Four Tips for you to Maintain Abstinence

Abstinence refers to restraining or refraining from habits, temptations, addictions, and activities that may have unwanted or negative consequences. People maintain abstinence for several reasons, such as health, family, career, social dealings, economic, and religion.

For instance, individuals maintain abstinence from smoking or alcohol when several healthcare complications emerge and threaten their long-term survival. Similarly, preventing unsafe intimacy is another reason to minimize the likelihood of sexually transmitted diseases.

Even though abstinence requires audacious efforts, preventing relapse may be impossible. It is because maintaining abstinence successfully depends upon several factors. As such, environmental, socioeconomic, and even personal factors act as triggers and break abstinence at any time. It is why people give up on their self-restraint even after years of effort.

Nonetheless, abstinence is the most crucial phase of rehabilitation. In essence, resisting temptations is a non-ending process that requires perseverance. During this period, addicts are mainly responsible and accountable for their actions and outcomes.

The following sections unravel a few of the tips to maintain abstinence throughout your journey to sustained recovery.

• Participate in post-therapy sessions

One of the most assuring aspects of maintaining abstinence is keeping in touch with professional counselors and support groups. You can share your progress, challenges, and changes in perceptions regarding abstinence and get remedial assistance right away.

If you are wavering to irresistible urges, it is better to seek active assistance before you give in.

Mostly, rehabilitation programs have post-recovery arrangements to cater to such kinds of after-effects. If you were also part of such a program, it is easier to get back to them since the professionals are adept at handling several cases. In addition, they can also assist in reaffirming your resolution.

On the other hand, you can explore several relevant addiction resources through virtual platforms and utilize their services during post-recovery phases. Post therapy is crucial to managing after effects, recurring urges, and observing abstinence.

Usually, post-therapy provides detoxification sessions to remove enduring chemicals from the fatty tissues of your body even after the active rehabilitation process. In addition, it is always helpful to meet with people who are walking on the same journey as you.

You can learn from their practices and coping strategies.

• Monitor activities and their outcomes

Upholding abstinence requires substantial and continuous control over your actions and observation of related outcomes. Most importantly, your willingness is the most crucial and decisive factor.

No matter how minor, continuous negligence can build up solid foundations for resuming addiction. Eventually, it is harder to maintain self-restraint.

Specifically, maintaining abstinence and getting back to your addiction becomes challenging when you disregard and overlook small mistakes. For instance, your actions may be slowly drifting you towards resumption. As a result, you are more prone to tempting triggers.

In addition, monitor behavioral, psychological, and emotional tenancies throughout the rehabilitation process. For instance, withdrawing from a physical workout may not reveal adverse outcomes right away.

Physical inactivity gradually reduces your body’s endurance and increases stress, anxiety, and agitation. Similarly, depriving your body of required rest and nutrients impairs your internal balance and paves conditions for mounting desires.

In the end, you have physical and psychological grounds to give in to urges and resume dependency. Thus monitor changes in your attitude towards abstinence and relapses. Similarly, recognize gradual changes and implement specific copping practices to minimize and ignore mounting desires.

• Understand physical and psychic complications

Maintaining abstinence is easier if you understand the physical and psychological consequences of giving in, relapse, and overdoses. You must assure yourself that a relapse merely won’t just give you imagined pleasure or comfort during the process of abstinence.

Resuming a previous level of addiction can also be instantly fatal for your health. It is because your body will react differently and become overdosed to the previously observed level of dosages.

For instance, consuming opioids to deal with pain or discomfort right after rehabilitation has several overdose complications. Its overdose can impair the nervous system and complicate breathing.

In severe cases, an addict can fall into unconsciousness immediately. According to the World Health Organization, opioid overdose contributes to approximately 30% of global deaths each year.

In many cases, abstinence may resume addicts’ sensitivity to previous pain, apprehensions, and other problems. However, complications of relapse are higher than upholding abstinence. Thus if you know that your actions will bear negative consequences for your well-being, it is easier to sustain abstinence.

Most importantly, try to resolve your problems using appropriate means rather than ignoring and delaying them. Similarly, maintain your psychological and physical health to deal with urges and after effects healthily.

• Assume constructive and health-promoting activities

It is crucial to monitor your actions to prevent drug addiction or other health-harming dependencies. Catering to surfacing temptations, post-therapy effects, physical and psychological distresses may ultimately lead you to relapse if they remain unmanaged. Thus seek medical assistance for potential health problems rather than abusing drugs.

On the other hand, involving in constructive and health-benefiting activities can reduce the likelihood of relapse significantly. For instance, the post-rehabilitation period is crucial to refocus on your career and professional development. You can find a new job and move on from the old routine. You can also resume childhood hobbies to keep yourself occupied. For instance, painting, sketching, and video games can be healthy time pass activities.

Similarly, taking part in social and welfare-related activities can convey self-satisfying, accomplishing, and elevating feelings. Participating in local theatrical, stage, and recreational programs or events are also effective sources of healthy activities and enjoyment.

Who knows, these activities may also increase your chances of becoming a part of a community betterment program.

Nonetheless, learn to direct yourself to a new start during the post-rehabilitation period. In the end, maintaining abstinence is just a matter of making sound choices, giving in to positivity, and cherishing positive outcomes.

Conclusion

Maintaining abstinence is usually demanding as it requires lifelong persistence and perseverance. Most importantly, several external factors and triggers, such as work, society, and even family, contribute to giving in.

Post recovery physical and mental changes also emerge as potential temptations and weaken restraining efforts. Thus knowing the hurdles of this journey and equipping yourself accordingly is the only effective measure to uphold abstinence.