Once you have completed drug rehab programme, there must be changes in your lifestyle. Below are some tips about what to expect and what those change should be:

Aftercare support
You will spend a lot of time applying the newly acquired life skills and coping skills that you learned in your treatment programme and this will keep you happy, clean and sober. This alone can keep you so busy that some family members may even feel neglected. These are an essential part of the recovery process. Keep in mind, many families find it difficult to understand why re-entry to society after an addiction treatment programme takes up so much of your time in a successful recovery. Have patience and explain all the hard work you are doing on your sobriety to them it will pay off in the long-run.

New rules
Rules are the cornerstone of the treatment process. While in treatment, you may have grown accustomed to following rules, and come to appreciate this level of structure. After returning home, you may even suggest new family rules, the most obvious being a ban on alcohol or drugs in your home.

Roles and responsibilities
Before you went into treatment, you may have neglected certain roles and responsibilities. Other family members may have pitched in to compensate. Now that you have completed treatment, you will probably be eager to participate in family life, and resume your family roles and responsibilities. Often this change in the family dynamic can be difficult at first. Don’t worry it will get easier.

Communication
As part of the treatment process, you have learned to talk about personal issues, like relationships and feelings. Most treatment programmes stress the importance of open and honest communication. You will bring these lessons home, and encourage the rest of the family to talk and listen to one another. These conversations may be unsettling and unfamiliar at first. But open communication can help to solve problems and conflicts and, in the long-run, create a healthy home environment.

New people, places and things
While in treatment you will have learned to avoid people, places and things associated with your past drug abuse activities. This may affect your social life as a family, and may cause some conflicts in the home. Keep in mind that these challenges will be worth it in the long run.

Your feelings
Alcohol and drug abuse affects the whole family, and your feelings are important too. Make time for yourself, and talk to trusted family members and friends about your experiences.

‘Relapse’ is when a person in recovery uses alcohol or drugs. It can be a one-time occurrence or it can last for an extended period of time. Family members can help a person in recovery by looking out for warning signs a return to old behaviors, hanging out with friends who are using, unexplained absences. If you feel as though you are going to relapse or already have, contact the counselor or the doctor and ask for help.

Dr Sat Parkash

Depression may make it harder for people with diabetes to keep their blood sugar levels in check, researchers have found.

In a study of more than 11,000 U.S. veterans with type 2 diabetes, the investigators found that over a decade, those diagnosed with depression consistently had a higher average hemoglobin A1C level — a standard measure of long-term blood sugar control.

The findings are concerning, in part, because studies have found that diabetics have a higher risk of depression than non-diabetics. It is estimated that about 30 percent of people with diabetes also suffer from depression at some point.

“Our study shows that depression is a major and important comorbidity in people with type 2 diabetes,” Dr. Leonard Egede, one of the researchers, said.

He and his colleagues at the Medical University of South Carolina, in Charleston, report their study findings in the journal General Hospital Psychiatry.

Briefly, the researchers analysed records from 11,525 mostly male veterans treated for type 2 diabetes between 1997 and 2006. At the outset, 6 percent also had a diagnosis of depression. On average, the researchers found, this group consistently showed a higher hemoglobin A1C level over the years.

The difference between groups was small — a gap of 0.13 percent overall — but for any one person, even a slightly higher hemoglobin A1C, sustained over time, can raise the risk of diabetes complications, Egede noted.

The reasons for the findings are not clear, but one possibility is that dealing with depression makes it harder for diabetics to manage their blood sugar with lifestyle measures and medication.