The Road Ahead

The biggest mistake you can make is to think you can simply go back to your life and not use drugs and alcohol. Staying abstinent takes a lot of hard work. The road ahead is full of potholes that can knock you off course – the biggest being your own head.

Remember that your substance abuse is something that you have become an expert in. You have practised every day; week, month and year, perfecting the art; the lies, and the deceit. Once you have got clean, you need to “unlearn” substance use and “relearn” how to live life on life’s terms again. You may be drug and alcohol free, but you are still on “automatic pilot”.

To stay away from drugs and alcohol during this period, you have to take action:

Practice new thinking, especially the reminder “I have a drink or drug problem and I must work this recovery”

Take small steps, in simple, every day matters

Without substances, work out what you enjoy and what makes you happy

Taking action will help you get through this phase in several ways. It gives you a growing sense of control over your life. Best of all, instead of trying to not do something, which is difficult, you can do something else, which is easier. The ‘something else’ is how you stay well.