What Happens After Residential Treatment? The Importance of a Strong Support System

Residential care for a substance use disorder or co-occurring disorders is an important step in achieving recovery. But addiction and most mental illnesses are chronic. This means they can recur in damaging ways. Treatment can be effective, but it is never truly done. There is no cure for mental illness or addiction. Because these are lifelong issues, you can expect to face some typical challenges after leaving treatment:

• Relapse triggers, including old friends or places you once used drugs or drank
• Making new, sober social connections
• Difficult emotions, like anger, depression, or irritability
• Boredom, having time to fill that you once spent using
• Finding a purpose, a new meaning
• Stigma, shame, embarrassment and facing people
• Unrealistic expectations of life in recovery
• Facing the fear of leaving a safe recovery space

There are several important ways to face these challenges and to have the best chance of a successful post-treatment recovery. Continuing with therapy on an outpatient basis, for instance, will help. So too will making healthy lifestyle choices like exercising regularly and eating well. But these steps may not be enough. What you need more than anything is a strong social support system.

First, you need to have a safe and supportive place to live. If possible, avoid living alone. Go home to supportive family if you have one or, if not, find friends willing to room with you. The warmth, stability, and safety of a supportive home will help you make positive choices and sets you up for success in avoiding relapse.

The supportive home is a basis and foundation for ongoing recovery. Social support at home and among friends also helps you in recovery by giving you self-confidence and reasons to avoid relapse. Studies have found that social support builds self-efficacy, the belief that you can be successful in recovery, which actively supports sobriety and healthy choices.

Even the feeling that you have people supporting you is positive. Studies show that perceived support reduces substance use. If you think people around you support your sobriety, you’ll be less likely to use. Being socially excluded has been shown to increase the risk of relapse.

Supportive friends and family can help you in more practical ways, too. Your partner, for instance, may change up the home environment before you come back from treatment, removing any alcohol or drugs and providing healthy food and drink options. Family members may cook for you or help with child care so you can go to 12-step meetings or therapy. These small efforts make a big difference in recovery after treatment.

Start with a positive and supportive home environment for the best transition from recovery. A good home life is essential, but to get the most out of social support for successful recovery, you need to take active steps to build and maintain a network.

Although it may not be easy to do so, actively asking for help and reaching out to people will help grow your social system. Contact old friends, for example. You may feel as if you have alienated them or done too much damage to rekindle a friendship, but you might be surprised. If you’re nervous about doing this, start with family. Reach out to a sibling or cousin you haven’t seen in a while and make plans to spend time together.

Avoid anyone who may trigger a relapse. This may be difficult because you are afraid of hurting feelings, but you have to put your recovery first. An effective social support system does not include anyone and everyone, only those people who support you in positive ways.

Resist the urge to isolate yourself or neglect relationships. It is tempting when facing negative emotions and bad moods to stay at home, to shut yourself in your room, and to put no effort into your relationships. Spend time with people, go outside, go into the community, and actively work on building positive relationships with the people who care the most. In some cases, like with family or a partner, this may mean involving them in therapy.