The planning and preparation to go to rehab can be all-encompassing. When you get there, you immediately become busy working through your issues and attacking your addiction. Then it is time to go home. Your time in rehab has been preparing you for this day. While returning home can be a challenge, you also have the tools to get through it. There are many questions surrounding this exciting but sometimes nerve-wracking time. What first steps should you take when you return? What should you be careful of? How will people react toward you? First Steps to Take Post-Rehab Logistically, you will need to take care of two main things: 1. Where will you live? 2. Will you return to the same job or find a different one? Your living situation may depend on how you left things when you went to rehab. If you have a supportive family, you may have a home to come back to. If you recently broke up with a spouse or significant other, you may need to find a place to stay. You may or may not have stayed in touch with your workplace while at rehab if you are employed. Check in upon arriving home to make sure you are on the same page about your return date. If you do not have a job, and you are ready to find one, make a plan for your job hunt. How Will People React to Me? Returning from rehab brings new dynamics into play. Your relationships may be impacted. For instance, if you spent a lot of time with a crowd who hung out at bars pre-rehab, you may find that is not the group you want to hang with post-rehab. Not everyone will be happy for you. While you should be proud of your accomplishment, others may worry you have changed. They may feel threatened by your new sobriety if they themselves have a substance abuse problem. They may simply be uncertain how to interact with the “new” you. What Should You Be Careful Of? Coming home from rehab is a joyous occasion, but you will have to keep working to stay on the sober path. It may be hard. In rehab, the temptations of drugs and alcohol are completely removed. Out of rehab, you will be faced with temptation at some point. It is good to have a strategy ready for when this happens. Continue with your individualized aftercare plan. Even if you have made it through a week or two without a problem, do not think you are “over” your struggles. Above all, understand this is a rebuilding process. Relationships damaged by addiction cannot be repaired overnight. Be patient with yourself and those you love. Continue working to make things better. Get Help for Yourself Today At The Ranch PA, we can help you through rehab and in the important return home after treatment. Call today to get started. Photo via