Life skills training is an important part addiction treatment. Life skills include things such as how to find a place to live, how to pay the bills, how to make a budget, how to find a job, how to keep a job, how to find a car, and so on. These might sound like basic things, but surprisingly few people, whether recovering from addiction or not, have a firm grasp of the basics. There are several reasons most quality treatment programs include life skills training.
Reduce stress
Stress is one of the biggest triggers for relapse. People feel anxious and overwhelmed and they turn to an old, unhealthy coping mechanism. One of the biggest causes of stress is money. It’s easy for even the most conscientious people to occasionally get overextended financially. If you want to keep your stress within tolerable levels, it’s essential to have some basic familiarity with things like getting a steady income, paying your bills on time, making a budget, and making sure your expenses don’t exceed your income. Just having all your expenses down on paper instead of just floating around in space will make you less anxious. However, no one is born knowing how to do these things; everyone has to learn it.
Stay healthy
Creating a healthier lifestyle is another important part of recovery. However, healthy living isn’t all vegetables and exercise. You have to do the shopping and learn to cook a few things. You have to keep a regular schedule so you can get enough sleep and avoid stressing yourself out with too many commitments. Reducing financial stress helps you stay healthy too by reducing your anxiety.
Build a foundation
Staying sober requires having the basics under control. You need a safe place to live, enough to eat, clothes to wear, and some way to get around. Without those, you’re already in a precarious position. Once those are taken care of, you want to start building your personal capital by learning new skills, gaining new experience, and making new friends. The more of these kinds of assets you have, the better your recovery will be.
Strengthen relationships
Having good relationships is one of the most important parts of recovery, and it’s also sometimes the hardest. For many people, strengthening their interpersonal skills will be the most important thing they learn in treatment. This is especially true for anyone who suffers from social anxiety disorder or borderline personality disorder. Practicing ways of connecting to positive people and distancing yourself from negative people is part of cognitive behavioral therapy and dialectical behavioral therapy, both of which are commonly used to treat addiction.
If you’re struggling with substance use, Recovery Ways can help. We offer intensive outpatient treatment as well as residential treatment. Recovery Ways is a premier drug and alcohol addiction treatment facility located in Salt Lake City, Utah. Our mission is to provide the most cost-effective, accessible substance abuse treatment to as many people as possible. Request information online or call us today at 1-888-986-7848.
