The New Year is a time of new beginnings and fresh starts. Your journey after treatment consists of working from the ground up to rebuild your new life and your new you. The process of rebuilding your life after addiction is never easy because there is so much to do. Breaking down how you build your foundation brick by brick will help the process go smoother. Here is your starting point.
Making Your Bed Every Day
The initial advice for those learning how to be sober is to take it a day at a time. Getting out of bed is a feat of its own, especially if you’re still raw from treatment. Setting goals can be a challenge when even the little things feel difficult to manage, but many health care professionals recommend starting small. While it might feel insignificant, starting your journey of rebuilding your life begins by making your bed. This simple task can become a daily commitment, allowing you to practice mindfulness and invest in self-care. Once you feel ready to take on more, you can add tasks and eventually develop a daily routine.
Setting a Productive Daily Routine
Making your bed is just a starting point. Developing a daily routine will help you get started every morning, keep you busy throughout your day, and leave you ready to take on tomorrow. Your routine should consist of daily self-care activities, like exercise and meal prep, as well as time for appointments and work. Maintaining a consistent pattern can make sure you are still giving yourself time to accomplish your goals while ensuring there isn’t room for boredom.
Prioritizing Self Care
Your daily routine should reflect your self-care goals, including personal hygiene, exercise, and plenty of sleep. During this time, keeping up with your personal care is essential because of how interconnected your mental health is with your physical health. You might have neglected your needs in the past, but now you can put them first. This includes making time to take care of yourself while setting goals that will improve your overall well-being.
Making Time for Those Appointments
In early recovery, your calendar will be filled with plenty of meetings and appointments. You’ll need to make time for therapy appointments, 12-Step meetings, family therapy, and even appointments with financial advisors and or lawyers. It can feel overwhelming to remember all of these obligations, but as long as you write them down and attend them, you’ll get used to your busy life without worrying about forgetting these important events.
Fixing Your Finances
Many in recovery might have found themselves in financial debt because of their addiction. If your finances have become a significant issue, they should be addressed right away. Early recovery is a time to tackle your financial woes before they compound into something more severe and add to the stress. Speak with a financial advisor about the next steps to fixing credit, eliminating debt, and paying legal fees. Work with a counselor on finding reliable income.
Repairing Relationships
Addiction is nicknamed the “family disease” because of its effect on interpersonal relationships. While you were experiencing the worst of your addiction, you might have at the very least caused strain on meaningful relationships or at the very most destroyed some relationships beyond repair. Some connections might still be salvageable though. During this time, it’s essential to take the time and address what’s broken between your most important relationships.
This is where the eighth step comes in: “Make a list of all the persons we’ve harmed and become willing to make amends to them all.” It might be a long list, or, throughout your recovery, the list might grow once you become more aware of the damage you may have caused. During this time, take stock of where you can hold yourself accountable, apologize, and then work to do better in these relationships. It might take time for others to forgive and trust you again, but it’s a step in the right direction.
Building Back Up to Better
The goal of early recovery is to rebuild a once broken life because of addiction. It takes time, and it isn’t easy, but there is a reason why you are here. You see potential in a new life filled with love and meaning, one that’s better than the life you are currently leading. You can rebuild your life from the ground up if you are willing to put forth the effort. You deserve a second chance, and that second chance can start this year.
The New Year could mean the start of a blank slate for you. We look at January as a time for new beginnings, and that can start for you after you’ve finished treatment and begin your life as a sober individual. Turning your life around won’t be easy, but once you take the time to address each issue individually, you’ll find yourself becoming a whole new person. The power is within you to take control of the direction of your life. There is no better time than now to make the changes you need to make in this new chapter of your life. You deserve a fresh start. If your New Year’s resolution is to stay sober, then dedicate all of your time and energy to building a life you are proud of. Jaywalker Lodge could be that place for you to rebuild after addiction. Call (866) 529-9255 today for more information on our programs.
As Chief Executive Officer Bill provides leadership and manage all day-to-day operations of Jaywalker Lodge, an extended care residential addiction treatment program for adult men.
