Life Skills Training for Addiction Treatment in Colorado

Are you struggling with an addiction to drugs or alcohol? Have you tried to quit using without success? Addiction is a powerful mental health disorder that stems from a variety of factors. Family history, previous trauma, negative thought patterns, undeveloped life skills, and mental illness often feed into the disease of addiction. As with any disease, it only gets worse without help from professionals who are qualified to treat it.

Perhaps you were able to abstain from drugs or alcohol for a few weeks or months in the past, feeling that you had finally beat addiction. Unfortunately, emotional stress or other setbacks led you back down the slippery slope of substance abuse. You are not alone. Many people have tried quitting drugs on their own but fell short of their goals.

As if trying to quit drugs wasn’t hard enough, you may also feel alienated from your friends and family. Those who don’t struggle with addiction may have difficulty understanding why a person just can’t stop using. Family members often set ultimatums requiring an addicted individual to stop using or face losing their home and relationships. Although they do this because they feel it is the best answer, it is often ineffective and causes even more stress in the family. Sadly, many people battling addiction haven’t developed the interpersonal skills to effectively communicate their struggles. As a result, the entire household can become a toxic environment.

Overcoming addiction requires a complete overhaul of a person’s mental, physical, and emotional approach to life. At the core of this change is life skills training for addiction treatment. When a person learns to effectively deal with the challenges of life and become a productive member of society, his or her compulsive need to use drugs can begin to diminish. As one starts changing life for the better, he or she realizes drugs weren’t the answer to life’s problems but, ultimately, the source. Let Denver Recovery Center help you begin healing today.

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What Are Life Skills?

These skills are what we use to survive physically, emotionally, financially, and socially each day. Many of us take them for granted because we learned at least some of them during our early development. Of course, some people don’t always grasp these skills as easily as others. It can be due to upbringing, personality traits, or not being exposed to proper training. We all have strengths and struggles when it comes to life skills. Sometimes this lack of skills can be obvious.

For example, think of your coworkers. Do you work with someone who will talk on and on about something even after you made it clear the discussion was over? Maybe you have a coworker who seems ready to explode anytime there is a stressful situation. They may have good intentions, but they lack the tools to deal with the inevitable challenges of life.

Although almost everyone could probably use a little improvement of their life skills, those suffering with addiction may have major deficits in these skills which can fuel their addictive behaviors. This is why life skills training is a critical aspect of one’s recovery.

How Do Life Skills Help Someone Who is Battling Addiction?

Those who have battled addiction for a long time often didn’t get the chance to develop the crucial skills needed to live a happy, productive life. Instead of challenging themselves to learn and grow, they often use drugs or alcohol as an escape. Sadly, this escapist mentality stunts their personal development. Rather than learning how to communicate effectively, manage money, and cope with difficult emotions, people struggling with addiction use drugs as a crutch as they barely manage life. As a result, their career, family, and personal life deteriorate.

A life skills training program helps people struggling with addiction learn more effective behaviors. As they go through addiction treatment, they participate in group and individual therapy sessions to develop and practice life skills. These skills become part of their daily habits and can act as a catalyst for positive change.

What Types of Skills Are Taught in Rehab Programs?

Life skills teach people how to make better decisions, express personal needs, and develop a healthy lifestyle. Here are some examples of life skills:

• Coping with difficult emotions: Have you ever heard that the most dangerous times during your recovery are when you are too hungry, angry, lonely, or tired? When your basic needs are not met, it can trigger self-destructive behaviors like using drugs. By learning to be mindful of your emotions and knowing positive ways to deal with them, you can secure a solid footing in your recovery.  
• Dealing with stress: Stress is another major trigger for drug use. Part of a training program teaches positive ways to deal with stress. This can include mediation, yoga, deep breathing, or journaling. In addition, you can learn to reduce stress in your life by letting go of negative thought patterns, toxic people, and situations that are out of your control.
• Managing anger: Anger can take control of your thoughts and reactions. Unfortunately, people who are struggling with anger often think and act irrationally during heated moments. Learning ways to positively handle situations that make you mad can prevent relapse and strengthen relationships.
• Interpersonal skills: Learning to communicate assertively instead of passively or aggressively can help strengthen relationships and lessen emotions like frustration, anger, and loneliness. As a result, you can effectively communicate your needs and decrease instances of becoming a victim or acting out violently.
• Vocational skills: Learning productive work habits, interviewing skills, and how to build a resume may help you get more meaningful, fulfilling work. If you are happy with your career, chances are that these abilities will transfer to other areas of your life.
• Academic skills: Just like vocational skills, learning to excel academically can reduce stress and help you accomplish your educational goals. This includes finishing high school, exploring higher education opportunities, and developing a life-long appreciation for learning.
• Leadership: Many people think that being a leader is an innate quality, but it can actually be developed with practice and through learning the key skills of successful leaders. These competencies can help you with your career and family life. Life skills training activities like outdoor therapy and team building programs can help you develop leadership abilities.
• Time management: Do you ever feel so stressed out because you just can’t seem to get everything you need to do finished day after day? Learning time management skills like making a to-do list, prioritizing chores, and developing a daily schedule can help decrease this stress.
• Money management: Financial difficulties are also a source of stress for many families. By learning to budget and make a plan for purchasing major expenses, you can find that some of your money problems start to go away. In addition, once you are sober, you will probably have a lot more expendable money since you aren’t buying drugs or alcohol. By learning to make your money grow instead of just spending it on frivolous purchases, you can increase your wealth and financial security.
• Cooking and nutritional education: What you put into your body directly impacts your health, energy, and general well-being. When you understand how to plan and prepare well-balanced meals, you can start feeling better. You may even lose some extra weight along the way, which can boost your self-confidence.
• Awareness of physical health: Just like nutrition, physical activities help improve your general health. In addition, exercise helps decrease stress, activates the brain’s natural pleasure hormones, and can prevent chronic conditions like diabetes or heart disease.
• Recreation therapy: During your recovery, one of the most important decisions you make will be how you choose to use your free time. If you find meaningful activities that fulfill your personal needs, you are much less likely to use drugs. Recreation therapy helps you define your personal views about leisure and exposes you to new experiences to positively fill your free time.

