A substance use habit can leave you feeling mentally, physically, emotionally and financially drained. When you are struggling with getting over drug addiction, it’s normal to ask yourself when it will go away.

While being successful in recovery means a lot of different things, there are some sure ways to know that you’re making progress, beginning with the earliest stages. In this guide, we’ll lay out some benefits to overcoming drug addiction from your first days in treatment to years down the road, plus some general signs that you’re making strides toward sobriety.

Benefits of treatment

Full recovery won’t happen overnight, but there are noticeable signs of improvement at different stages in the process. The longer you participate in treatment and stay away from substances, the more perks there are to take advantage of. Here are some of the top ways you’ll benefit at each stage of treatment.

Detox: Detoxification might be the most painful stage in the process, and that’s what most people tend to focus on. While there’s no denying it’s difficult, there are some major breakthroughs in detox.

First, when you’re in a detox program, you can applaud yourself for getting connected to treatment. That takes a significant amount of courage to seek out and accept help.

Additionally, the difficulty of detox necessitates that you quickly build some coping skills. Whether you talk it through with a staff member or learn to meditate through the pain, you’ll develop some essential tools to manage discomfort.

Inpatient: Any residential program offers a great opportunity to immerse yourself in recovery. When you fully participate in this stage you can expect to grow in self-awareness through therapy or counseling, build skills to cope with triggers through Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and foster a knowledge base around the science of addiction.

Outpatient: When you move from inpatient to outpatient services, you’ll benefit from the opportunity to practice applying your skills in real-life scenarios. You’ll be faced with unique challenges as you readjust to a life without substances. It’s likely that you’ll build on your resilience and create new routines to overcome drug addiction.

Continuing services: Recovery happens on a different timeline for everyone, but continuing services either through peer support, mentoring or therapy is important for life-long drug sobriety. It’s important for recovery but it can also improve your quality of life.

When you continue to pursue recovery, you’ll make meaningful social connections, find inner peace and use your skills and knowledge to help others in return. You’ll also have developed a positive work ethic, a healthy life balance and strong communication skills during your treatment.

There are sure signs of progress at every stage in the process of overcoming drug addiction. While these concrete levels of services each have individual benefits, there are also signs of improvement you may notice at any point in recovery.

Signs of improvement

• You’ll gain momentum: When you start achieving goals, you’ll have fuel to keep you working towards the next one. Taking advantage of these early victories (even if they feel small) is proof that you’re getting over drug addiction.
• Relationships will heal: Relationships with friends, family and others won’t heal on their own, but mending past wounds shows that you’re serious about reinventing all aspects of your life.
• You’ll be able to battle physical cravings: Breaking free from a drug addiction means that substances will no longer have control over your body. You’ll be able to think logically and rationally to make the best decisions for yourself.
• You’ll have a toolbox of skills to cope: Part of treatment will be learning how to manage feelings of distress when triggers pop up unexpectedly or can’t be avoided. A major sign of improvement is that you can handle these events without turning back to substances.
• A perspective founded on hope: When you’re working towards sobriety from drugs, the path will be much easier when you have a hopeful outlook about your future. This mind shift change will affect all areas of your life and inspire you to make your dreams a reality. Optimism is a sure sign of healing from drug addiction. 
• Financial freedom: You’ll know your addiction is going away when you’re back in control of your finances. Spending on drugs can hold you back in life, and when you break a substance use habit you can enjoy all the perks of saving and spending your hard-earned money.

Each person is likely to have individual goals to identify success on his or her journey, but these and others are signs that you’re getting closer to freedom. If you’re interested in learning more about recovery, check out this article by October Road to help you figure out when you’ve reached sobriety.

Overcoming drug addiction today

If you’re ready to deal with your substance use habits, Silver Ridge Recovery can help. At Silver Ridge Recovery you’ll have the support of a compassionate team as you reach milestones and step by step, learn how to overcome drug addiction. Call 855-945-7788 to start making strides toward reaching your fullest potential.