Drug Rehab

Drug Rehab

In 2006, nearly 200,000 out of approximately one million people sought treatment for a drug or alcohol addiction in California. Although this number could be much higher, it’s promising that even this many people made the choice to get help. Seeking drug rehab is about more than choosing to give up using drugs or drinking alcohol; it’s about making a choice to start on a healthier and sometimes happier path in your life.

The drug rehab process isn’t easy, however. It takes patience and effort on your part. When you enter the process, you may be reluctant, and you might want to quit a number of times along the way, but the results will be worth it in the end.

Drug Rehab Basics

While the goal of drug rehab is the same no matter what type of treatment you choose, the finer aspects of each type of treatment differ slightly. Some treatments allow for very little freedom during the rehab process and others give you more leeway while you recover. For instance, inpatient rehab is a very insular form of treatment where you reside in the treatment center and are often not allowed to leave the grounds or have visitors. Sometimes these rules are relaxed after you’re out of the early stages of treatment and sometimes they’re not. Outpatient treatment typically has fewer rules during treatment, but may pose more restrictions on you for the times you’re not meeting.

In spite of the differences in treatment, the process itself remains similar. You start by detoxing and then move on to more therapy-related aspects of treatment.

Drug Detox During Drug Rehab

The first milestone in many treatment programs is to safely wean you off drugs or alcohol. Heroin addicts sometimes accomplish this through a methadone-tapering program, but many other treatment programs prefer to have you complete an actual detoxification process. Unlike methadone or other “step-down” drugs, detox is a complete stoppage of drug use, and only non-narcotic pain medicine is given if necessary. This allows your body to completely free itself of drug toxins and begin the treatment process clean.

Despite the benefits of drug detox, withdrawal is considered the biggest detractor in participating. If you attempt to detox on your own, the odds of being successful are against you unfortunately. However, when you detox in a drug rehab facility, withdrawal may be uncomfortable, but you won’t be able to relapse since there will be no drugs nearby.

The next stage of drug rehab is the stage that is the most time-consuming. Although many addictions affect you physically, they are often treated mentally as well. Thus, there’s a heavy counseling element to all drug rehab choices.

Addiction Counseling During Drug Rehab

Whether you choose an inpatient or an outpatient form of rehab, you’ll participate in many counseling sessions, both as part of a group and on your own. This aspect of treatment gives you the chance to examine your addiction and your behavior, and understand if you chose to use drugs as a coping mechanism. If you determine that you did, your counselor will also help you learn how to handle stress or pain in other ways. Group sessions serve to give you a better understanding of what other addicts are going through, so you can learn from each other’s mistakes. One benefit of counseling as a treatment for drug addiction is that you’re always free to follow up with your therapist when you need additional support.

Drug rehab will have its challenges, but if you’re willing to make the effort, the results are very worthwhile.