During and after drug and alcohol rehab you need something to guide you in choices and decision making.  What does guide you can take place in one of two forms.  It will either be some sort of set of rules, or it will be a block of principles.  The third choice is a mixture of the two.  Early on in a drug and alcohol rehab center the simpliest and probably the wisest is to adopt a set of rules of new behavior.  No drugs, and no contact with people actively using drugs.  Exercise EVERY day.  Attend meetings and lectures.  Stay away from peope in your life who are angry. 

The point of adopting a great set of rules is that it gives you mind a rest.  You don't have to think.  The rules will keep you safe and headed for sobriety.  Before enterig a drug and alcohol rehab program you behavior may have not been te best, or it may have been downright poor.  You probably have lost confidence in your ability to do the right thing.  Most likely others in you life have lost faith in your decision making mechanisms.  This is the perfect spot to follow a new set of rules. They will give you the chance to clear your head.  It will give you some momentum and  and following them will give you confidence back in yourself.

As you learn new information and tools you will start to make the shift into principles. You will start to base your choices on your ability to control the stress and safety of a situation.  You will include all different types of activity in your schedule because of the specific insight and strengths you gain.  You will meditate because of the clearity and stress reduction you get, not because it is something to do that doesn't involve alcohol.  Once you understand the guiding principles of stress management, clear communication, and cues handling, you life will be full and varied.  You won't say I can't do this as it is against the rules, but instead list the conditions necessary for something to be of value to you.  With principles you won't feel denied or ripped off because you can't do what other people can do.  With principles you are following your path and your purpose in life, and when you are following your purpose it doesn't feel like you are missing out on anything.

As you progress down the path of sobriety in any alcohol and drug rehab center, be sure to make the shift to principles.  It is part of the journey, and a fun part at that.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, May 2nd, 2007 at 4:10 pm and is filed under 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.