Life skills refer to the basic skills that everyone should learn in order to function as a stable adult in society. However, there are several reasons why people might miss out on learning key life skills especially if they struggle with addiction. It is not uncommon for people in recovery to have missed out on critical life skills like basic self-care and financial literacy or to have learned them but then forgotten them.
Thankfully there’s always an opportunity to learn them again.
What are Essential Life Skills for Addiction Recovery?
There are several categories of life skills from money to time management, goals and self-care. So what are the ones you will likely learn as part of your recovery?
Goal Setting
Recovery is a significant goal to set for anyone and an even bigger goal to accomplish. But after your recovery it’s time to think about what is you want to do over the next several months or years:
- Do you want to go back to school?
- Is there a personal relationship that you want to fix?
- Do you want to start traveling?
- Is it time to get your own apartment?
- Are you looking to get a different job?
Goal setting is an important part of driving you forward, giving you purpose and self-worth. With life skills coaching services, you work with advisors who help you find the goals that you already have inside and set them in achievable chunks.
Financial Literacy
The term financial literacy just refers to an understanding of how finances work and the responsibility to use them wisely. Addiction has a significant toll on your finances and while this can take a long time, it is an essential skill to have.
After addiction and recovery treatment, you’ll learn things like:
- How to value your worth when finding a job
- How to ask for a raise or look for a job with a comfortable salary
- How to talk to people about financial management like paying off your debt, using a credit card the right way, or saving money
These skills cannot only help you get out of debt if you have any, pay off any fines or other legal fees that might be pending from your addiction, but also to build yourself a new life based on financial stability.
Time Management
A big part of setting goals is also creating a healthy routine, one where you:
- Exercise regularly
- Have a nutritious diet
- Attend support groups regularly
- Get good sleep
Having a healthy routine is based on understanding what goals you have for your life and managing your time effectively. In the past, it’s very likely drugs and alcohol took up most of your time but now that that’s done, it’s time to structure your day with positive things that help make you better.
Self-Care
Self-care is another category that should be incorporated into your time management and goal setting life skills. Taking care of yourself whether it’s your mind, body, or spirit helps you remain positive and that can be something as simple as doing yoga on a daily basis, keeping your living space clean, or going out for a walk.
A life skills coach can help check in periodically to make sure that you are doing these critical things for yourself.
Social Skills
Social skills are another type of essential life skills in addiction recovery. Before recovery your social circle was likely completely full of people who use drugs or drink with you but now you need people who will support you in your recovery and who won’t use in front of you.
There are endless anxieties and insecurities that can follow those in recovery but building social skills can make it easier to connect to new people and build yourself confidence. With the right life skills coaching you can learn things like how to build a sober network, how to go to support groups on your own, how to invite people to sober activities, and how to manage your emotions.
Aligned Living Life Skills Coaching Services
With our life skills coaching services you can find virtual aftercare that offers tailored, and measured substance abuse and mental health recovery. We focus on essential life skills that you need whether early in your recovery or somewhere further along.
Working for over 45 years, we have learned that:
- Self-directed goals are the best way
- Virtual accountability can help you meet those goals
- We are here to help you find the right answers by asking the right questions
- Wellness looks different for everyone but is achievable
- Consistently learning and practicing life skills is essential to long term success with them
With a blended approach based on scientific evidence, we provide a model of life skills coaching services where you get the motivation you need to set goals and keep them, find the skills to commit and reinforce what you’ve learned, and measure that success along the way.
Ready to learn more?
Schedule a meeting with our advisors, create your personalized life skills coaching plan, and set up your weekly support structure today.