Blog | Sober Solutions

Talking to Your College-Aged Adult About Drugs and Alcohol

College-Campus

It is that time of year when your child is becoming a young adult and headed off to college. Checklists are being marked off. School supplies and college dorm room essentials are being bought. While everyone is running around from store to store, it’s also important to take time, sit down, and talk about all the situations they might encounter. Marijuana, alcohol, and other illicit drugs are a very common occurrence in a college environment. Talking to your child about these situations will help them understand the severity of these topics and give them a good understanding of substance abuse. However, before you sit down and have “the talk,” make sure to read and understand these key points. [Read more…]

10 Great Ways to Stay Sober after Rehab

By Staff

this girl is happy because she know great ways to stay sober after rehab For the addict, getting sober is usually the easiest step in the recovery process. Staying sober, however, is much more difficult than most addicts realize and is usually where most fail. There are a few things that can be done to help keep from falling back into the insanity of addiction and here are 10 of them.

1. Get into Aftercare

The most important thing that a recovering addict, fresh out of rehab, can do to help stay sober is to get into aftercare. Rehab is only as effective as the aftercare received which makes perfect sense since aftercare is always full of other recovering addicts.

2. Put What You’ve Learned to Use

Rehab is a great first step and typically teaches the recovering addict quite a few techniques that can be used to help stay sober. There will always be triggers that turn into potential temptations but by using the tools learned in rehab, victory is more than possible.

3. Stay Busy

Having too much free time is never a good situation for the recovering addict especially right out of rehab. Too much free time allows the mind to wonder and a wondering mind is a mind that can end up taking the rest of the body to places you might regret. As much as possible, stay busy!

4. Put Together a Support Team

Going it alone is never a good idea in the journey to Sobriety. Finding individuals who you can relate to, as well as go to for support, is a wonderful thing for any recovering addict. You can never have too much support.

5. You Might Fall But You Don’t Need to Stay Down

While slip ups are disappointing, they are not the end of the world and don’t have to mean total failure. Using during recovery is nothing to be proud of but if at all possible, contact your support team, pick yourself up and continue moving forward.

6. Success Begins in the Mind

You are only as successful as you think you are so positive thinking is a must. It is important to begin thinking like you have already won the battle while not letting down your guard in the process.

7. Attend 12 Step Meetings

One of the most important steps in recovery is attending 12 step meetings. These meetings are a great place to accomplish several of these steps all at once. If the 12-steps aren’t for you, there are other meetings such as SMART Recovery meetings which can also provide support.

8. Remember to Take it One Day at a Time

Thinking too far ahead, during recovery, can be overwhelming and overwhelming is never good for a recovering addict. Taking things one day at a time will help to keep things simple and simple is always good.

9. Take Care of Yourself

An addicts body is used to reacting negatively to abuse so taking care of yourself will be essential in the recovery process. Learn to eat healthy, get exercise and relax whenever necessary.

10. Keep a Journal

A journal is a great way to keep track of the recovery process. Journals force an addict to take a close look at how things are really going and keeping it real can be extremely effective in recovery.

These are just a few great ways to stay sober after rehab. Having the chance to start again and be healthy and happy is not an opportunity everyone is afforded. Your health and sobriety are something of which to be proud and continued for the rest of your life.

A Nonprofit Organization Committed to Positive Change

By Staff

Discovery Place is a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping men and their families recover from the disease of alcoholism and drug addiction. Our programâ€™s primary focus is a compassionate and comprehensive introduction to 12 step recovery. Through the efforts of staff and recovery community volunteers, we work tirelessly to show men that sustained sobriety is possible.

Founded in 1997, our reputation has grown in Middle Tennessee as the areaâ€™s top facility for men in need of a new way of life. If you ask a member of the sober community in Nashville where to send a man suffering from alcoholism and/or drug addiction, thereâ€™s an excellent chance they will tell you about Discovery Place.

I got sober at Discovery Place in early 2012. A nasty heroin addiction took me to places in life I never thought possible. Coming out of high school, I had a lot of promise. I was on my way to a top 30 liberal arts college on partial scholarship. I was a three-year letterman on the varsity golf team. And addiction took all that away.

For the first week at Discovery Place, I was affectionately referred to as the â€œUnabomber.â€ My appearance justified to nickname. Underweight with a burly beard, I looked like Iâ€™d lived in the woods for a long time. The haze of heroin withdrawals put a tinge of crazy in my eyes, and coupled with my rugged appearance, I definitely looked like a young Ted Kaczynski.

Several weeks later, guests at Discovery Place reintroduced themselves to me. I was unrecognizable. I started to listen to the staff like my life depended on it. Because it did. Healthy sobriety began to flow through my veins, and I felt like a new man.

The fraternity at our facility is something you must experience for yourself. I have genuine friendships today that started in the 30-day program and grew during my stay in the long-term program. I tried to get sober before. Six months was all I could manage, but Discovery Place changed that. They introduced me to recovery as a way of life. Purpose was found. Health was restored. Today, hope is my lifeâ€™s theme.

Thatâ€™s why I decided to work here. Recovery literature suggests I stay on the firing lines, so thatâ€™s what I chose. Itâ€™s truly a privilege to help men and families find the doors of Discovery Place. To watch men recover and see a spark of vitality return was something I only saw in movies. Today, I see it with my own eyes.

Our commitment to Discovery Place guests extends beyond residential recovery programs. All our alumni are welcome to return to campus, free of charge, for one week as long relapse hasnâ€™t occurred. Many alumni choose to stay involved with Discovery Place as volunteers. They assist leaders in groups, help drive men to meetings and become part of a sober fraternity second to none.

Through a generous grant from the Baptist Healing Trust, all Discovery Place alumni receive routine follow-up calls during their first year after graduation. This allows us to continue offering support to our alumni and assist them on the road to recovery.

Free transportation to our facility is provided for guests who enroll in our 30-day or long-term recovery program. Iâ€™ve travelled all night to pick-up an incoming guest and return him safely to campus. Itâ€™s an incredible experience to watch a broken manâ€™s fears evaporate as he is welcomed into the Discovery Place community. Itâ€™s truly a special place to work.

I never thought a life like this was available to a guy like me. But Discovery Place showed me how to live a fulfilling life. Iâ€™m honored to be part of an organization with an undeniable commitment to positive change. For more information see Discovery Place