How to Set Healthy Boundaries During Treatment

One of the most important things you can do for yourself while working toward recovery is setting healthy boundaries during treatment. There may be people in your orbit who don’t have your best interests at heart or can’t respect the fact that you’re committed to making real and lasting changes in your life. Setting boundaries allows you to create the space you need to focus on healing without being negatively affected by outside influences.

To learn more, reach out to Spokane Falls Recovery Center using our secure online form or call our team of addiction specialists at 844.962.2775.

Spokane Falls Recovery Center in Washington provides access to care for a variety of issues. Our goal is to make sure that clients receive the kind of treatment needed to help them go out and lead more fulfilling lives. Our programs include, but are not limited to:

Why Healthy Boundaries Are Important

For many people, the time spent in treatment is an opportunity to get to know who they are without being under the influence. You likely had very few restrictions on how others could treat you or how you treated others. You may have gotten to the point where it seemed impossible to say “no” to anyone and lost any real sense of your internal values.

Setting healthy boundaries during treatment allows you to create guidelines on how you want others to respect the person who emerges from treatment. It enables you to define how you approach new connections and whether existing ones can respect your healthy boundaries.

It’s normal for you to want to establish contacts and gain acceptance from others. By setting healthy boundaries during treatment, you can get a clearer picture of the substance of your current relationships and whether they are worth trying to save.

Tips for Setting Healthy Boundaries

Below are some practices you can employ while figuring out the limits of your healthy boundaries during treatment. It’s up to you to enforce these boundaries. There must be a willingness to eliminate any negative influences, no matter how long that person may have been part of your previous life.

1. Let “No” Mean “No”

It’s okay to turn down a drink or an offer to use drugs from people around you. Don’t be afraid to walk away or leave a place entirely if you no longer feel safe in treatment. It’s not rude to turn down anything that will impact your chances of staying in recovery, especially if you think that person’s motivations are ultimately suspect. This can be one of the hardest parts of setting boundaries during treatment at an alcohol rehab center.

2. Be Clear About How You Feel

You may have gotten used to suppressing how you really feel to avoid hurting others or out of fear of being cut off. Now it’s time to let others know where you’re coming from and what you want in a respectful way. You may end up disappointed in the responses you get, but you can walk away knowing you have made your healthy boundaries clear and where you currently stand with that person.

3. Respect Yourself

Part of setting personal boundaries in treatment is believing in yourself. There may have been times in the past where you didn’t give yourself the respect you deserved, which led to poor treatment from others. Give yourself the dignity and regard you now expect from others. Show others the kind of treatment you wish to receive if they are going to be part of or remain in your circle.

4. Stand in Your Beliefs

“Walking the talk,” so to speak, is an excellent way to keep yourself from getting caught up in negative behaviors and circumstances that could impact your recovery. It may help to write down your healthy boundaries and read them to yourself every day. Let those words serve as a reminder of how far you’ve come and where you wish to end up in life.