How Difficult is Addiction Treatment?
Friday 23rd December 2016
One of the biggest fears of addiction treatment is the worry about how difficult it will be.
You might have heard horrible stories about how tough it is and this is one of the main reasons why so many addicts avoid getting into addiction treatment – because they do not understand what happens in rehab.
In fact, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) state that in the United States alone, there are over 23 million people that need addiction treatment, however only a small fraction of that number actually get into rehab.
I’m not going to tell you that addiction treatment will be easy as it does require some effort to overcome an alcohol or drug dependency. However, it’s more difficult and dangerous to try and quit on your own.
For example, if you’ve been using heroin for a long time, your body has become dependent on its effects. By suddenly quitting your drug use, your body isn’t simply going to return back to normal. Instead, you’ll experience withdrawal symptoms and cravings, which will only disappear once you use again.
These withdrawal symptoms range from mild to more severe, depending on the nature and severity of your symptoms. In some cases, it may even be life-threatening, that’s why I urge you to rather get professional addiction help instead of quitting by yourself.
What to Expect in Addiction Treatment
Forget what you’ve heard, if you’re wondering how difficult addiction treatment is, here’s what you need to know.
Addiction treatment will involve medical care, counselling, therapy and education to help you overcome your alcohol or drug problem.
The first thing that you’ll experience upon admission into a rehab centre is a supervised medical detoxification, which will help to remove all the harmful toxins of drugs or alcohol out of the body.
The detox will help to safely reduce the effects of any withdrawal symptoms or cravings that you may experience now that you cannot drink alcohol or use drugs anymore. This medical procedure will be done under the supervision of the clinical staff at the addiction treatment centre, who will be at your service 24/7 throughout your entire stay.
Once the detox has been completed, the counselling, therapy and education part of addiction treatment will begin. The main aim of this is to teach you about your problem, find out why you became addicted in the first place and how you can avoid making the same mistakes in future.
You’ll also get to interact with the other patients inside the addiction treatment centre. These are the people that will teach you how to communicate healthily once again and will be there to support you whenever you’re going through a rough patch.
How long you’ll stay in addiction treatment is entirely dependent on the nature and severity of your symptoms, however other factors such as finances also play a part in determining the length of the program. There is however a minimum requirement that all patients stay in rehab for at least 4 weeks.
Get Addiction Treatment Now!
We can provide who with immediate admission into the best private addiction treatment centres in South Africa, the United Kingdom and Thailand. Call us now and let one of our counsellors provide you with free, expert advice.
Article by We Do Recover