When it comes to addiction treatment programs, myths and misconceptions abound. If you don’t have any personal experience with drug and alcohol rehab or outpatient addiction treatment, it’s no surprise that you would feel uncertain as to what to expect from a program. But you entering treatment with misconceptions or unrealistic expectations can hold you back. Here’s the truth about what to expect from drug and alcohol addiction treatment.
Addiction Treatment Programs Aren’t a Quick Fix
Many people suffer from the misconception that you can enter a drug or alcohol treatment center for a few weeks and then come home clean, sober and forever “cured” of your substance abuse disorder. In reality, addiction treatment isn’t a quick-fix; addiction is a chronic condition that can never really be cured.
That doesn’t mean that drug and alcohol rehabs don’t have value or that they don’t help a lot of people. But no matter how well an addict does in treatment or how many years of sobriety he or she can claim, addiction never goes away. A recovering addict must avoid drugs and alcohol for the rest of his or her life, or problems will develop. That’s why the graduates of addiction treatment programs are said to be “in recovery,” rather than “recovered.”
While recovery typically begins on an addict’s first day in treatment, it takes much longer than the few weeks most addicts spend in an inpatient rehab to really make that recovery stick. Laying the foundation for a successful long-term recovery can take several months to a year. For most addicts, maintaining recovery is a lifelong process that involves group and individual therapy and support groups like Alcoholics Anonymous.
Treatment Can Work Even When Addicts Don’t Want It
It’s common knowledge that addiction rehab won’t work unless the addict wants to change – if someone is coerced or forced into rehab against his or her will, so to speak, then the treatment won’t work. As much sense as this appears to make, it isn’t true. If it were, drug courts wouldn’t be so successful.
It doesn’t take a drug court to coerce an addiction into treatment. Many people enter addiction treatment programs because they’ve been given an ultimatum by a spouse, partner or parent. These people wouldn’t have chosen treatment for themselves, but they get it anyway and it works for them.
Few addicts truly enter treatment voluntarily. Most are so deeply stuck in denial that they would go on insisting they don’t have a problem right up until their disease killed them. It usually takes some coercion, either by family members or the legal system, to get addicts to get help.
Relapse Happens
The chances of a recovering addict experiencing an addiction relapse are very high. Sixty to 90 percent of recovering addicts experience a relapse, depending on the type of drug they were addicted to and the severity of their addiction.
But experiencing an addiction relapse doesn’t mean that addicts have to start all over again with their recovery process. Most recovering addicts leave their addiction treatment programs more or less prepared to cope with relapse – often, recovering addicts seek help immediately after a slip-up, and even if they don’t, they’re still more likely to recover a second time. Addiction treatment gives addicts a lasting set of life skills that helps them cope with life’s ups and downs without resorting to drug and alcohol abuse.
All Addiction Treatment Programs Are Not the Same
Every addict is different, and addiction treatment must always be tailored to meet the individual needs of the person receiving it. Some drug and alcohol rehab centers are better equipped to do this than others. A facility that uses a cookie cutter approach to treatment will not meet the needs of many of its clients, and while many addiction treatment programs are of excellent quality, there are some less than reputable facilities that are not capable of providing adequate treatment.
If you or someone you love is struggling with drug or alcohol addiction, don’t wait another minute to get help. Addiction is a serious disease that can be deadly if left untreated.
Call the Delray Center for Healing today at 888-699-5679 to find out how beneficial healing can be.