Breaking free from any substance use disorder takes time and effort, and years of experience shows that going it alone is not very effective. Your best option for reaching full recovery and maintaining it the rest of your life is to have inpatient treatment for addiction. For 30 – 90 days, you will live in a comfortable and safe environment surrounded by caring, trained professionals who are focused on your issues. Celebrities such as Ben Affleck have gone public with their efforts to live an alcohol-free life when they checked into an inpatient rehab facility. You will have a custom designed treatment program that relates to your specific needs so you can gain the skills and tools you need to live independently again.
Start With Detox
Once you or your loved one has made the personal commitment to break the addiction cycle, the first step is detoxification. This is the process by which the chemical substance you have been taking is removed from your body. Drug and alcohol detox is not an easy process and may take from three to 10 days according to the substance abused and the length of time it was abused. The main problem is withdrawal symptoms that can be painful and push you to return to your substance of choice.
The popular expression ‘cold turkey’ means you try to do this alone. However, this gives you the least chance to succeed. Outpatient detox may be for people, who have family or other obligations, and they will have the help of trained professionals, but their chances of success are still much lower than having detox in an inpatient treatment center.
The Benefits of Inpatient Detox
- Dedicated medical staff 24/7 who are trained to handle physical and emotional symptoms of withdrawal
- A safe environment where you will not have access to any drug except that which is prescribed by a doctor specifically for your withdrawal symptoms
- Relief from stress factors such as work or family responsibilities that may trigger the desire to numb the stress with drugs or alcohol. You will undergo your detox in a healing environment where you can focus on yourself
- Inpatient detox is recommended if you have ever overdosed or if you have undergone an outpatient detox treatment and relapsed
Benefits of Inpatient Programs after Detox
Inpatient rehab programs offer many benefits. Some offer traditional treatment methods such as a 12-step program and others offer holistic treatments that may include acupuncture, massage and herbal remedies.
Some of the benefits that you will find in any good inpatient rehab facility are:
- A new environment that is almost like a mini vacation. You will be comfortable, have delicious, nutritious food and be able to relax and focus on your recovery
- The facilities are specifically designed to keep you focused on recovery. This means regular mealtimes and may include a fitness area, outdoor space, a swimming pool, yoga and massage areas, arts and craft areas and access to animals such as horses and dogs.
- You may have individually tailored counseling that is specific to your needs as well as group therapy where you can exchange addiction and recovery stories, give, and get help and support.
- There will be no access to drugs or alcohol since you live at the facility full-time. People, who undergo detox and the other stages of recovery through outpatient programs, always have to deal with the triggers that make them want to abuse the drug as well as access to the alcohol or drugs.
Inpatient rehab offers physical, psychological and emotional benefits and is especially helpful for alcohol rehab. The reason is that alcohol is readily available in a variety of places and anyone over 21 years can legally purchase it. Since it is easy to get, the temptation to relapse is much stronger. In an inpatient facility, this will not be a problem because the patient is secluded from the substance as well as the triggers that tempt relapse.
Inpatient rehab programs also provide the time for patients to get the psychological help they may need for co-occurring psychological disorders such as anxiety, depression or bipolar disorder. Through cognitive behavior therapy, patients may learn to understand and deal with problems in life without trying to escape through drugs or alcohol.
If you or someone you know has substance use disorder and would like to undergo rehabilitation in order to live a drug or alcohol-free life, an inpatient rehab program may be the best option.
Article Submitted By Community Writer