Why Life Skills Training is Essential to Addiction Recovery
Life skills imply skills an individual would learn to assist them in navigating more effectively through life. It is evident that often addicts turn to drugs and alcohol as a way to hide from life. It is a safety net for them and easier than facing the real world and the responsibilities that come with it. While it is not clear if every patient’s lack of life skills occurred before the onset of their addictive behaviors, it is clear that as the addiction worsened the lack of life skills increased. If recovery addicts are not taught life-coping skills, it is only a matter of time before a stressful situation occurs and they will retreat back into the coping mechanism they have had, using drugs or alcohol. The following are various categories of life skills that we incorporate into the in-patient treatment plan for each patient in addiction treatment.
- Independent life skills
- Controlling emotions
- Coping with stress
- Social interactions
The first form of life skills the addict encounters while in addiction treatment begins when they are placed in charge of taking care of themselves for the first time. This includes such basic everyday skills such as doing their own laundry, taking care of their personal hygiene,maintaining a clean appearance, goal setting and nutrition skills such as shopping and cooking.
Many addicts and alcoholics have turned to drugs and alcohol as a means of dealing with most social interactions to overcome their anxiety or feel more “comfortable” in their own skin. These sorts of beliefs need to be re-arranged and the individual needs to understand how these ideas about themselves are more harmful than beneficial. During the course of addiction treatment our patients learn how to identify social connections that they can rely on for support and what social cues are triggers for relapse for them as individuals. Through this process the goal is to enable them to trust themselves more and to gain healthy relationships and confidence.
Our program is 100% holistic meaning we do not subscribe to the idea of medicated assisted treatment. However, considering around 80% of the patients have some form of a mental health diagnosis or co-occurring disorder there are certain psychotropic medications prescribed by the medical staff. Many addicts struggle with having the ability to stay accountable for taking their medications on time and accurately. Learning how to manage medication in a safe and responsible way is essential for a healthy and productive life style. We provide the right environment for the patient to learn these skills while in addiction treatment.