Hawaii Island Recovery 
Recovery is a wholly transformative process. Veterans from any military branch will have to dedicate a lot of effort to exploring their personal needs and goals throughout each step of recovery. While some may be putting their all into navigating urges and cravings throughout addiction recovery, others may be addressing the emotional effects of trauma, survivor’s guilt, symptoms of PTSD, and more, with many experiencing a combination of these challenges and more. Coupled with the hectic and stressful transition to civilian life, making time for effective and comprehensive treatment can be difficult. However, it is never impossible, and Hawaii Island Recovery can empower veterans to explore effective treatment in their own lives.
The Challenges of Making Time for Treatment
Professional treatment and recovery programs can be intimidating, and many veterans may feel unsure about committing to such a program. For some, pervasive stigmas can make it difficult to reach out for help regarding many profound challenges, even if an individual otherwise acknowledges that such professional support may be necessary. However, others may already be stretched thin in daily life with many personal responsibilities and obligations, and professional treatment may seem like another brick in an already crammed schedule.
Other veterans may feel as if they have lost enough time on deployment and away from family that making time for inpatient alcohol treatment or drug treatment can be difficult. Likewise, veterans may be working to establish a new professional life, and exploring new professional avenues or education can further complicate making time for treatment. However, while balancing professional addiction and mental health recovery with the inherent challenges of veteran life is certainly difficult, there are always options. No veteran should ever have to choose between the development of their personal lives and their health or sobriety.
Making Time in Daily Life
Simply finding time in any busy schedule for anything can be challenging. Instead, it is common that anyone looking to pursue treatment or change will have to make this time themselves. However, there are strategies that veterans can use to balance making time for treatment with other continued obligations and goals.
Recognize the Interconnected Nature of Healing
Addiction recovery and healing from mental health disorders, trauma, and more is not an isolated effort. While veterans may have a plethora of personal and professional goals to tend to following their time in service, mental health, and addiction recovery needs are a part of this process. Continuing to engage with addictive substances can have profound effects on these goals, and leaving trauma, PTSD, depression, anxiety, and more unaddressed can fundamentally affect each veteran’s ability to reach these goals.
These recovery needs and each veteran’s ambitions are already intertwined. Emotional needs affect not just a person’s focus and ability to tend to personal goals but also their daily schedule and lifestyle. Approaching treatment with this mentality can make making time for treatment easier as there may already be time dedicated to navigating the challenges of mental health disorders, symptoms of trauma, or engaging with drugs or alcohol.
Know Your Level of Treatment
Addiction recovery, trauma support, mental health treatment, and personal endeavors are unique to each person, and no two people will necessarily have the same recovery journey. Likewise, the program that best fits each veteran will differ. While some may benefit from intensive residential treatment, others may succeed most in outpatient programming and support groups. Exploring the various options available and working with the staff at Hawaii Island Recovery can empower veterans to look to programs that best fit their needs.
Knowing what kind of program would work best for each individual is essential to scheduling such treatment. Hawaii Island Recovery’s staff can help veterans explore their unique needs and options at Hawaii Island Recovery or locally in their area.
Write Down a Schedule
Creating a daily routine as a veteran is complicated. Balancing professional obligations and goals with personal needs, self-care, and more is a lot to balance. Writing down a solid and thought-out schedule can empower veterans to visualize better where they can manage time more effectively and introduce healthy self-care elements, rest, and more into daily life. It is easy to feel pulled by the stresses of daily life, whether as a result of addiction, emotional needs, or just the stresses of navigating each day. Writing down a schedule can provide a new perspective and put the agency of these decisions back into the hands of veterans.
Meet With Other Veterans
Navigating veteran life is difficult, and many veterans may be skeptical about how professional treatment can impact veteran life and their unique needs. Meeting with other veterans navigating similar challenges and who have engaged in professional treatment can be a great way to explore how professional treatment can impact their personal goals. Likewise, veteran peers can provide new strategies, perspectives, and more to empower each person further to balance their needs and daily life.
Making time for treatment as a veteran can be intimidating, and many may not know where to start their healing journey while still navigating the stresses of daily life. If you or your veteran loved one is continuing to navigate the stresses of daily veteran life, addiction, trauma, and more, we at Hawaii Island Recovery can personalize a program that fits your needs and goals to ensure you get the treatment you need while still tending to your goals. Our dedicated inpatient alcohol treatment programs, access to a community of veteran peers, and continued outpatient support all combine for a comprehensive approach to treatment that can help you. To learn more, call us at (866) 390-5070.
