Addiction recovery: Six ways your environment affects your journey
Are you looking for addiction recover treatment options? Discover six ways your environment can affect your journey.
It’s accurate to say that addiction recovery is a journey. This path often has many turns and twists. You might find yourself clean and sober at the end, but you may continue struggling with your substance abuse issues for years.
You might seek out a Los Angeles outpatient program, or maybe you feel that an inpatient one is the better choice. Either way, let’s talk about how your environment affects your journey and can determine whether you end up clean and sober in the end.
1) You might do better if you’re away from your old haunts
You might use drugs in a certain place every time. Maybe that’s your old neighborhood. If you want to get clean, you may need to be well clear of that space since you associate it with getting high.
2) Your environment might include the people around you
Your environment means more than just where you’re spending your time while you’re trying to get clean. It also includes the people who are around you during this process.
If you stay at home while you’re attempting to get clean, you might surround yourself with your old friends. They might encourage you to get clean, but it’s equally likely they will want to do drugs with you. That’s why you might need to get away from them if you hope to kick the habit for good.
3) If you’re somewhere tranquil, you should feel that way too
Getting into an inpatient program might make sense while you’re trying to get clean. Maybe you’re in a clinic with peaceful fountains and places where you can stroll under the trees. A tranquil place like that might be one of the keys that helps you stop using your drug of choice.
4) You can surround yourself with people who have the same goals
If you’re in an inpatient program, you may be with other drug addicts who are going through the same thing that you are. They can commiserate with you when times get tough. They understand your struggle, and you might form powerful friendships this way.
5) Your environment can provide welcome distractions
If you’re in an inpatient facility, there might be some activities you can do that will help take your mind off of drugs. Drug use is a habit that takes up your time. You need to replace your free time with something else.
That might be something like fishing, horseback riding, basket weaving, reading, writing in a journal, or anything else productive besides using drugs. A situation where you have these options makes it much more likely that you’ll succeed.
6) Your family dynamic can hurt rather than help
You might want to be around your family while you’re trying to kick a drug habit, but what if they’re one of the main stress triggers that make you want to relapse? Getting away from them might be necessary if you’re going to truly have the best chance of getting clean. They may not like hearing that, but it could be true.
