Drug rehab tips? It is already enough that your recovery program is taking a whole lot from you emotionally.
Your work is the last thing you would want to be affected. As we have observed in treatment sessions with patients, many patients are bothered about their work-life, secretly entertaining the fear that the recovery process may negatively impact their jobs or make them altogether lose their source of income.
Understanding how our jobs mean a lot to us and how hectic and competitive job searches can be, we provide useful tips for keeping your job while in recovery (and not letting it get in the way). By following these guidelines, you will retain your job while maintaining steady strides toward recovering totally from active addiction and excessive drug or alcohol intake.
Let them help show you that mental health improvement is always a great investment, addiction recovery is a wise choice, and staying sober long term is a good idea.
Manage Stress
If you have been undergoing inpatient treatment, returning to work may dish out a great deal of stress. Even if you have never left work, combining it with your recovery therapy could be draining a lot of energy.
Whenever you feel tired, a good way to unwind is to have frequent meet-ups with family, friends, and other loved ones. In addition, discover relaxing activities you love and hop on them every now and then.
Not only will they relieve you of stress, but they will also keep you meaningfully engaged and positively distracted from drugs or alcohol.
Also, while you are still recovering, you will do yourself good by keeping from things that could cause additional but unnecessary stress. Do you know that anxiety and high-stress levels are part of what makes some resolve to alcohol and substance intake?
Research shows that prolonged stress can result in embracing maladaptive behaviors like alcohol addiction. In order not to get yourself stuck in a vicious cycle of returning to old habits, you should altogether avoid stressing yourself beyond what your body can take.
Drug Rehab Tips: Create Structured Plans that Favor your Recovery and Work Schedules
An unorganized life is directly synonymous with stress. Creating a plan and scheduling all your tasks for the day gives you a clearer view of all you want to do and helps you manage your time. Additionally, planning lets you prioritize and prevents procrastination. Usually, there are many things you can do in a day. But, when you create a structure, you are able to put the important things first and eliminate unnecessary ones.
With all the emotional drain that comes with addiction treatment, it is possible to keep forgetting important details. Luckily, there are several tools today that can help structure all your tasks. From simply writing them out and creating a timetable to using mobile apps on your cell phone and other management tools, you are never on your own when it comes to planning.
More so, recovery is all about intention. It is much easier to swear never to return to an alcohol bottle after passing out the night before. However, putting your new resolution to action is the hardest part. It is easy to get lost in the work activities and forget about doing other things necessary for your recovery.
While you plan your days, always have your treatment program in mind and create enough time for it. Doing simple things like setting a reminder in your calendar can prevent you from forgetting to make a scheduled appointment with your doctor.
Remove Distractions
Everyone (not only those struggling with addiction) does better when they are able to eliminate distractions. Unfortunately, distractions are all over us. From our mobile phones to social media and pastime activities, it takes a whole lot of self-control not to be distracted from work. But, disciplining yourself while at work helps you maintain healthy habits.
At best, you should put away anything that could be a source of distraction to you while you are working. This includes your mobile phone, gaming pad, or even your data connection. Not being able to keep up with tasks is a potential threat to your job, and distraction is one bug that could cause that.
A good thing to do is to create time for short breaks in between your tasks. That way, your subconscious remembers that you will still have a short reward of doing something fun sooner or later, and you can concentrate on your job for the moment.
Discuss With Your Boss
It may be wise to let your boss know about your recovery process. While many recovery patients think that letting their boss know about their health state could risk their job, informing them can actually do more harm than good. You may be able to benefit from a reduction in workload or have your work hours reorganized when your boss is aware of your treatment program.
Informing your boss about such sensitive matters as this could help you gain his trust. Your employer sees your genuineness and commitment to the organization’s growth and should be willing to see you get better so you can even be more productive.
We advise that patients exercise discretion when discussing their recovery process with their employer as there could be different kinds of reactions. Still, we have found that our patients are able to create a more favorable work routine for themselves when they discuss their treatment program with their employers.
Understand that the Recovery Process Takes Time
Recovery takes time, and the truth is it could drain you, especially when you are trying to deliver the best at your job. Don’t give up just yet, until your recovery therapist gives you closure. Entertaining feelings of depression can drastically limit your productivity at work which could paint a bad impression of you to your boss and co-workers.
In times like this, you are the best motivation for yourself. Keep in mind that undergoing treatment while working will put extra demands on you, and be positive towards those demands. Like an adage says:
“No one knows what you have been through or what your eyes have seen, but I can reassure you: whatever you have conquered, it shines through your mind.”
In the end, you will be better off for all those extra demands. You’d rather push through them than entertain thoughts of depression at work.
Taking a Break is Okay
Constant work doesn’t make anyone better. There is always a temptation to skip breaks so you can do more at work. However, taking frequent rest is essential for productivity and your general wellbeing.
When taking breaks, ensure you are actually doing things that would rejuvenate you. Sleeping is a good way to rest, but that is not all there is to rest. It would help if you also considered exercising, meditation, and taking periodic vacations.
Exercising is a great way to keep your body refreshed all day. Limit the more rigorous exercise to your mornings and weekends, while you should opt for less tasking ones in the evenings.
As we recommend to our patients, taking a break from work is acceptable if that is what your recovery process requires to become drug-free in the workplace. Discuss this with your employer, who may be willing to let you return to work when your recovery treatment is over.
Drug Rehab Tips: Conclusion
Substance abuse is a known causative factor for job loss among Americans. However, when you begin the recovery process, you stand a chance to improve your physical wellbeing, mental health, and retain your job. Although many undergo their treatment program full-time, some return to their jobs later on during the recovery process.
At Recovery Team, your recovery treatment means more to us than just helping you step out of drug or alcohol abuse toward satisfying, sober living. For us, the recovery phase is all-inclusive. We are passionate about drug rehab tips, watching your health, emotions, love, and work-life improvements for the better.
With twenty-five years of experience helping individuals recover from addiction to alcohol, we’ve come far and eagerly address drug or alcohol addiction cases. Our approach to recovery involves a cutting-edge philosophy that looks into the chemical phenomenon behind your dependence on any addictive substance as well as environmental factors that account for you picking up these habits.
