Want to Get Sober in 2025? Here’s How to Live Your Best Life Post-Rehab

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Drugs and alcohol can take a massive toll on someone’s life, and if you’ve found yourself in addiction’s grip, you’ll understand precisely what we mean. From health issues to relationship breakdowns, not to mention money problems, getting hooked on substances will cause a variety of issues not just for you, but for the people around you as well.  

That’s where rehab can help. Once you know you’ve got a problem (and it does need you to realize that you’re addicted and want to do something about it; everyone will come to the conclusion that they need help in their own time), you can find a great rehab center to get you through it and come out on the other side, free of drink and drugs, and ready to start your new life. 

 Of course, that’s actually only the start, and it’s important to know that there’s a lot of hard work to do once you’ve left rehab as well. In fact, living a good life after rehab, isn’t always easy, and it can take some time to establish positive habits in your new life. With that in mind, let’s take a look at how to live a good life after rehab so you can put these ideas into practice.  

Go To Rehab


Rehab, for the most part, means that you need to go to a clinic or center and stay there so that you can be completely focused on kicking your addictive habit and getting better. You’ll not only be weaned off whatever substance it is you’re addicted to, but you’ll also be given medication if appropriate, and be given a wide range of different coping techniques to help you come out on the other side healthier and happier. When you leave rehab, you have to navigate your life once more, but with better coping skills and resources. 

That’s where the problem can lie for some people because although they did well within the supportive environment of the rehab center, once they’re on their own, they fall back into old habits. Or, at the very least, life will be difficult because there can be a big struggle to stay clean and sober.  

Therefore, making sure you find a positive and supportive drug and alcohol treatment center you can visit as a day patient can be crucial. You can make regular appointments to attend therapy sessions, either as an individual or in a group, and you’ll know there’s always someone you can talk to who understands how hard it is to deal with life on life’s terms after rehab.  

If you’re going to do this, and it’s highly recommended that you do, you need to treat your outpatient appointments as non-negotiable — it’s your commitment to your recovery journey, so don’t let anything stop you from attending your appointments. You’ll also need to take an active role in your treatment by getting involved in discussions, asking questions, and talking about any difficulties or concerns you might have. By opening up, you’ll have people around you who can help. Plus, you need to follow the recommendations you’re given and use the strategies and techniques you’re taught, whether it’s attending therapy sessions, going to group counseling, or taking medication. If you can do all this, your outpatient rehab appointments are really going to help you; they’re the ideal bridge between your old and new lives.  

Regularly attending 12-step or similar meetings also helps. Establishing a home group and accountability has helped many people not feel so alone and stay on track in recovery.

Make Lifestyle Changes 

When it comes to being sober, there are sure to be some lifestyle changes you’ll need to make to ensure it happens — or at least make the choices you need to make in life from now on much easier. Because that’s the thing about sobriety; it’s not just about no longer indulging in your chosen substances (or trying any new ones), it’s about creating a whole new lifestyle for yourself that helps you do that and keeps you on the right path. And that’s not always an easy thing to do. You will need to be committed, resilient, and you’ll always have to be thinking about what else you can do, and checking that your choices are good ones.  

One great way to do that, as well as going to your outpatient appointments, is to find support. If you have friends, family members, or people in an online forum or in person community there to help you, guide you, and generally just be there for you, making these choices and changes won’t be as hard. That’s not to say it will suddenly become easy, of course, but it won’t be as much of a challenge as you might have thought; there will always be someone there to help you. In fact, you should consider having a sponsor who’s specifically there to help you, often because they’ve been through the same challenges. You do not have to do this alone. 

Another lifestyle change to consider is to take your old habits and replace them with positive new ones, like engaging in healthy activities. You can replace your old habits — whether that was taking drugs or drinking in the first place, as well as anything that was linked to it, like visiting certain places or people — and do something better, like exercise, taking up a hobby, volunteering, going back to school, or getting a new job, for example.  

One of the lifestyle changes that can help in so many ways is to practice mindfulness. Essentially, mindfulness means you’re not thinking about the past or worrying about the future — you’re living in the moment, staying in the present as much as you can. That will help you to stop thinking about the habits you had in the past, and it will also mean you don’t have to think about how difficult things might be in the future. It’s not as hard as it might sound, although it will take practice if you really want to make it work for you. Some of the best things to do include yoga, meditation, and deep breathing exercises. The lifestyle changes we mentioned above, like exercise and hobbies, will help as well. If your mind is occupied and you’re only thinking about the task you’re doing, you’re being mindful.  

Finally, you’ll need to set boundaries in your new life. For most people, there will be certain triggers and situations that made them want to go back to taking drugs or drinking. That’s clearly going to be a difficult and dangerous situation to be in and you could easily jeopardize your sobriety if you find yourself in these situations. That’s why you need to put boundaries in place to protect yourself. Stay away from those triggers that may cause you to relapse, or at least make your current life harder. If you need help, get in touch with your sponsor or attend a therapy session as soon as you can. It is crucial that you put as much distance between you and your past life as possible. In the recovery community, we say that you don’t take a diseased plant out of its soil, get it healthy, and put it back into the diseased soil.

