Life Skills
Life Skills Development
The road to recovery is a long and challenging one, but it is also one of the most rewarding journeys a person can take. One of the key elements of successful recovery is learning and practicing life skills. These skills help individuals in recovery to rebuild their lives and maintain their sobriety.
GraceWay Recovery Residence is a leading addiction recovery center that is committed to helping our residents create a meaningful life beyond sobriety. We understand that achieving and maintaining sobriety is just the first step in the recovery journey. To truly succeed in recovery, individuals need to learn and practice new life skills that will help them to rebuild their lives and achieve their goals.
One of the key areas of focus at GraceWay Recovery Residence is stress management. We understand that stress is a major trigger for relapse, and we work with our residents to develop effective strategies for managing stress in a healthy way. This may include practices such as yoga, meditation, deep breathing, and exercise. We provide individual counseling sessions to help residents learn how to cope with stress and triggers in a healthy way.
Another area of focus at GraceWay Recovery Residence is relationship building. Addiction often causes strain and damage to relationships with loved ones and while we understand that repairing these strained relationships is a process, we help our residents take the first step by taking responsibility for their actions and living in a manner that focuses on making amends, practicing integrity, and being honest.
We also help residents with financial management and budgeting. Many individuals in recovery may have accumulated debt or financial difficulties as a result of their addiction, and learning how to budget, save money, and manage finances can help them to regain control of their lives. We are partnered with Ameris Bank and they provide an 8 week financial literacy class for residents when they transition into sober living.
We encourage our residents to set and achieve goals. Setting and achieving small goals can help individuals in recovery to feel a sense of accomplishment and progress, which is an important motivator for staying sober.
Commitment
At GraceWay Recovery Residence, we believe that commitment, accountability, and integrity are the three main principles that are essential for success in the recovery journey. These principles are the foundation of our program and guide everything we do at our center.
We understand that recovery is a long-term process and that it requires a strong commitment to change. Our residents must be willing to fully commit to the process and to do the work necessary to achieve and maintain sobriety. We provide the support and guidance needed to help our residents to make this commitment and stick to it.
Accountability
We believe that accountability is essential for success in recovery. Our residents must take responsibility for their actions and be accountable for the choices they make. We provide a structured program that holds our residents accountable for their actions and provides them with the support they need to stay on track. We also provide regular check-ins and progress evaluations to ensure that residents are meeting their goals and making progress in their recovery.
Integrity
Our residents must be honest with themselves and with others about their addiction and their recovery journey. We provide a safe and supportive environment where residents can be open and honest about their struggles, and we encourage them to practice integrity in all aspects of their lives. Integrity is key in staying accountable for your actions, and when practiced, residents are less likely to make excuses for their behavior or blame others for their mistakes. Instead, they take ownership of their actions and are willing to make amends when necessary. This accountability helps residents to stay on track in their recovery journey and to stay true to their values and goals.
Integrity also helps to build self-esteem and self-worth, enhances the sense of self-respect, promotes self-acceptance, and it leads to a sense of authenticity. When individuals have integrity, they have a strong sense of self, they know what they stand for, and they are true to themselves. This can be incredibly empowering and can help individuals to feel confident and capable in their recovery journey.s typical with substance addiction, behavioral addiction causes feelings of shame, rejection, loneliness,and anxiety.
Establishing Values, Boundaries, and Emotional Sobriety
At GraceWay Recovery Residence, we understand that establishing sobriety is just the first step in the recovery journey. To truly succeed in recovery, individuals need to learn and practice new life skills that will help them to rebuild their lives and achieve their goals. That is why we focus on several aspects of life skills to help our residents embark upon a lifetime of recovery.
One of the key life skills that we focus on at GraceWay is identifying values. We understand that addiction can cause individuals to act and behave outside the bounds of their value system. This can lead to a sense of self-loathing, insecurity, and dissatisfaction with life. That is why we place a strong emphasis on helping our residents to reconnect with their most cherished values. Our staff works closely with our residents to identify their core values and how they align with their recovery goals. This process helps them to develop a clear understanding of what is important to them and what they are working towards in their recovery journey. By reconnecting with their values, our residents are able to make healthier choices and set more realistic goals for themselves.
Exhibiting genuine concern for others, demonstrating empathy, and accepting responsibility for mistakes are key indicators of progress in this life skill. As recovery progresses, our residents begin to correlate their renewed values with the changed behaviors they observe in themselves. This is a burgeoning development in self-awareness and often a very exciting period in our residents journey through our program. As self-esteem returns, and confidence begins to flourish, our residents begin to foster a deeper appreciation for their values. They start to see how their renewed values can positively impact their lives, and they develop a sense of hope for all that lies ahead. This sense of hope and purpose is a powerful motivator for staying sober and rebuilding a fulfilling life in recovery.
Another important life skill that we focus on is communication skills. Effective communication is crucial for building and maintaining healthy relationships, both with oneself and with others. We work with our residents to help them develop their communication skills and to learn how to express themselves in a clear and respectful manner.
Establishing boundaries is an essential life skill in recovery. Boundaries are important for maintaining physical, emotional and mental well-being, and they are crucial for protecting oneself from potential triggers and negative influences. We work with our residents to help them establish healthy boundaries and to learn how to communicate them effectively.
Once an individual reaches physical sobriety, emotional sobriety becomes a life-long goal to be striven for and worked for. Emotional sobriety, or emotional intelligence is the ability to recognize and manage one’s emotions, which is essential in maintaining emotional well-being and for making healthy decisions.
Healthy Communication
At GraceWay, we understand that persons who suffer with addiction often find it difficult to communicate their needs, feelings, and ideas with clarity. This can lead to confusion, frustration, and even hostility in relationships. That is why we focus on helping our residents to build resilience in the face of honest, and sometimes, uncomfortable communication.
Many of our residents have a long history of trying to rid themselves of negative feelings as soon as they arise, often turning to substances for escape. To combat this practice, we blend the ability to communicate with the ability to listen and convey emotions. We create an environment where our residents are allowed to accept criticism from others in an emotionally balanced way, and this sets the stage for deeper self-awareness and clarity. As this skill develops, and our residents become more self-aware, we then offer them an opportunity to create a deeper relationship with accountability. Encouraged to deliver constructive criticism to others in a format that promotes neutrality, respect, and objectivity, our residents begin to gain confidence in their own integrity. They learn how to communicate in a clear, concise, and authentic way, even when it’s uncomfortable.
