What’s holding you back from long-term addiction recovery?

If you are in drug and alcohol addiction treatment right now, your prognosis is dependent on many factors, including the type and level of care you receive, the severity of your illness, and your overall support system. The good news is that, though there is no cure for addiction, many people can find a treatment that’s effective for them, allowing them to restore their lives and, often, their health.

One of the aspects of addiction treatment is preparation for what’s to come. And that means examining the barriers to long-term addiction recovery. What could get in your way? By addressing these challenges, you can create a plan for overcoming them.

Common Barriers to Addiction Recovery

• Lack of consistent treatment

If you are currently in drug and alcohol treatment, maintaining consistency with care over time becomes critical. It’s not just about coming in, spending a few weeks in treatment, and leaving. Consistent, ongoing care is a necessary component of your long-term success in recovery.

Those who do not receive ongoing support from mentors, therapists, and local meetings tend to be at the highest level of risk for relapse.

• Feeling shame or fearing stigma

When you leave addiction treatment, you’ve accomplished an incredible step towards recovery. It’s something to feel good about because of the hard work you’ve put in. Yet, some people feel stigma and shame for their addiction.

Know your limits. You don’t have to tell anyone what type of care you are receiving. Don’t feel obligated to share with your employer, friends, or family that you were in treatment. Push aside any fears of judgment, and ensure you have a solid understanding that it does not matter what anyone else thinks.

• Undiagnosed or untreated mental health disorders

Another common reason people struggle with long-term recovery has to do with a lack of understanding and support for mental health disorders, called co-occurring disorders. In some cases, these may not have been discovered in treatment. In other cases, the care you need for depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, or other conditions like them will change over time.

Sticking with treatment from your care team is important here. Make it a point to address the emotional and mental health aspects of your recovery. Often, it is those co-occurring disorders that can put you at the highest risk for relapse.

• Threatening people and places 

One of the hardest decisions for some people in addiction treatment is recognizing the need to remove some people from their lives. To improve your long-term recovery, avoid being around people who put you at the highest risk for using substances. That could be people who engage in these substances themselves, those you have a history of using substances with, people who have caused trauma to you, or those who don’t respect the fight you are in.

Places are important, too. There’s little benefit to visiting a location where you used to use substances with others, especially in early recovery. Exposure to the same types of environments puts you at a higher risk for relapse.

• Overconfidence 

Leaving drug and addiction treatment often means you feel renewed. You’re thinking clearer than ever, and you’re feeling as though you can take on a lot of the challenges you’ve faced. That’s all very good, but overconfidence could put you back at the start.

Overconfidence occurs when you try to do too much, such as taking on a lot of work all at one time or trying to jump right back into the high-stress environments you were living in before. Overconfidence can also mean trying to go to bars or spend time within environments where people are using substances. These risks are very high, especially at first. Avoiding these types of situations is often essential.

• Ineffective or not enough care

Perhaps one of the most impactful reasons people suffer from relapse is because they simply did not get enough of the treatment they need. You may need to invest in a higher quality or a different type of treatment process. It’s not uncommon to need more than one stay in a treatment center.

The key here is to know you have options. You can choose a new treatment center or work with your therapist to improve the type of care you are getting. What’s most important is knowing that treatment isn’t always perfect the first time.

Seek Out Care from a Team That Offers Solutions

At The Ranch at Dove Tree, we provide our clients with individualized support to meet their needs in recovery. We encourage you to reach out to us right now to learn more about how we can guide you to well-being. Find hope and purpose at our Texas drug addiction rehab now.