Moving forward over time may be easier than the first days of recovery, but it can still come with a few challenges. A stressful event or low mood might make returning to drugs or alcohol seem tempting. You may think that, after progress in treatment, you can drink or use a drug in moderation. But returning to things that hurt you in the past isn’t a path toward a better present or future. Staying sober is.

Many people in recovery and treatment providers have thought about how to stay sober. Several tools have helped people maintain long-term recovery, including working with professionals.

Learn about tools for managing long-term recovery

If you have quit using alcohol or another substance, keeping it out of your life can be challenging. You can use tools like:

• Mental health treatment

If you have a mental health condition, its symptoms may add challenges to maintaining sobriety. Participating in treatment may reduce your symptoms or give you skills to manage them. It might simply give you space to talk about what you’re going through privately with a supportive person.

Therapy like cognitive behavioral therapy can be helpful. In one study, participants in mindfulness-based and cognitive behavioral relapse prevention approaches had significantly lower returns to alcohol or drug use.

• Medication-assisted treatment

You may find that staying away from alcohol and other substances could be easier with medication-assisted treatment (MAT). ReKlame Health offers options for MAT, including Suboxone for opioid use disorder. You can read this article to find out about our support for long-term recovery.

Medication-assisted treatment for alcohol use disorder may include naltrexone, acamprosate or disulfiram. All three are available as pills, and naltrexone is also available as a monthly injection. With naltrexone, you can reduce cravings and prevent the effects of alcohol. Acamprosate can reduce cravings. Disulfiram causes vomiting if you drink alcohol, providing a strong deterrent from drinking.

• Peer support

Going through life’s highs and lows may be easier with people who understand what substance use disorder and sobriety are like. Receiving and providing mutual support might give you a sense of purpose or community that makes maintaining sobriety feel all the more worthwhile.

A variety of support groups are available, like Alcoholics Anonymous. Other options include SMART Recovery, LifeRing Secular Recovery, Women for Sobriety and Refuge Recovery. A professional from ReKlame may be able to recommend more resources.

• Self-care strategies

You may feel better when eating well, exercising in a way that you enjoy, resting when needed, using emotional regulation skills and practicing sleep hygiene. You might consider engaging with news media or current events in healthier ways. Connecting with your loved ones, community or values may help you.

You can learn additional tools for self-care in treatment with ReKlame. You may also incorporate medical treatment like MAT in your self-care routine to boost your efforts in recovery.

• Goals to keep in mind

If life gets overwhelming, it’s easy to lose sight of the big picture. You may want to forget or ignore your long-term goals to find short-term relief. It’s not worth it. With a psychiatric nurse practitioner and care navigator from ReKlame, you can identify your goals and continue progressing toward them.

Your goals might include advancing in your career, finding a new job, building new relationships, strengthening existing relationships or improving your physical health. Any of these things might give you something to focus on beyond the present moment.

ReKlame provides sustainable support for recovery

If you begin treatment with us, you can rely on professional support, every step of the way. You can expect an initial, 50-minute appointment to discuss your experiences, needs and goals. Next, you can work with a psychiatric nurse practitioner to develop a personalized treatment plan. Your care team can include a care navigator, who is a professional dedicated to connecting you with resources. This person can also make working with us seamless by helping you arrange appointments and handle other tasks. All of our professionals strive to provide compassionate, culturally competent treatment.

Our services are online. This means that you can count on:

• Treatment in the comfort of your own home
• Confidential communication through the platform Spruce
• Flexible scheduling and availability for your convenience
• Reduced barriers to accessing effective treatment
• Assistance as you move toward treatment goals
• Support for your life goals

Give our care team a call today for more information, check your eligibility for free online or book an initial appointment online.