Drug Rehabilitation: What is it like to attend rehab?

Drug rehab is guaranteed to come with challenges. However, many people who to commit drug treatment are surprised by how positive this experience ultimately is. This is a chance to reclaim your health, your freedom, and your life. Best of all, given that there’s such a vast range of treatment options to choose from, you can find the perfect environment and program for your needs.

Whether you want to take part in a largely independent, outpatient program, or require the more controlled setting of inpatient treatment, you’ll have access to a number of services, resources, and therapies for keeping you comfortable, pushing you towards your goals, and ensuring that you succeed. The first part of rehab is always the detox process. This is a short, challenging period in which your body will be removing all of the toxins that have built up over your months or years of drug use. Depending upon your substance of choice, detox can be performed in a medically supervised environment where you’ll have access to any needed medication support. Once your detox is complete, you’ll move on to addressing the underlying psychological causes of addiction. You’ll also work on developing new coping skills, and on creating a plan to maintain your sobriety long-term.

What to Expect During Inpatient Drug Rehab

Inpatient drug rehab separates people from the environments and relationships that may be contributing to their drug use. More importantly, these programs put patients in a safe, secure place where they can focus entirely on getting well. Absent of outside stresses, triggers, and distractions, you’ll have an opportunity to start proactively working on your life. These efforts start in private therapy. By working with a counselor, you can explore some of the possible reasons why you chose to use drugs. Many people find that their drug use started with early-life trauma, behavioral conditioning, or low self-esteem.

Others turn to drugs as a way to alleviate the pain of undiagnosed mental health issues. For instance, if you’ve been living with chronic anxiety or depression, you may have started using drugs in an effort to get relief. This is known as co-morbidity and it exists whenever a person struggles with both substance use disorder and another underlying mental health issue. In drug rehab, you can receive treatment for both problems so that you aren’t compelled to self-medicate again.

Some of your time in inpatient rehab will be spent getting to know other patients in your program. You’ll take part in group therapy sessions where everyone will have an opportunity to talk about their drug use, their recovery goals, and various personal life experiences. These times of sharing are important for building new and healthier social skills. Through their participation in group therapy, patient have the opportunity to improve their communication skills, practice boundary-setting, and benefit from the wisdom and experiences of others. In addition to group therapy, patients are also able to take part in a number of calming and therapeutic activities, both with other patients and on their own. These can include stress-reducing workouts like yoga and Pilates, or quiet, meditative activities such as painting, drawing, and engaging in other hands-on tasks. In inpatient treatment programs, clients are removed from co-dependent and enabling relationships that might harm their recoveries for a period of one to 12 months.

Based upon your history of substance abuse, you can choose a program length that best-suits any recovery challenges you’re facing. Inpatient treatment centers are closed environments. This is to protect the security and well-being of all patients, and to ensure that everyone has a fair chance of keeping their recoveries on track. However, people who take part in long-term drug rehab programs are often able to earn day passes where they can reenter the world, visit their loved ones, and practice using their newly developed coping skills. These excursions are great preparation for facing temptation and cravings outside of the treatment environment, and for assessing whether or not patients are ready for their treatment to end.

There are also occasional visitation days that allow patients to reconnect with their families. During family visits, you and your loved ones can take part in family therapy sessions to start the process of healing and restoring individual relationships. There are countless benefits that you’re guaranteed to experience when committing to drug treatment. Moreover, these are benefits that will manifest all throughout the treatment process so that you’re constantly being rewarded for your decision to seek recovery. For instance, you’ll have the opportunity to begin making amends, and can start taking steps to clear up legal issues. Rehab centers make ongoing and concerted efforts to assist patients in rebuilding their lives and in establishing long-term stability. This promotes higher levels of success among clients exiting these programs by minimizing the likelihood of relapse. Thus, you can also take part in goal-setting workshops, classes and workshops on identifying key resources, and meetings with case managers to establish solid plans for work, housing, and other essential needs post-treatment.

If you’re ready to get started on your journey to wellness, we can help. Call us today at 833-497-3812