In drug addiction treatment or when leaving drug rehab, one of the core requirements to maintain sobriety is a strong social support system. Social support is not the same as a support group. Social support is a network of family, friends, colleagues and other acquaintances you can turn to, whether in times of crisis or simply for fun and entertainment. Support groups are generally more structured meetings or self-help groups led by health professionals or â??peersâ??.

Why Develop Social Support?

Your positive friends and social contacts can encourage you to stay free of drugs and alcohol and support you to manage daily emotions such as sadness or depression.

Talking with a friend over coffee, visiting a relative or attending a drop in meditation session, can help you through difficult times that come periodically with alcohol and drug addiction treatment.

Sometimes just knowing they are there for you is enough to reduce stress and let you get on with living your life. Stress is one of the most prevalent precursors or triggers of relapse. Many individuals say they started using illict drugs in the first place to help to cope with stress.

Social support can increase your sense of community, purpose and self-esteem, adding to positive mental health. Again isolation and low self worth are common triggers for drug use. When someone feels like they don’t belong, or don’t have a worthy purpose, they are far more likely to return to their addiction.

They can also be there to celebrate your successes. Many people, even ones without drug addiction, tend to minimize their victories, but maximize their setbacks. Those of us who have lived through addiction or have been to drug rehab know this is especially prevalent and must be dealt with.

“There are many sorrows in todayâ??s world! These sorrows are due to hunger, to dislodging, to all kinds of illness. I am convinced that the greatest of all sorrows is to feel alone, to feel unwanted, deprived of all affection. It consists in not having anyone.”

Mother Teresa

The value of social conncetion in drug and alcohol treatment cannot be underestimated. Tomorrow I’ll discuss the types of social support.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, May 18th, 2005 at 12:31 pm and is filed under Drug Addiction, Drug Rehab. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.