The 5 Predictors of Success in Outpatient Recovery
Beating opiate addiction is a difficult journey, but a neccesary one. There are no positive outcomes from a life addicted to herion or prescription opiates. Here are 5 things many successful opiate addiction recoveries have in common:
Family Support Having the encouragement of family and friends increases a person’s self-worth and confidence in their decision to seek treatment. Although addiction can stress the bonds between family members, parents and siblings should recognize that they’ll always be their loved one’s biggest advocate and should never stop asking them to accept treatment.
Case Management A person with a sports injury needs a dedicated doctor or therapist to prescribe treatment, administer it, and monitor for needed adjustments as progress is made. The same is true for a recovering addict. A patient’s medically assisted treatment regimen should be supplemented with counseling, dietary and lifestyle guidance, mental heath treatment, and any other medical approaches needed for them to return to full health.
Appropriate Treatment There are myriad medicines and clinical approaches to addiction recovery. The right ones are different for each patient. Many patients will benefit from medically assisted treatment regimens like Suboxone, Vivitrol, and Methadone given in an outpatient setting. Outside of the medical sphere, a person’s recovery will be aided by legal and vocational support—their managing physician should have adequate referral resources at hand to cover all the bases.
Lifestyle Changes Getting clean means no longer frequenting the homes, businesses, neighborhoods and other settings associated with drug use. It also means developing new hobbies and habits to stimulate the mind. Anyone can benefit from improved diet and regular exercise, but for a person in recovery, these are essential components of well-being and feeling good about one’s self. Personal finance is another big area of focus in recovery. Drug addiction can wreck a person’s finances and leave them with little to no savings. Rebuilding responsibility with money can help a person’s self-esteem and ability to better their and their families’ lives.
Structured Support Programs like AA and NA have helped millions of addicts, and their sponsor model and emphasis on accountability are part of what make them so effective.
Many people beat addiction without a support program. However, everyone in recovery should at least give it a chance—these are proven systems which provide a framework for resisting the lifelong temptation of addiction and improve the chances of success greatly.
