Returning to work after a professional alcohol and drug rehab program is usually a necessity for most, but employment and money management can be problematic for alcoholics and addicts.
If your alcohol or drug use has reached the point where you need professional treatment, there is a good chance your substance abuse has progressed to the point where it is affecting your employment record. Recovery of alcoholics and addicts often struggles to complete work-related tasks, maintain employment, and manage money.
Employment problems
While going back to work can improve self-esteem and help you become more responsible and support yourself and your family, going back to work can present a number of new relapse triggers for people in recovery:
- Just returning from a rehab program to the “real world” of work can be an important psychosocial stressor.
- Fear of failure, actual failure, and similar fears can lead to further loss of self-esteem.
- If you’ve been drinking or buying drugs with coworkers after work, or taking drugs with coworkers, going back to work can be a situational trigger for relapse.
- The job itself can be very stressful. Many alcoholics and addicts used it primarily to escape or relax after a stressful day at work.
Use the Tools You Learned
When you are in the follow-up care of your professional rehab program, your counselor will help you prepare for return to work or the labor market. You will be reminded of all of the tools that you learned in early abstinence and that you can now use in everyday life to help maintain a sober lifestyle.
You can review the steps that lead to a relapse and make sure you don’t fall into one of the usual “smelly thought-traps”. You can stay in touch with your support system even while you work and, if necessary, increase your participation in your support group meetings. Returning to work can be difficult, but by this point in your recovery you will have the skills and tools to deal with it.
Problems with money
Returning to work also means managing your money responsibly. This can be a problem for many alcoholics and addicts. As a rule, people who are active in their substance abuse are often irresponsible with money. For addicts in particular, money can trigger a return to drug use.
Many addicts get to the point that they use it to buy drugs every time they have money.
Some addicts get to the point where they buy drugs instead of buying groceries or paying rent. In addition, many alcoholics and addicts can easily engage in other compulsive behaviors that can negatively affect their finances, such as: B. Gambling or compulsive spending.
Manage your money
If you have had money management issues in the past, your ongoing care advisor will likely make suggestions based on your previous experience. At this point, your advisor will likely know you pretty well and will know if you will be an issue with money when you return to work.
Depending on your personal experience with managing money, your advisor may recommend the following:
- Give your money to someone you trust (who doesn’t use drugs), such as B. a spouse or a parent.
- Avoid using or using an ATM card.
- Put your funds in an account so that you have to physically go to the bank to make a withdrawal.
Avoid the money trigger
If money has been a trigger for you in the past, it may be wise to put your money where it is not easily available to you. Having to go to the bank to complete a withdrawal transaction takes time and planning and can deter you from impulsively buying drugs.
