Recovery After Rehabilitation: The Importance of Continuing Care

Relapse is a Fact of Life

Recovering from an addiction or substance misuse problem doesn’t end when your rehabilitation program ends. Addiction is a serious medical condition — it requires continuing care and an ongoing treatment plan to ensure that you can maintain a healthy lifestyle for years to come.

As much as we wish it weren’t true, relapse at some point is likely — it’s just the nature of a chronic illness like an addiction. In fact, relapse rates for addiction are similar to those of other chronic illnesses, like asthma, hypertension, and diabetes.

As much as we wish it weren’t true, relapse at some point is likely — it’s just the nature of a chronic illness like an addiction. In fact, relapse rates for addiction are similar to those of other chronic illnesses, like asthma, hypertension, and diabetes.

Treating a chronic medical condition is more than just medication — it involves changing behaviors, and that’s hard to do. It’s important to note, though, that relapse doesn’t mean the original course of treatment has failed. It just means that there’s still more work to do — new treatments, adjusted techniques, or other methods.

That’s where continuing care comes in. Roughly half of the people who struggle with addiction will relapse during recovery, so continuing care is crucial to help you get through your recovery and life a healthier life.

The Difference Between Rehabilitation and Continuing Care

When you undergo full- or part-time treatment for drug and alcohol addiction, you’re given the tools and knowledge to get clean and sober and stay that way. The problem is, those tools and knowledge are much easier to use when you’re in a controlled environment.

When you finish the program and get back to your normal life, your surroundings change. Not only are you lacking the same regular treatment and one-on-one time that you had during your rehabilitation program, but your surroundings have changed.

In many cases, you’re once again surrounded by triggers. Maybe it’s the liquor store where you used to buy alcohol or a park where you used to buy drugs. Maybe it’s being around your old friends, who still use recreational drugs or drink. Maybe it’s your own house and the memories it holds.

This change in circumstances is exactly why you should seek out continuing care, not just through the support of family and friends, but through professional help. This will include attending regular support meetings, continued counseling (including family and marriage counseling, if necessary), and learning to apply the tools you gained in your rehab program to your new life.

Types Of Continuing Care

After you complete an inpatient or residential rehabilitation program, you’ll usually transition to either an outpatient treatment program or a sober living house, sometimes called a “halfway house.”

An outpatient treatment program takes place in an office or clinic and involves educational sessions and group therapeutic meetings. You can attend these meetings as often as you need to, for as long as you need to, slowly attending fewer and fewer meetings as you progress.

A sober living house offers a little more structure, ensuring that recovering addiction patients can maintain a drug- and alcohol-free environment while they get back on their feet. These programs are sometimes court-mandated.

Building A New Life

Continuing care isn’t just about preventing relapse — it’s about helping you build a new life. As anyone who’s struggled with addiction can attest, your social life tends to revolve around the substances you misused and the people who used them with you. Once you go through a rehabilitation program, it’s hard to separate your social life from your substance problem.

Continuing care can help you meet new people and find new activities that don’t involve substance misuse, like exercise, artistic expression, volunteering, and taking classes. There’s no shame in needing help to get back on your feet, and continuing care might be just the help you need.