Even though returning to work after rehab can feel scary, try to focus on the extraordinary achievement you’ve made instead of homing in on worries. Recovery is a time of intense change, and it’s not an overnight process. Be patient with yourself, take it slowly and ease yourself back into a job. Working hard is one of the best ways to build self-esteem and distract yourself from unhelpful thoughts and feelings that might lead to drug or alcohol abuse.
Returning to Work After Rehab
Workplace stressors can be challenging — but it’s these exact types of obstacles that the therapy you’ve done helps you to cope with. As with any life-changing moment, anticipation is usually more stressful than the act itself. Once you’re back to work, you’ll be smashing goals, interacting with colleagues and showing the world how strong you are to have overcome addiction.
The harder you try, the better results you’ll get. So as you build up your work ethic, showing your friends, family and employer how hard you’re trying, your efforts will pay off. Setting achievable goals and hitting them is probably the most effective way of building confidence. When you see how much you can do when you’re in full control of your substance use disorder, you’ll never want to go back to old habits.
Find the Balance Between Hard Work and Self-Care
Even though working toward your future goals is one of the best ways to prevent relapse, you need to focus on looking after yourself, too. It’s equally as important that you push yourself and that you give yourself a break. Instead of starting off by trying to achieve a difficult goal in a challenging workplace, start with a job you find easy. Stick with that for a while to prove to yourself that you can maintain it.
Once you’ve mastered being back at work, look for your next challenge. Eventually, you might start your own YouTube channel, create a podcast, run a business or do anything you set your mind to. Just make sure you don’t try to run before you can walk, and take baby steps towards your big dreams.
5 Tips to Help You Get Back to Work After Rehab
If you’re thinking about going back to work after time in outpatient or residential rehab, well done! Here are our top five tips to help you navigate this time of change.
1. Don’t Rush
We can’t stress enough how crucial it is for you to not place too much pressure on yourself too soon. You might be a highly qualified doctor or lawyer, or you might be a highly skilled worker like a tradesman or artist. Whatever you do, ease your way back up to the top of your game. If you place unrealistic expectations on yourself too soon, you might set yourself up to fail.
Start off by working part time or on a voluntary basis to give yourself time and space to adjust. When you feel yourself craving more responsibility and a bigger challenge, gradually step up. It’s too easy to fool yourself that everything is fine, jumping headfirst into a difficult role and quickly burning out. There’s no shame in taking your time so you can manage your health and give yourself the best chance of long-term recovery.
2. Actively Take Care of Your Physical and Mental Health
There’s a direct correlation between how much stress you’re able to deal with and your physical and mental health. If you regularly push your body with exercise, wake up and go to sleep at the same time each day and eat a healthy, balanced diet with minimal sugar and junk food, you’ll find resisting temptation and maintaining control much easier.
The body is happy when you follow a daily routine and it knows what to expect. Plus, people underestimate the harm a bad diet and lack of movement can do to your overall well-being. Exercise doesn’t have to be boring — you can run, walk, cycle, dance, box, swim, hit the gym or do anything that involves moving your body.
3. Ask for Help From Loved Ones When You Need It
So many people who struggle with addiction to drugs and alcohol feel like a burden or as if they need to mask when they’re going through hardship. Often, all it takes to diffuse negative thoughts and feelings is to express them to someone else and get reassurance. If you’re open and honest about how you feel and what you’re going through, you can get the help you need when you need it.
People who are particularly anxious about returning to work after rehab might consider asking a loved one if they can start off by working with them. It’s usually less stressful and more comfortable to work with someone you know as opposed to going back into a roomful of strangers. However, in most cases, those strangers will soon become friends.
4. Make Sure You Unwind From Work
It’s crucial that you don’t take work home with you once the day is done. If you relive the workday when you get home or fret over what’s happened, your brain will soon burn out. You need to switch off entirely from work each day and dedicate your time and attention to something else.
Whether that’s a hobby, TV, YouTube, reading books, writing, listening to podcasts, exercising, visiting beauty spots, joining a club, going to meet-ups or gaming — find ways of spending your time that bring you joy.
5. Communicate With Your Employer
It’s not easy to speak about something as personal as your health, but it’s better to be open with your employer so they can help you if necessary. If you struggle with face-to-face communication, use email or the phone to express what’s going on with you. The better they understand where you’re at, the more sense your behavior will make.
Get Support With Going Back to Work After Rehab Today
At New Day Recovery, we’ve helped thousands of people return to work after rehab. For advice or to book an appointment, call us today at 330-953-3300.
