When you see the term “adulting” on our website, do you wonder what it means? Adulting can refer to taking on certain responsibilities that come with growing up, such as renting an apartment or getting a job. These are positive milestones that prepare you for independence.

Additionally, this term may refer to the development of basic life skills, without which a young adult may experience failure to launch due to a lack of these skills and the ability to handle the challenges of adult responsibilities. These can include making your bed, scheduling an appointment, and grocery shopping for nutritious meals.

When recovery from substance use disorder (SUD) is added to the picture, adulting includes relearning life skills that empower you to self-manage and adapt to change.

Life Skills and Sobriety

The lack of life skills such as time management, personal hygiene, and task completion may get in the way of maintaining recovery progress and sobriety. This is because many people with a history of SUD lose their ability to cope healthily.

For example, you may not have had much structure in your life during active addiction. Getting and using drugs and alcohol occupied your time and energy. It dictated how you spend the day—often in chaos. Your sleep patterns, personal hygiene, nutrition, and the cleanliness of your living space may have suffered as a result of this lack of “adulting.”

Regaining healthy habits can be challenging when you are in recovery. Rebuilding daily routines of self-management requires commitment and self-discipline. The basic building blocks of achieving healthy recovery are getting enough sleep, eating well-balanced meals, keeping up with recovery tasks, exercising, and spending time in healthy activities.

Failure to perform these tasks can increase your anxiety and stress, which may trigger cravings and relapse. In a way, relearning life skills is part of a solid relapse prevention plan.

Key Life Skills to Support Your Recovery

Life skills for recovering addicts also include learning or re-learning practical skills needed in everyday life. Some practical skills involve day-to-day things, such as managing personal finances and preparing meals. Some addiction treatment programs coach people to succeed at these tasks.

For young people, adulting may include gaining math, reading, and writing skills. They are the building blocks of a love for learning and success in the adult world. These basic abilities can also improve your self-esteem and motivate healthy behaviors.

Communication skills are another key to recovery because they support rebuilding healthy relationships. Addiction treatment gives you access to individual, group, and family therapies to help you relearn effective communication. Knowing how to express your emotions is an important part of relapse prevention.

Social skills are also important in recovery because you must re-enter social situations and relationships. It may have been quite some time since you’ve been sober in a social situation. Addiction treatment programs usually provide many opportunities for you to practice being sober and social.

Principles of Adulting in Recovery

In rehab, treatment center staff and counselors will guide you in relearning a wide range of adult skills. These are not only key to rebuilding a sober life but are essential to helping you regain confidence and control in life. Adulting life skills teach you principles such as self-sufficiency, emotional stability, socio-emotional intelligence, conflict resolution, adaptiveness to change, and, ultimately, resilience.

Struggling or failing to master these skills does not mean that the journey is over. Failure provides the opportunity to learn about yourself and grow from past mistakes. In fact, willingness to learn is another important life skill.

The Importance of Self-Care as a Life Skill

Self-care is your ability to take care of your physical, emotional, and mental health. It begins with self-awareness about the immense value of your well-being. You need a strong sense of self-worth and self-love to practice self-care that works for the long term.

Sobriety requires you to look after yourself and engage in sober activities that make you happy and promote growth. With the help of therapists and counselors, you are in a better place to identify common stressors and triggers, which is an important part of a self-care check-in.

Goal-Setting in Recovery

Getting sober is a huge accomplishment on its own. Now you can envision future milestones you want to hit down the road. Self-motivation and goal-setting are important life skills that help you succeed in life. Be intentional about planning for something new and exciting.

In school or at work, goal-setting and self-motivation are very important because they drive you forward. Once you relearn these skills, your sense of self-worth can increase, which further motivates you to achieve new goals. Adulting is just a series of setting and accomplishing daily, weekly, yearly, and lifelong goals.

Young people who are recovering from addiction need to unlearn certain habits and re-learn key “adulting” skills. If you are looking for a great program to help you build life skills into your recovery, try Laguna Shores Recovery. Here, you will experience the benefits of high-quality “adulting” coaching alongside innovative, holistic addiction treatment. We strive to provide customized programs to ensure the best treatment for you. We offer plans that include detox, medication, 12-Step groups, and relationship skills coaching, all of which can greatly enhance your experience on the road to long-term sustainable recovery. Most of our staff are in recovery themselves, so they know the value of a caring treatment team and life-skill building. Schedule an appointment with a licensed mental healthcare professional or therapist at Laguna Shores Recovery today. Call us at 954-688-5806 to find out more.