The fight to stay sober doesn’t end with rehab. In fact, people have to keep living healthy lifestyles physically and mentally to avoid relapse. That’s why it’s so important for rehab centers to offer social skills development training. However, what are social skills, and why are they so important for avoiding relapse?

What Is Social Skills Development?

To understand social skills development, people have to know more about social skills. They’re the different skills that people use to interact and communicate with others. They include both verbal and nonverbal cues. Personal appearance, gestures, and body language are examples of nonverbal cues. Unfortunately, some people lack social skills, which makes them feel uncomfortable or awkward in social situations. Because of that, they suffer from a lot of stress and anxiety. Social skills development hones the skills that make them more comfortable in these situations.

Why Do People Need Social Skills?

Social skills are important for many reasons. First, they let people interact with family, friends, and strangers in positive ways. It helps them better understand what they communicate to others. Good social skills are key to getting a job and performing daily tasks. Interacting with people without having social skills is hard. It makes it hard for young adults at school and work. With proper skills training, however, they can live normal lives.

The Link Between Social Skills and Addiction

People can understand what social skills are and why they need them. However, how do they connect with addiction? The real link between them is the anxiety and stress that people feel when they lack skills. When people have trouble communicating with others, they become frustrated. It’s even more frustrating when they feel anxiety or stress in social situations. One way that they deal with it is to start using drugs. The most common drug that they use to feel at ease is alcohol. In fact, people often refer to alcohol as “liquid courage.” It’s a depressant and makes them feel relaxed and happy. However, these feelings only develop when they have a buzz from drinking. To keep feeling this way, they have to keep drinking. In the end, people abuse alcohol just to get rid of the anxiety that they feel during social events. Then, they have to enroll in young adult rehab programs to feel like themselves again. Through social skills development, people can get rid of anxiety and stress in natural ways. They don’t have to rely on drugs to help them deal with their problems. Learning skills can also save their relationships and friendships.

Red Oak Recovery^® Wants to Teach You Social Skills

At Red Oak Recovery^®, we’re well aware of the need for social skills development in young adults. That’s why we strive to offer therapy services for young adults and college students who need addiction help. It’s not just about getting our clients to overcome addiction. It’s about providing the tools that they need to prevent relapse. We offer a wide range of addiction therapy services at Red Oak Recovery^®. Our facility provides gender-specific treatment in an affordable and easy-to-understand way. We also focus on developing vital coping skills that young adults need to make it in the real world. A few of the many services that we have include:

• Trauma therapy
• Dual diagnosis treatment
• Individual and group therapies
• Family therapy
• Holistic treatment for addiction
• 12-step rehab

Learn more about social skills development and how it can help you with addiction. Get the tools and knowledge that you need to avoid relapse after treatment. Reach out to Red Oak Recovery^® today at 866-457-7590 for more information.