At Evolve Indy, we believe in taking a holistic approach to addiction treatment. This means we not only focus on ridding the person of the alcohol, drugs, and other harmful chemicals in their system, but also teach them life skills that will help them deal with the stressors of life. By combining our treatment programs with life skills development, we give our clients a better chance of beating addiction and turning their lives around.
If you are struggling with an addiction to drugs or alcohol, you know just how hard it can be to quit. You might have tried quitting only to go back to using after a few weeks or months. This is because addiction is a powerful disease- a disorder that has its roots in a variety of factors. You may have started drinking or using drugs because of past trauma, the stresses of life, family history, or a host of other reasons. Without outside help from qualified addiction treatment professionals, the disease will only get worse.
When it comes to addiction treatment and recovery, the first step is to stop using alcohol and drugs. However, there is much more to recovery than that. Overcoming addiction and remaining sober for the long term requires a complete overhaul of an individual’s emotional, mental, and physical approach to life. The person struggling with addiction needs to learn how to effectively deal with the challenges life throws at them and go on to become a productive member of society. Once they regain their confidence and some control over their lives, it becomes easier to refrain from alcohol and substance use.
Why learn life skills in addiction recovery?
Ask anyone who has or is currently struggling with a substance use disorder and they’ll tell you that addiction is a disease that takes over your life. When addicted, you don’t function as well as you should. All your focus is on getting the next hit or reaching that high. Other aspects of your life end up being neglected as you feed your addiction. You neglect your family responsibilities and work duties, you fail to pay bills on time, you skip work, ignore your kids, etc. You even fail to take care of yourself mentally and physically.
Most addicts start avoiding their friends and family as well as anyone who holds them accountable for their alcohol and drug use. They end up isolated from those who’d help them, driving them deeper into addiction. As their lives become harder, they choose to use drugs to escape their reality and it becomes a vicious cycle.
This is why life skills training or development is such a crucial part of addiction treatment. Addiction can destroy a person’s life, leaving them with nothing. Rebuilding that life takes energy, time, and patience. Those recovering from substance use need to be equipped with the necessary tools and resources to help them reconstruct their lives, reconnect with society, and grow to become healthy, productive individuals.
What types of skills are taught at Evolve Indy?
At Evolve Indy, we take special care to focus on helping our clients develop life skills that can help them maintain sobriety and reintegrate into society. We take a holistic approach. We have fostered a fellowship and group living environment at our treatment center that helps clients to start working on their life skills. For instance, they get to prepare their own meals, do their own grocery shopping, and are responsible for waking themselves up and attending therapy sessions at different times.
Our Life Skills Development and Training Program is integrated into our other programs such as the Partial Hospitalization Program and the Intensive Outpatient Program so that clients can start practicing those life skills as soon as possible.
Some of the life skills we teach include:
- Managing difficult emotions. Some of the most dangerous times for addicts in recovery are when they’re Hungry, Angry, Lonely, or Tired. Failure to properly manage and deal with these difficult feelings can trigger relapse as the person seeks to escape.
- Stress management. Stress is another major trigger for alcohol and drug use. Part of our treatment program involves teaching positive ways of dealing with stress and staying engaged in the present. These include deep breathing techniques, meditation, yoga, etc.
- Personal skills. Those in recovery need to remember how to take care of themselves. This includes basic things like preparing nutritious meals, hygiene, doing laundry, exercising, and whatever else is involved in maintaining their physical health.
- Interpersonal skills. Addiction diminishes a person’s ability to communicate and relate to others. As part of our treatment program, we help clients learn how to effectively express their needs, create boundaries, and nurture healthy relationships.
- Vocational skills. Some of our clients come to us after losing their jobs. We then help them learn productive work habits. We also work on their interviewing skills, teach them to write great resumes, conduct job searches, and other aspects of getting and maintaining meaningful work.
- Financial skills. Financial difficulties are a major source of stress and conflict for many families. We focus on teaching those in recovery financial skills including budgeting, managing money, investing it, and making major purchases instead of spending it frivolously.
Learn life skills for addiction recovery in Indianapolis, Indiana
At Evolve Indy in Indiana, our addiction treatment life skills training program prepares clients to reintegrate back into society after treatment. It is a holistic approach that takes into consideration many factors. We recognize that each person is different and we take an individualized approach to life skills training depending on a client’s needs and addiction triggers.
Once admitted to our recovery facility, our counselors take time to know you through individual therapy sessions. As you open up, they assess your needs to match you with the skills training you require the most. We help our clients learn and internalize these life skills through different exercises carried out during group and individual therapy sessions. This way we reinforce what they’ve learned increasing their chances of attaining long-term sobriety.
For more information on our life skills development program, or any of our addiction treatment programs, or on what makes our holistic approach unique, give us a call and schedule a consultation.