The hard part of recovery begins after you leave the detox and in-house facilities and start outpatient treatment NJ residents go through to get free of drugs and alcohol. While in the facilities you have many safeguards and reinforcements to stay clean. Your movements are restricted, you are locked away from others who can tempt you with drugs or alcohol, and you live in a sterilized world where you only focus on your recovery during the day. All these things disappear once you step out the door and head back into the community. Here are three things you can do to make sure your outpatient treatment NJ resident’s use is successful and you can successfully continue  with your new life.

Living Arrangements

There are many sober-living homes in communities throughout New Jersey. Many of these homes are well run with supportive people living in them who are going through the same things as you. You should try to find a sober home to live in instead of going home and getting back around your old friends and acquaintances who might try to pressure you to use again. Even just being back in a familiar surrounding where you used to use drugs and alcohol can be a serious trigger that can cause you to start using again.

You should talk to the counselors at your treatment facility to determine which sober-living home you should apply to live in. Not all sober-living homes are the same and some are filled with people who have gone back to using. You want to avoid these homes.

Live Near Outpatient Facility

You should live within walking distant of the outpatient facility you are going to go to for meetings and counseling. A problem many recovery addicts have is getting to a facility if it is far away and they start missing meetings and counseling sessions. Once an addict stops going for treatment for any reason, their resolve to stay clean can weaken and they can fall back into old bad habits. You want to make sure there are as few obstacles to getting to the facility so this doesn’t happen to you.

Build New Support Network

One of the hardest parts of not using is not being around the friends that you used drugs and alcohol with anymore. Those friends who still use will need to be replaced with friends who don’t use. You need to build a new support network that will move you away from drugs. You can start building the new relationships you need at the treatment programs. You should find people who have some time in their sobriety (at least a year or more) and have been successful at changing their life. Some programs, like AA, will want you to get a sponsor you can call whenever you feel like using again and for teaching you the skills and outlook you need for your new life.

Getting clean is a long road that can be very hard at times. The best way to get through those hard times is to embrace your new life and make sure you stay around others who want what you want.