Considering that addiction is a long-term battle, you must actively work towards recovery even after detox and rehab. If you want to learn to live without Ativan, you’ll also have to live without using any addictive substance afterward. Establishing a lifestyle devoid of triggers will take some time to support your continuous sobriety.
Connecting with peers during recovery helps you feel less alone and isolated while giving you continuous insight into maintaining healthy coping mechanisms and staying sober. Having places to go, regular meetings and people to call is integral to recovery aftercare. This helps you feel purposeful and gives you a support system, even though you’ll still need to restructure your social circle.
After completing Ativan rehab, you should have a recovery plan as you transition to life after treatment. Like all elements of recovery, your treatment plan following detox should be specifically designed to address your needs. Rehab aftercare includes:
- Aftercare alums or support groups that meet after finishing treatment
- Outpatient options if you’re transitioning from an intensive outpatient program or a partial hospitalization program
- Effective therapies employed during drug rehab
- Local support groups and group meetings
- Referrals for regular meetings with case managers or local therapists
Rehab Aftercare
Aftercare services give you long-term support after completing Ativan rehab as you adjust to a newly sober lifestyle. The longer you engage in addiction recovery services, the better the likelihood of extending your recovery. Since it is a very addictive drug, recovering users have a high relapse rate. There are various factors contributing to relapse for individuals who have been using the drug heavily or for a long time, which include:
- The tendency to abuse another substance when trying to abstain from the drug.
- A psychological dependence on the drug to deal with the discomfort and stress of daily life
- Neurological modifications causing pain and cravings for several months, also known as protracted withdrawal
An Ativan use disorder can develop due to hidden issues with mental illness or anxiety, which can become very hard to manage after treatment. Relapse prevention and aftercare will give you the tools and support required to overcome the discomfort caused by anxiety.
Benefits of Relapse Prevention
Studies show it is easier to become abstinent from the medication than it is to sustain Ativan abstinence. This is especially true for people who complete rehab programs without developing an aftercare plan for continuing care. Approximately 70-80% of some individuals can quit Benzos like Ativan successfully via a well-handled program for withdrawal management. However, relapse is still one of the most likely results of drug rehab, with relapse rates of up to 60 percent.
Ideally, aftercare services must transition from rehab to an extended recovery period because addiction makes the person psychologically dependent on the drug. Thus, returning home from rehab is usually a critical time for recovering users. For most people, Ativan was a primary coping mechanism for dealing with the stress of daily life. Relapse prevention services offer extended support as the individual makes alterations for a newly abstinent life. The longer you engage in Ativan rehab services, the better the chances of sustained recovery.
Aftercare is a critical element of a comprehensive management plan for people with Ativan use problems. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) combined with relaxation training and gradual tapering off the drug effectively reduces drug use even after the initial weeks of treatment.
As a chronic relapsing condition, it is best to treat addiction with several approaches while adapting them during the various stages of recovery. Employing different services after rehab is a sure way to ensure sustained recovery with long-term goals such as the following:
- Mitigating the length and severity of relapse once it occurs
- Prolonging the duration between relapses
- Preventing the individual’s return to drug use or other addictive substances
Options for Continuing Care
Continuing care is defined as the phases of Ativan treatment over a prolonged period to meet the changing needs during and beyond early recovery.
Group Therapy / Counseling Interventions
There are different components of benzo addiction that you can effectively address in counseling. This includes behaviors, beliefs, feelings, and thoughts that have contributed to Ativan use and can result in relapse. Specific therapies have been proven highly efficient in helping to manage these aspects to increase the recovering individual’s association with self-help meetings within the community.
Other influential and well-documented therapeutic approaches include CBT-related relapse prevention. This entails meditation/mindfulness techniques and motivational interviewing. Using these methods, you can choose healthier behaviors, boost self-awareness, reduce stress, manage emotions, and replace self-sabotaging thoughts. Cognitive behavioral therapy has been shown to improve the efficiency of widely recommended medical interventions for drug rehab treatment.
12-Step Facilitation Treatment
This aftercare approach employs the foundations of 12-step programs such as Narcotics Anonymous, Pills Anonymous, and Alcoholics Anonymous. Engaging in 12-step groups has been shown to promote long-term abstinence while being valuable to other relapse prevention interventions. Spiritual problems are closely tied to recovery and addiction in such programs. 12-step programs have been determined as a vital addition to the medical management of substance addiction.
Follow-up Medical Support and Care
Toxicity caused by Ativan addiction can happen over an extended period causing a variety of complications such as:
- Compromised immunity
- Liver problems
- Gastrointestinal conditions
- Panic attacks
- Increased anxiety
- A decline in one’s memory and cognitive abilities
Medical care may also be required for unaddressed conditions experienced during the addiction. This may include PTSD, bipolar disorder, depression, panic disorders, and anxiety disorders, which typically co-occur and can be overshadowed by Ativan use disorder. Some individuals will try self-medicating these conditions using Ativan but failing to resolve them after rehab increases the risk of relapse.
It can take some time for the side effects and symptoms of Ativan addiction to subside. Support is essential for the person to feel capable of dealing with this part of recovery. This is why the involvement of significant others, family members, and loved ones is recommended as an element of aftercare following Ativan rehab.