal products and buy anything else that is needed and is not in the vicinity. They will also know how to save, plan and budget their money. With these kind of practice, it will be very hard for them to use the money on other unnecessary things like drugs and alcohol.
Building healthy relationship
It is very important for those in recovery to have good relationships with other people as it will help them a lot. It is always not a very easy thing as some people are very hostile to those in recovery. The person who is on recovery and just out of rehab, will be having a completely new life and will be trying to adjust. The family also will be adjusting to the changes as they are not used to him or her acting that way. But regardless of how the family will act, it is important for the one who is in recovery not to lose his or her focus, as they may relapse. The should instead focus on: –
- Communicating with everyone clearly.
- Listening well.
- They should be able to express emotions in a healthy way.
- Coping and identifying triggers in social places.
These skills can be learnt and gained by those in recovery interacting with the other people in the sober living homes and going for support groups and by having healthy relationships with other people who are also in recovery.
Managing time
When individuals are abusing drugs and alcohol, they mostly spend their time in places where they are getting them. They would not care what time it is and would spend the whole day or even days. All their time is wasted in the drug and alcohol dens. When they are in recovery, they should learn how to spend their time doing things that will benefit their life. They should also know that once time is wasted, it will never be recovered. They should plan on how they will be spending their time everyday so that they are not left with so much free time that may cause them to relapse. They should also do things that are good for their recovery. A person in recovery should have activities, goals and work that are planned for every day.
Finding and maintaining employment
When a person in recovery find a job, they will be able to have a brand new start. It is important for them to also maintain the job by working very hard and not being a nuisance in the work place. People who are in recovery always have a very hard time finding a job because most employers think that they may go back to their old habits. If one is in the sober living homes, they will be able to get in the employment volunteering program that helps them to get employment at a fast rate. The program will also teach the individuals how to look for employment. They will teach them the employment process like filling the applications forms, creating a good resume, and how they should present themselves when they are called up for an interview. This will really help them in the recovery process because they will have a new life and it will keep them busy.
When one gets out of the rehab, it does not mean that they are now well and can take care of themselves. It is always the beginning and they need a lot of help so that they are able to stay sober. When an individual transition back to the community or is in a sober living home. There are several programs that they are going to undertake. These programs will help them get the skills of how they will handle their new life. They will also learn skill that will be very helpful to them. They will know how to interact with people and get in to the society and contribute to the day to day life. People always get a hard time getting back because other people always have a perception about them because of how they were before they were committed to an institution.
If you have a family member or loved one that has recently been committed in a rehab, it is important to know how you Are going to help them recover. Apart from their effort because it is all about an individual, it is important for you to love and support them. That is the only time that they will be able to recover completely. If you become hostile and do not give them a chance they may get depressed which is going to be a reason for them to relapse. If they are in the sober living home, go and visit them and encourage them every now and then, it will really help them in the recovery process. You should also help them as they learn the life skill such as self-care, cooking meals, setting and achieving their goals, marinating a clean environment, managing their expense, having healthy relationships, managing their time and finding employment.