Drug addiction. It is a serious issue and if you do not address it early enough, it can destroy your life.

Over 138 million Americans have used illicit drugs at least once in their life. Of those people, 25% of them have a drug disorder.

If you think you have a drug disorder, you may be seeking treatment to try to manage it. Once you do that, you are going to have to find ways to prevent drug relapse.

What are the best ways to prevent relapse? Here are eight things you can do.

1. Go to Rehab

One of the best things that you can do is go to rehab if you believe you have a drug addiction. The reason for this is that you are dealing with professionals that know the best course of action for your situation.

For example, if you are coming to the facility with a heavy dependence on drugs, the rehab facility will be able to help you manage your withdrawal symptoms. On top of this, you can speak to a professional about your issues with drugs and try to get to the root of your problem.

2. Find an Outpatient Program

Once you are done with inpatient rehab, you are going to have to go back to the outside world. However, that does not mean that you have to be alone.

If you still want some of the benefits of being in a rehab facility, you have the option to do an outpatient drug rehab program.

Here, you would take the step of living outside of the facility. However, you can still come back to speak to professionals as well as seek guidance on what you can do to prevent a relapse from happening.

3. Find a Support Group

One of the most challenging things about staying clean is that you may feel like you are alone. Well, something you can do to address this is to find a support group in your local area.

For drug abuse, you are going to want to look at Narcotics Anonymous groups. With some simple research, you should be able to find a group that has meetings in your area. There, you could find people that can relate to your situation and possibly even make some friends there.

4. Find a Mentor

Once you find a group of people that you can relate to and openly discuss your addiction, the next step is trying to find a mentor among those people. Ideally, this would be someone that has stayed clean for years and it should be someone that can help provide you with guidance on what you do next.

Think of this person the way alcoholics view sponsors. They are the people that can help other people that are new to recovery stay on a straight path. A mentor can also discuss past experiences they had when they were at your stage and tell you what they did from there.

If you find the right mentor, that person should help you figure out where to go from here.

5. Be Around Positive Influences

Naturally, you have to be around people that are not recovering from drug abuse at some point. However, you should still be careful about who you associate with during this process.

Recognize who is a positive influence in your life. Have your parents supported you and encouraged you to go to rehab? What have your closest friends said to you since you started this process?

These are things you need to think about. From there, stick with people who bring positivity into your life.

6. Cut Out Temptations

This tip may be the most difficult one to execute for those just starting the recovery process. That is because cutting out temptations means that you have to leave parts of your old life behind.

It can mean that you do not hang out with certain people anymore because they like to take drugs. Or, it can mean not going to certain places anymore because it can lead to drug abuse.

Determining what your vices are and actively deciding to cut those out of your life is a crucial step to take to avoid drug relapse.

7. Find a Peaceful Environment

When you are trying to avoid a drug relapse, one of the best things that you can do is find a peaceful environment that makes you feel calm and safe.

This can be you find somewhere that is quiet and natural such as an empty beach. Or, it can simply be you doing an activity such as meditation.

No matter what you choose, the result should be that it puts your mind at ease.

8. Try New Hobbies

Finally, this may be a good time for you to experiment with new hobbies. The reason for this is that it can be a good distraction from you thinking about drugs. Also, it can help you devote time and resources to something that is healthier for you.

Plus, if you get into certain hobbies, it can result in you finding a new social circle through that activity.

Avoid Drug Relapse

These are eight tips that you can use to try to avoid drug relapse. If you are in recovery, this is likely a difficult time for you.

However, know that you are not alone. Find people that will support you and seek out a mentor if possible. Then, find a peaceful environment, take up new hobbies, and cut out any temptations you may have to go back to using drugs.

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