Many addiction centers have moved meetings online to help addicts. However, many daily lives have been disrupted. People have nothing but time on their hands, and many new addicts may surfac. Roy Viger, CEO of Lake Wellness, says to keep yourself busy and have a schedule in place.
“Make a checklist, what does a day need to look like for you to be healthy? To stay connected to feel good. And write down those goals for the day. Sometimes it can be by the hour, by the day, or by the week. Pick a couple people in your life to share those things with,” says Viger.
If you find yourself struggling, Viger recommends reaching out to family and friends to hold you accountable.
This also works if you suspect a loved one might be falling down the wrong path.
“When the addicted person or family members are in a good place ask them What it is that they want from you. How often do you want them to call? They know what they need more than you do. So when they give it to you and they say “call me twice a week, call me twice a day “ask me if I’ve been to an AA meeting that way when they do it. That way you feel comfortable because they asked you to do that,” says Viger.
Viger says taking everything a day at a time could make all the difference.
“A lot of times a patient says I want to use today. But I will tell them ‘just don’t do it today, I’m just asking you to get through tonight, and tomorrow if you want to use it’s your option.’ But what we always find out is that the next day, they’ve been able to sleep it off. They found something else to do, they got through that one piece,” he says.
Lake Wellness says if you’re having troubles and need help, to reach out. Counselors are standing by, and ready to help over the web at www.lakewellnesscenter.com, or at 888-488-5253.