How Can Life Skills Help to Prevent Relapse?

Preventing relapse is key to successful treatment. There is no one-size-fits-all approach to keep you from relapsing; an individualized approach works best. At the start of your treatment, counselors get to know you as they assess your skills and need areas. You may feel a little uneasy opening up to a stranger at first, but in time, you can develop a strong therapeutic relationship. As a result, you have a team ready to help you face the challenge of finally staying sober.

When you enter rehab, addiction counselors and other professionals work with you to develop a treatment plan that uses your strengths to confront your challenges. The treatment plan may include life skills training activities catered to your individual needs.

For example, if you find financial and relationship pressures trigger you to use drugs, a proactive plan can be developed to help you address these issues. During individual and group sessions, you learn how to manage your money so you aren’t in constant worry about making ends meet. In addition, you discover the fundamentals of a successful relationship and how honest communication, trust, and compromise can make these relationships thrive. Through practice and healthy interactions with peers and staff, you can create a mindset of success that will transfer to your everyday life.

What Other Treatments Are Used in Combination During Rehab?

When you enter drug rehab, you want to have access to every available tool that can help you maintain sobriety. This is why some advanced treatment centers use a holistic approach to overcoming addiction. Holistic means treating the entire person instead of a diagnosis or set of symptoms. How is this done? By combining a variety of therapies, including life skills training, into your treatment regimen.

Psychotherapy, sometimes known as talk therapy, is usually the cornerstone of your treatment. This evidence-based approach uses individual counseling, family therapy, and specialized groups to help you become more aware of your personal struggles and learn how to finally confront them. In addition, other types of holistic interventions like yoga, recreation therapy, and adventure therapy are used to complement your psychotherapy and keep you engaged in treatment. These holistic therapies teach you valuable coping skills, new leisure outlets, and strategies to remain drug-free.

Life skills training is also used in many treatment centers to help you better cope and interact with the world around you. These individualized programs address your specific issues to help you begin building a set of tools for success for both your recovery and life.

Learn Life Skills For Addiction Recovery in Denver, Colorado.

If you live in the Denver, Colorado area, you have access to a unique treatment center that is dedicated to teaching sustainable life skills as a part of drug and alcohol rehab. Located in nearby Broomfield, Colorado, Denver Recovery Center combines traditional treatment with many opportunities to connect with nature in the breathtaking Colorado landscape.

Denver Recovery Center will meet you where you are at and suggest the most appropriate care for your specific needs. We offer a variety of programs including partial hospitalization and outpatient programs. In addition, you may benefit from our dual diagnosis treatment, gender-specific treatment, and dedication to holistic therapies.

With more than just groups and counseling sessions, Denver Recovery Center gives you a chance to confront your addictions with engaging outdoor activities such as hiking and simply enjoying the peace and serenity of the wilderness.

Many people from other areas of the country find that Denver Recovery Center brings a welcome change of pace where they have the inspiration and support to finally get clean. From comfortable amenities, knowledgeable staff, and a community designed to support you through every step of your treatment, Denver Recovery Center may be the place where you find true change.

Take Positive Action Towards Sobriety Today!

Are you ready to finally regain control of your life? Do you feel the fresh air and beautiful views of Colorado may be the place to finally get help? Now is the time to call.

Of course, you may be a little anxious about treatment. After all, making major life changes isn’t easy. You probably have questions about the program, how you will pay for it, and what you need to finally get started.

Calling (844) 602-3175 will put you in touch with a knowledgeable admissions specialist ready to answer your questions, check your insurance eligibility, and guide you in the process of choosing which of our programs are right for you.

For most people, addiction won’t magically clear up on its own. You need the help of a dedicated program that has helped many others who felt hopeless in their struggles with addiction. Isn’t it time you became one of the success stories coming out of Denver Recovery Center? Call us now.