After treatment, returning to your old life can be scary
Walking back after treatment can be challenging. When I am on vacation, I have a hard time talking about or even recalling my day-to-day life in New York City. I forget restaurant names, train stops, addresses. It’s almost like I can’t remember my daily life at all. Sometimes I worry how I will integrate when I return home from vacation.
Luckily, the very second that I step back into the airport I am immediately swept back into my “real life.” The things I couldn’t remember on vacation come back to me, as if my body has memory. Immediately, I am swept back into my old schedule and routines without having to think twice. It’s almost like I never went on vacation at all.
Don’t fall back into old habits
A similar experience occurs for many who return from rehab, which makes falling into old habit a real concern for a person in recovery. After all, none of the stressors of real life have changed, but everything that person used to cope is still out there, and they still know how and where to get it.
The return to real life is jarring. A plan must be in place to continue care post-discharge. The first few months after going to a treatment facility are very important, people that don’t make changes to their lives, or don’t attend after care programs have a low chance of success. It’s just too easy to fall back into old habits, especially without any way of being held accountable.
Hold yourself accountable
Instinctively falling into old habits happens immediately and subconsciously. When I return to my childhood home, 25 years later, I still throw my jacket on the same chair I did when I came home from high school. There is no thought about it.
For someone to successfully recover, work needs to be done in his or her daily living situations. This takes time. There is a saying that anyone can stay sober in a treatment facility. Additional time and energy must be spend on recovery on return home.
After care plans can be intensive. Choosing to live away from home either on the campus of the treatment center or in a sober living house. It is a lot to take on, but these programs need to be intense. That’s how the focus can remain in recovery and maintaining newer, healthier habits.
About Adam Banks
Adam Banks is a certified interventionist and the owner of Adam Banks Recovery. After receiving an MBA from the University of Chicago, Adam built a company acquired by United Health Care. His discipline and attention to detail comes from his former career as an airline pilot, holding an ATP, the FAA’s highest license.
Today, Adam is dedicated to helping others achieve long-term sobriety. His work has guided executives, pilots, and physicians on paths to recovery. Adam brings families together through a loving and inclusive approach. Adam has authored four books on addiction. His recent work, Navigating Recovery Ground School: 12 Lessons to Help Families Navigate Recovery, educates families on the entire intervention process. He also offers a free video course for families considering an intervention for a loved one.
Adam is available for alcohol and drug intervention services in New York, Long Island, the Hamptons as well as nationally and internationally.
