I Just Graduated Rehab…
Now What Do I Do…?

One of the most common dilemmas for addicts and their families is what to do after graduating from a rehabilitation program. While enrolled in a drug rehabilitation program the addict was kept in a sterile environment free from drugs and temptation in order to sort out their issues and find recovery. The family of the addict probably got their first good night of sleep the day they were admitted. As a person’s stay at a rehabilitation center comes to a close and the reality of having to face the world again sets in plans for what happens next start coming to fruition.

Returning Home

Most families are very concerned about the addict coming to live back at home. Addicts at some point end up back at home with their families after their addiction drop-kicked them in the face and they fail to be out in the world on their own. As par for the course the addict probably traumatized their family by lying, stealing, not coming home at night, using drugs in their room or having sketchy individuals in the house that makes the idea of coming home after rehab a less than desirable option. 

I am not a believer in the geographical cure in of itself. Simply relocating to a different city, town, state, country or planet will not cure an addiction. There’s the old adage of “wherever you go, there you are” meaning you can’t run away from your problems because you take yourself wherever you go. If want to be clean and sober person and, at the same time, have a completely unhandled addiction, if you think just by relocating you’ll be able to kick the habit you will prove yourself to be sorely mistaken. Sure, at first you will have a new environment where you have no bad experiences from using drugs and you won’t know who or where to get drugs from but eventually you end up in the wrong place at the wrong time or someone nods at you in the way you know they’ve got something you might want and, boom, you’re off and running again. 

Drug addicts are pretty resourceful and are able to find drugs in a place they’ve never been before and usually in record time. I used to joke that I could move to Antarctica and find the one penguin peddling dope. If you have an addiction and don’t seek professional treatment, simply changing your environment will only work for a very short period of time. Remember, drugs are an addict’s solution to a problem. If those problems aren’t handled, they’re not going to stop using.

I would never, ever, ever recommend an addict return to the same environment they last used in after completing a rehab program. There exists too many bad memories, bad friends and easy connections. All it takes is for a person to move back home, have a bad day and run into an old crony to bring the scaffolding down on top of their heads. Most families are aware of this possibility thus making the idea of the addict moving home very worrisome.

From this point families are left with basically two options; their loved one relocates somewhere, gets an apartment, a job and moves on with their life or they enter a halfway house or sober living environment. I personally am not a fan of halfway houses or SLE’s (sober living environments).

Are Halfway Houses A Good Option?

Halfway houses are a dime a dozen these days and seem to be a business venture of people not necessarily interested in helping addicts continue their recovery but want to turn a dilapidated property into a money-generator. The way a lot of halfway houses work is a person buys a fairly run-down property and fixes it up minimally just to make it slightly livable, gets a business license and crams 4 beds into a small space and charges each person $150 a week. But don’t worry, your loved one will be forced to get a low-paying job even though they have a college degree and they must attend two 12-step meetings a day. The other problem I see with halfway houses is that addicts regularly relapse and bring drugs in. It only takes one person to turn out an entire halfway house. Then they all get drug tested and kicked out. This is the scene at halfway houses across the country.

If you’ve gone to a rehabilitation center that actually handled your addiction then going to a halfway house just puts your recovery in unnecessary jeopardy. If you were to start your life over, get an apartment, get a job and go about your life in a new place, the danger of someone bringing drugs into the place where you live is non-existent. It’s important that each family discuss what the best option for their loved one is following their discharge from a treatment program. What works for some may not work for others so remember, this decision is very individualistic, not based upon what “other people have done.” Make the best, well-informed decision possible for an addict in early recovery. Their future success depends on it. If you find yourself struggling after your discharge from a treatment center call us!