Sober Maintenance Support for Those Overcoming Addiction in Skokie, IL

The Value of Recovery and Staying Sober

Addiction impacts almost every facet of an individual’s life. It touches and destroys relationships, jobs, physical and mental health and everything between. While it affects addicts and those in their lives in different ways, addiction creates a devastating path of destruction. However, the solution to the destruction is recovery and sobriety.

Unfortunately for many, barriers can sometimes stand in the way of recovery. From wanting to continue using substances to being unable to get insurance or financial coverage for recovery, these hurdles pose a problem. But they’re hurdles worth overcoming to regain control of your life, your health and your relationships.

With support and a trusted facility, recovery is possible — but what about sobriety after these programs? Recovery isn’t a one-step process — it takes effort to maintain sobriety. Many of the barriers that prevent individuals from seeking recovery can become barriers that cause relapses later on.

Overcoming those barriers to seek recovery and working to stay sober after your recovery are essential. It provides relief, safety and an end to the chaos and unhealthy habits. From your first days of sobriety to the weeks and months after, you’ll begin to see the value in choosing recovery and staying sober. You’ll uncover benefits like:

• Feeling like yourself again
• Clear thinking
• Building new routines
• The chance to rebuild your physical and mental health
• Increased agency in your actions and choices
• A sense of fulfillment and achievement

Some of those benefits alone may convince you to seek recovery and avoid relapsing. You may even get the opportunity to rebuild the healthy relationships you had in the past that you lost to addiction. But it will take work to get and stay sober.

Support for Former Addicts in Skokie, Illinois

At Gateway, we offer recovery options for addicts in Skokie and our other locations and support for those who have recovered and hope to prevent relapsing. Known as aftercare programs, these options provide the unique support a former addict needs to stay on the right path.

We will walk the path of sobriety with you until you feel comfortable enough with what you’ve learned and your abilities to avoid relapse. And if you’re ever unsure in your abilities to avoid relapsing down the line, we’ll be here for you for support. Before you take that journey alone, consider our aftercare programs at Gateway, including:

1. Relapse Prevention

We understand that maintaining sobriety is a constant fight for most. That’s why we offer a relapse prevention plan at Gateway. It’s essential to achieve recovery and to continue working for your sobriety. A relapse prevention plan will help rebuild your lifestyle and keep you sober, with patients experiencing abstinence rates as high as 100 percent. Working with Gateway in Skokie to create your prevention plan involves:

• An assessment of your addiction history.
• A detailed relapse prevention plan created by a skilled counselor.
• The tools you need to stay sober.
• Recommendations for additional aftercare services that will benefit you.

With Gateway in your support system, you can fill your relapse prevention plan with a variety of strategies to help you in the real world. You’ll learn about potential activities that serve as healthy lifestyle alternatives, such as hiking, swimming or journaling, and get help creating a system of lasting sober relationships to rely on during times of crisis.

2. Sober Living Homes

If the idea of returning to real life after recovery is a bit daunting, you’re not alone. Many find the transition challenging, as plenty of responsibilities and challenges can stand in the way of long-term sobriety, but you don’t have to return right away. Gateway’s sober living homes serve as a bridge between recovery at rehab and returning home. Staying in a sober living home gives you the chance to adjust to a different lifestyle in a place that provides:

• Privacy
• Protection
• Reduced stress
• Structure
• Support

Staying in a sober living home in Illinois will provide you sanctuary as you adjust to your new, healthy lifestyle. You may even create a new support network with your fellow group members as you manage your sobriety and learn how to prepare for and cope with life outside of a sober living home.

3. Alumni Programs

Our alumni community is a significant part of our dedication to providing ongoing support for former addicts. Once you graduate from a Gateway recovery program, you become a member of our alumni community, which provides support and connection opportunities beyond your recovery program. We run alumni programs at every one of our facilities, including Gateway in Skokie, Illinois. Being an alumnus gives you the chance to:

• Speak at a future graduation ceremony.
• Share your story with patients to encourage their progress.
• Run support groups.
• Speak with current recovery patients about their plans for relapse prevention.

Help current recovering addicts see what the future can hold for them if they stay on their path to sobriety, or celebrate your successes with fellow former addicts. Recognizing the hard work you’ve done and the sobriety you accomplished with others will help you see the value in sobriety and know everything you’ve been through to prevent a relapse is worth it.

4. 12 Step Programs

You may associate 12 step programs with recovery only, but these programs give you the tools you need to continue on your road to sobriety. Being in a 12 step program at Gateway in Skokie means you and your peers stay sober throughout the program. We utilize both 12 step support and 12 step facilitation to help you understand the steps to recovery and sobriety. Maintaining sobriety requires changes to your lifestyle and relationships, but with a 12 step program, you’ll be able to:

• Get the structure you need to aid your lifestyle changes.
• Become involved with a supportive group.
• Make connections with experienced members for further guidance.
• Be held accountable for your attendance, participation and actions.
• Get access to constant availability and support with multiple meeting options throughout the day.

At Gateway, we know the recovery process can create the foundation for sobriety and help you meet your long-term goals to avoid relapsing. A 12 step program will guide you through acknowledging your addiction, recognizing who you have hurt with your addiction and how you can make amends with them. It will also help you look ahead to sobriety and understand what you can gain through your hard work.

5. Coping Skills Therapy

Learning coping skills is another potential aspect of your addiction recovery that will help you stay sober. You’ll learn how to manage negative feelings and situations in real life that could cause a relapse. You need to learn how to deal with mental health struggles and other issues that could threaten your sobriety, and Gateway’s coping skills programs will help. In these programs, you can set yourself up for and maintain sobriety by learning:

• The root cause of your depression or anxiety.
• How to avoid high-risk situations.
• How to develop healthy life changes.
• Relaxation techniques.
• The importance of being honest.

Those and other lessons will help you get steps closer to avoiding a relapse. You’ll get the tools you need to stay strong throughout your sobriety, including the ability to build a trustworthy network and healthy coping skills within yourself.

6. Mindfulness-Based Sobriety

For many former addicts, it can be difficult to cope with thoughts and fears about the past and future. Mindfulness programs help you confront underlying issues that stop you from living in the present moment. At Gateway, we often focus on evidence-based treatment options, but our mindfulness programs use:

• Evidence-based treatments: Thesework to address addiction specifically. You’ll learn how to reduce stress and avoid relapsing as you learn how to stay present in the moment.
• Holistic treatments: Theseaddress the whole person, not just addiction and the symptoms of it. Mindfulness gives you the confidence you need to continue on your sobriety journey.

With both of those treatment styles, mindfulness in sobriety can be ideal for a variety of people. You’ll learn how to identify triggers and cope with them, being aware of how your mind and body feel in a given situation.

You’ll also learn how to focus on the present instead of trying to cover up your emotions or create a victim narrative. Instead, you’ll learn to accept your emotions, take ownership of them and manage them. Staying mindful of your feelings can help you stay sober in Skokie, along with other aftercare and sobriety programs at Gateway.