When someone goes through treatment for addiction, they learn the tools necessary to overcome the disease. Once they’re back out in the world on their own, though, they must put these tools to use themselves. In many cases, this means significant changes may be necessary in a person’s social life after rehab. Recognizing this need is paramount.

At Transformations Treatment Center, we want each of our clients to have everything they need to maintain sobriety. Recognizing where changes must occur — and where they are unnecessary — is a vital component in this process. Regardless of where you’re at in recovery, a healthy understanding of what your life should look like can help you stay clean.

Contact us today if you’re ready to get started on the path to sobriety.

Social Life After Rehab

Going through an addiction treatment program is only the first step in recovery. Once you’re no longer in a program, the community support and structure you had often disappears. This doesn’t mean you’re “on your own,” but it does mean you need to make changes that support sobriety. Often, this means your life can’t remain the same as it once was.

The biggest changes in your social life after rehab involve unhealthy relationships and activities. You must avoid both. The hardest decision may be removing toxic connections from your life. Are there friends who won’t support your sobriety? Do certain family members consistently cause unneeded stress through drama? You will need to reevaluate these relationships.

You must also take a hard look at the activities you enjoy. If you frequently took part in bar karaoke, for instance, it may be time to make a change. Maybe you can find similar events outside of bars, or perhaps you can take up a new activity. This doesn’t necessarily mean you can never do karaoke around alcohol, but this should only take place when you’re comfortable with sobriety.

Creating a Relapse Prevention Plan

The changes in your social life after rehab revolve around avoiding relapse. If a childhood friend encourages you to get high, for instance, removing them from your life will help you maintain sobriety. Of course, there are many other issues involved with continued recovery. You should address most of these in a relapse prevention plan.

Take the following steps to create such a plan:

  • Assess your history of alcohol and drug abuse. This can help identify triggering events.
  • Identify potential scenarios that could lead to relapse.
  • Establish an action plan. This can include “escape plans,” coping mechanisms, identifying who to contact, etc.
  • Plan out ways you will improve your life (e.g., healthy eating, exercise).
  • Maintain attendance at support groups for reinforcement.

Fortunately, you don’t have to come up a plan on your own. At Transformations Treatment Center, a major part of your recovery will include aftercare. Before you ever head out into the world, you’ll have a relapse prevention plan ready to go. This will help you understand where changes in your social life after rehab are necessary — and to what extent.

Finding New Friends After Rehab

If you’re lucky, most of your social connections can remain intact while you’re in recovery. This is often the case if many of your friends and family shared concerns about your condition before treatment. Some changes in your social life after rehab, however, are more common than not. This often leaves a hole where someone feels like they need more connections in life.

Fortunately, you can create healthy relationships in a variety of ways. Consider the following strategies as a starting-off point:

  • Attend 12-step programs and recovery support groups.
  • Visit dry bars around your town.
  • Build relationships with supportive family members.
  • Attend sober sports events, concerts, festivals, or art venues.
  • Reconnect with sober family, friends, and coworkers you may have lost during addiction.
  • Host your own sober party.

While changes in your social life after rehab may be necessary, this doesn’t equate to the lack of social life. Build a circle of healthy friends and family around you. This will help you maintain sobriety while creating a new life worth living.

A Social Life After Rehab Is Possible

No two people have the exact same path to recovery. Overcoming substance abuse disorder can look very different for different people. You’ll witness this during the treatment process, but it also holds true for a social life after rehab. The depth of the change necessary for recovery will depend heavily on what you did and who you spent time with beforehand.

At Transformations Treatment Center, our certified staff of professionals is ready to help. On top of creating a recovery plan catered to your specific needs, they’ll help form an aftercare strategy to keep you focused on the road ahead. A social life after rehab is possible, but change is often necessary. Contact us today to learn how we can help in this process.