What are life skills, and what do they have to do with substance use or addiction? Most people learn necessary life skills from their caregivers as children, but some circumstances require relearning later in life. You’re never too old to find yourself in need of primary life skills education at life skills rehab in Oregon.
The abuse of drugs or alcohol can interfere with the development and implementation of life skills at any stage of life. Extended use of some drugs can lead to neurological damage that compromises learning ability, memory, mood stabilization, and communication. These problems may require you to relearn life skills that you need to function as an adult in our modern society.
What are Life Skills?
The Peace Corps developed a life skills program that focuses on helping people develop skills that are needed to carry out activities in daily life. Skills included in the program are deemed necessary for a person to carry out one or more of the following effectively:
- Assertiveness
- Clear thinking
- Communication
- Decision making
- Emotional control
- Establishing self-esteem
- Maintaining healthy relationships
- Resisting peer pressure
To understand life skills, think about the skills that most children learn at home before they move out on their own. Most teenagers and young adults know how to groom their bodies, interact with authority figures, read, write, and perform essential mathematical functions. They can count money and read street signs. Most know what a red light means at a traffic stop and understand price tags on items in stores.
If a skill is needed just to function in daily life, you can consider it one of your necessary life skills. What are life skills specific to your lifestyle? You may depend heavily on interpersonal communication and driving skills while someone else struggles with simple grooming skills like brushing their teeth and hair. Contact Crestview Recovery today to begin life skill development during addiction treatment.
Drug Addiction and Life Skill Development
Look back at the list of necessary life processes included in the life skills program created by the Peace Corps. How many of those required processes are disrupted by drug and alcohol addiction? The answer is most of them. Some chronic alcoholics and drug abusers may struggle with all of those processes.
It’s challenging, if not impossible, to think clearly and make wise life decisions when you’re under the influence of drugs or alcohol. The immediate side effects of many intoxicating substances interfere with verbal communication and can make it difficult to process what others are saying in conversation. The long-term effects of addiction often include a lack of self-esteem, difficulties stabilizing emotions, and the inability to maintain healthy personal and professional relationships. Drug abuse is connected to depression, and alcoholism is linked to OCD.
When you look at addiction in that light, you see that most drug addicts and alcoholics would benefit not only from comprehensive alcohol and drug rehabilitation programs in OR but life skills programs as well.
Why are Life Skills Important?
What are life skills, and why do you really need them? Every adult needs life skills to maintain healthy relationships with loved ones, stable employment, and freedom from incarceration. Without a solid command of these skills, you can’t live up to your full potential and function as a contributing member of society.
Some of the smallest details of a productive life depend on life skills. Think about your ability to follow laws while in public and rules while at work. Communication is essential to daily life no matter what you do for a living, and basic mathematic skills are needed to pay your bills on time.
Getting the Treatment You Need
Crestview Recovery is dedicated to providing in-depth outpatient and aftercare services for anyone in need of addiction recovery in the Pacific Northwest. While our mission is to help you or your loved one overcome addiction, we also strive to help you rebuild essential life skills.
We want you to become a full-functioning, successful member of your community. Some of our programs include:
- Dual diagnosis therapy
- Trauma therapy in Woodburn
- Individual therapy
- Extended care addiction treatment in WA
- Intensive outpatient
- Partial hospitalization
Addiction doesn’t have to control your life any longer. You can take that first step down the road to recovery by calling us at 866.262.0531. Our master-level therapists are ready to teach you the skills needed to live your best life.
Since 2016, Dr. Merle Williamson, a graduate of Oregon Health Sciences University, has been the Medical Director at Crestview Recovery, bringing a rich background in addiction medicine from his time at Hazelden Treatment Center. He oversees outpatient drug and alcohol treatments, providing medical care, setting policies, detox protocols, and quality assurance measures. Before specializing in addiction medicine, he spent 25 years in anesthesiology, serving as Chair of Hospital Pharmacy and Therapeutics Committee and Chief of Anesthesia at Kaiser Permanente. This experience gives him a unique perspective on treating prescription drug addiction.
