5 Tips for Overcoming Social Anxiety After Rehab
5 Tips for Overcoming Social Anxiety After Rehab
Many people do not know this to be true, but there are a lot of other problems and other crisis factors that go along with addiction when people suffer from a substance abuse problem. When people think of addiction, more often than not they simply think of the actual substance abuse problem itself. While this is definitely the key factor here, there are other aspects to it that come into play as well. Truth be told though, there are a lot of long term mental debilitations that occur from substance abuse. Substance abuse continued for long enough can cause permanent brain damage and other types of permanent problems. On a more spiritual level, it can also cause a lot of other different types of difficulties. For example, one of the problems that recovering individuals often talk about the most is overcoming social anxiety.
Life After Addiction
Dealing with life after addiction is tricky. Addiction recovery and sober living do not come easy. By itself, anxiety is a very common human affliction. A lot of people struggle with anxiety of one kind or another. However, when anxiety is combined with substance abuse, or when anxiety is combined into the life of somebody who is in recovery, its effects are magnified tenfold. This is to say that people who suffer from anxiety who also have experience with addiction also have a lot of other problems that go along with it too. People who suffer from anxiety who are also trying to be in recovery often get very fearful of doing anything to address it because they’re concerned that they might relapse.
Tips for Overcoming Social Anxiety
- Involve yourself in a new hobby. A big problem for recovering individuals is that they end up having too much time on their hands, which can create the anxiety itself, and which can also bring about a relapse. Getting a new hobby is a great way to take your mind off of your worries and focus on something that you like a lot instead.
- Involve yourself in a group. People who are in recovery need to be as involved as possible in group activities. The more group involvement they have, the more support they will get regardless of what kind of group it is, and the less their anxiety will affect them.
- Offer support and help to others. One of the best things that a recovering individual can do is to help people who are still trying to get into recovery themselves. This reduces anxiety, it will give you something to do, and it makes you feel like you are really helping people, which is a great start to overcoming social anxiety.
- Get involved in a physical activity. Another great way to remove anxiety from the life of a recovering individual is to jump into a physical activity whether it be a gym schedule or a team sport or some other form of athletic endeavor. Getting a natural high from endorphins is a great way to reduce and anxiety, and being physically active is good for other areas of health as well.
- Work to educate yourself. People who continue their education after rehabilitation are said to have a much greater likelihood of staying sober, and not suffering from anxiety too. If you are suffering from anxiety and trying to stay sober, taking classes or continuing your education in some way is a great way to counteract this.
Everyone experiences and process anxiety differently, and for that reason, they need different approaches in therapy to address it properly. These five are just five of many. If you are seeking help for yourself or a loved one who is currently struggling with an addiction, reach out to A Forever Recovery today and learn how we can help you with overcoming social anxiety after rehab.
