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Addiction recovery is a lifelong journey with many milestones along the way. Determining benchmarks or goals as you come out of opioid addiction is an essential part of recovery. While each person’s situation is unique, these goals will help you keep a positive outlook and encourage you to keep moving forward in your recovery.
Here are some tips that may help you determine benchmarks as you begin and continue your recovery journey. Remember that a professional counselor should be consulted to help you create accurate, individualized goals.
Benchmarks are goals that you set before and during your recovery. Goal setting is a key aspect of any endeavor, including addiction recovery. Benchmarks provide a sense of purpose and help you see what you are working toward as you strive to make a change in your life. It’s important to determine your goals for recovery and make sure they are personalized to your unique situation.
A professional counselor will help you analyze your hopes and desires and formulate a plan with clear objectives and benchmarks. These highly personalized goals will serve as milestones that encourage you to keep moving forward. While goals vary from person to person, here are a few guidelines that can help you as you begin formulating benchmarks for addiction.
Addiction is a disease. Recovery is a journey, and that process will take time and dedication. As you set your recovery goals, remember to be realistic. Don’t set unattainable benchmarks like, “I will be fully recovered and back to normal in three weeks.” These kinds of goals only set you up for disappointment. Instead, establish benchmarks that challenge you while still remaining within your reach.
The more clear and precise your goals are, the better. An example of a vague goal would be “Seek treatment.” Instead, a specific goal could be to research outpatient medication-assisted treatment (MAT) centers for opioid use disorder, then determine the steps needed to make this benchmark a reality.
For each benchmark, outline the individual steps required to reach it. This is your plan of action. While your overarching goal may be to find an opioid treatment program (OTP), the specific steps could include finding clinics near you and contacting them as soon as possible.
Time limits ensure that your benchmarks don’t remain open-ended. They give you a deadline that spurs you into action such as, “I will be in a treatment program by next week.” Measurements are degrees of success that help you know when you’ve arrived at each benchmark. If your goal is to create a support system, then reaching out to supportive friends and family members lets you know you’ve arrived at that benchmark.
Receive the support you need to create successful benchmarks as you recover from opioid addiction at Health Care Resource Centers. Contact us online to learn more about medication-assisted treatment and counseling services for opioid use disorder or call us at 866.758.7769.
