PEER SUPPORT
Secret stashes create big risks.
What’s waiting if you are going home after rehab? Are you being honest about what’s hiding around your house? Remember, in early recovery—or after a relapse—your brain is still healing. Being exposed to alcohol and other drugs may trigger the still vulnerable, early-recovery brain before your “smart brain” has had a chance to become stronger. Do any of these following problems apply?
Problem #1
Are there supplies of alcohol and other drugs (AOD)—like a stash that you haven’t gotten rid of—in your home?
Solution: Have someone help you take the AOD out of your home. Do NOT do it by yourself. Take a sober friend or your sponsor.
Problem #2
Do others in your home environment still use AOD? If so, do you feel bad asking them to remove the AOD from your home?
Solution: Your recovery is important, and you deserve every safeguard in your home. Ask for others to remove AOD from the home—at least for the first year in recovery.
Problem #3
Are there objects that remind you of your AOD use, like pipes, papers, syringes, clothes you wore when using or drinking, purses, or wallets where you kept drugs or money to buy drugs?
Solution: Just like the removal of AOD, you need to get rid of the paraphernalia, too. Again, don’t do it alone. Ask for help from a support person.
If you’re going home after rehab, are there any items (substances, paraphernalia) connected directly to your addiction that are still in your home environment? What do you need to change to make your home safer? Who will help you?