Rebuild Relationships 

One of the big issues with addiction is that it can strain relationships and erode trust. It might even cause relationship breakdowns altogether. Once you’re back on the right path and you’re living your new, substance-free life, you’ll need to work on rebuilding these relationships if possible. Of course, that might not always be easy, and it’s going to require patience, honesty, and a real effort on your part to make it happen, but it’s sure to be worth it.  

The first thing you need to do is apologize. It’s true that addiction is a disease, but that’s not what you’re apologizing you; you’re apologizing for the things you did and said while you were addicted, and that’s different. If you can take responsibility for the pain and hurt you caused, it’s going to make rebuilding your relationships with those people a lot easier.  

Open communication is important. You can share your thoughts, feelings, and worries with your loved ones while also actively listening to what they’ve got to say, which is going to make rebuilding your relationships easier. It might still take some time, because once trust is broken it can be a struggle to build it back up again, but do not give up. It’s something you can have as a major goal. Once you’ve achieved it, just imagine how relieved you’re going to feel.  

The key thing to remember is that rebuilding relationships takes time, and the longer your addiction was a problem, the longer it will take to fix things. You’ll need to be patient with yourself and your loved ones. Don’t expect them to drop everything to reconcile with you; they’re going to need to see you’ve changed first, so make sure you can show them you have. Live you amends to those you care about by striving to become your best version every day.

This article originally appeared on Marialeonardolsen.com and was syndicated by MediaFeed.org

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Think You’re Too Old to Stop Smoking? Here Are My Tips for Stopping in 2025

Think You’re Too Old to Stop Smoking? Here Are My Tips for Stopping in 2025

Among the lifestyle choices that older adults can benefit from is quitting smoking. But when trying to break this habit and build better ones, it’s easy to get discouraged by the age-old adage that old dogs can’t learn new tricks. This, however, is not true.

Some may even think that there’s no use in quitting since it’s too late and the damage has already been done. However, HHS.gov notes that smoking cessation can increase life expectancy by up to ten years. And as this article will explain to you, no matter how old you are or how challenging the journey is, kicking the habit of smoking paves the way for a longer and healthier life.

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Like other unhealthy habits, quitting smoking at an older age cannot undo the harm that has accumulated over the years. But this doesn’t mean that it’s ultimately meaningless to break the habit. Regardless of age, history, and smoking intensity, quitting smoking prevents your health from worsening, allowing you to make the most out of your later years.

The dramatic improvements in your health also become more evident when quantified. According to the federal government’s Center for Disease Control, the risk of developing lung cancer drops by half within 10 to 15 years after quitting. Meanwhile, the risk of developing coronary heart disease falls sharply within one to two years after cessation, then declines slowly over time. Think about the healthy life years you gain just from minimizing these risks, considering lung cancer and heart disease are by far the leading causes of premature deaths among men and women in the US.

Recent research adds that smoking cessation is beneficial not only for your heart and lungs, but also for your brain. In light of middle-aged smokers reporting a higher likelihood of memory loss than nonsmokers, a 2022 study published in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease found that smoking cessation from 45 to 59 years old is linked to better cognitive outcomes. Beyond living longer, then, you also get to improve the overall quality of life as you grow older by preserving your memory and thinking skills.

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It’s not just smokers, but also health providers who can be biased against midlife smoking cessation. Research from Yong, et al. published in the journal Addictive Behaviors found that older smokers are less likely to get prescribed quit medications. Nevertheless, there are nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) products that can be bought over the counter and can help with managing cravings and withdrawals. Nicotine is a drug that can cause symptoms when no longer used, until it is out of your system.

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Among your NRT options are nicotine pouches and patches. Pouches directly supply low doses of nicotine through oral absorption. You simply place one between your gum and upper lip. These pouches are widely available in stores and online, with online stores providing a wider range of options. The nicotine pouches available on Prilla.com are by ZYN, On!, Rogue and Velo, and come in a variety of flavors including mint, citrus and coffee. Not only are smokeless pouches easy and convenient to use, their tobacco-free properties also ensure that you do not put your health at risk.

Combining NRTs can also increase quit-success rates by up to 25% compared to using them alone, based on a Cochrane systematic review by Lindson, et al., on combination therapy for fast-acting products like gums and pouches and slower-release transdermal patches.

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It’s also highly recommended for smokers of any age to develop a quit plan, as a way to prepare for and track their cessation journeys. Aside from picking a quit date and identifying your motivations for quitting.

When documenting the process, it’s important to not just list your milestones, but also to reflect on the challenges you’ve overcome while quitting. This allows you to be proud of how far you’ve come while still reminding you that there’s a lot more you can still do for the sake of your health — as well as for the people around you. Remember age is just a number. 

This article originally appeared on Marialeonardolsen.com and was syndicated by MediaFeed.org

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Graying with Grace

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