Month: March 2021

California Drug Treatment: Why Travel For Recovery

In some cases, it may be most beneficial for a person to leave home and start fresh with a clean slate at a facility somewhere else. Sometimes the people and things around us can be contributing factors to struggles such as substance abuse, and getting away from those things leaves more room for recovery. 

Choosing a facility that is located away from home may also leave you with more options in terms of recreational treatment. 

At our Los Angeles substance abuse luxury rehab facility, recreational activities are built into our treatment programs, and include hiking, beach days, and fresh air mindfulness and yoga sessions thanks to the beautiful California setting. 

Benefits of Traveling For Recovery

There are countless ways that traveling for recovery from addiction can benefit you, but some of these are:

• Reduced exposure to triggers
• Separation from negative influences – People in your social network can potentially influence you or expose you to drugs and alcohol. 
• Distance between yourself and places you associate with substance abuse – A person likely associates drug and alcohol use with certain places such as bars, clubs, etc. 
• Privacy and ability to be discreet – Traveling for recovery means it is easier to prevent coworkers, neighbors, or others from finding out about your private and personal struggles with substance use and addiction.
• Escape from stressors in daily life which may lead to or result in substance use as a means of coping – Being around stressors, such as responsibilities pertaining to work or family, can also interfere with recovery.
• Access to addiction treatments or recovery programs that may not be available in your home location – Examples include horse therapy, medication-assisted treatment, and luxury rehab centers like Starbridge Recovery.
• More time to reflect on your life as well as issues in your life that may hinder recovery or that have contributed to your substance use – Taking a step away from your normal routine and home base allows you space to look back with a clearer mind.

Additionally, traveling out of state for treatment might allow you to receive a more proactive and comprehensive treatment approach. This kind of approach addresses underlying factors that contribute to a person’s substance use, and treats these issues. This approach also treats the individual as a whole by looking at social and psychological factors that tie into their addiction, and this form of treatment is associated with high success.

Being away from home also eliminates many distractions, such as family, work obligations, or other personal distractions that may take your attention away from recovery, making your journey more difficult. Leaving home for treatment lessens this issue, allowing each individual to devote their undivided attention to the path to sobriety. 

With recovery as your main focus, coping strategies and methods used in your treatment program will be more successful, and you will likely appreciate them more because you will not be worried about keeping up any form of reputation in your personal or professional life. 

Traveling for rehab also means you have more options available to you in terms of programs and facilities. Evidence-based programs are associated with the highest rates of success in terms of recovery and sobriety, especially for an individual’s long-term recovery from substance use. 

Starbridge Recovery offers evidence-based treatment in a luxury setting so that you can commit to recovery in as much comfort as possible. 

What is Evidence-Based Treatment?

Evidence-based approaches for drug addiction treatment are approaches which have evidence supporting their use. Some of these approaches are meant to go hand in hand with other forms of treatment, whereas others are comprehensive on their own. 

Evidence-based approaches include, but are not limited to:

• Pharmacotherapies
• Behavioral Therapies

More often than not, pharmacotherapy evidence-based approaches are recommended to be used in combination with behavioral therapy approaches. By doing this, all factors contributing to substance abuse will be addressed so that treatment is more successful in the long run. 

Behavioral therapy approaches include:

• Cognitive Behavioral Therapy – Alcohol, marijuana, cocaine, methamphetamine, nicotine
• Contingency Management Interventions/Motivational Incentives – Alcohol, stimulants, opioids, marijuana, nicotine
• Community Reinforcement – Alcohol, cocaine, opioids
• Motivational Enhancement Therapy – Alcohol, marijuana, nicotine
• The Matrix Mode l- Stimulants
• 12-Step Facilitation Therapy – Alcohol, stimulants, opiates
• Family Behavior Therapy
• Behavioral Therapies Primarily for Adolescents

All of the substances listed above are addictions which we treat at our Los Angeles facility. 

At our facility, there are multiple program options available to you. The most common forms of addiction treatment include:

• Detoxification –  Ridding your body of harmful toxins and substances
• Residential Inpatient – Living on site in a 24/7 residential, homelike setting
• Partial Hospitalization – Also known as partial day treatment, this is a combination of inpatient and outpatient where clients may live at home while attending treatment programs during the day.
• Intensive Outpatient – Clients slowly return to everyday life while partaking in treatment such as group or individual therapy.
• Outpatient – Outpatient treatment is available to clients who complete intensive outpatient treatment, and it is a less invasive option.
• Sober Living Home– A safe and structured environment that clients can choose to take part in after completing their rehabilitation program.

These are just some of the options available as methods of treatment, and traveling may make these more accessible to you depending on your location. If the treatment options available in your area are not up to par, it may be worth it to travel elsewhere and receive better treatment. 

Choosing To Take Part In An Out-of-State Program

Deciding whether or not to choose an in-state or out-of-state rehabilitation program can be difficult, but there are certain factors that should be considered in order to make the choice that is best for you and your specific needs. 

Consider whether or not you have personal or professional connections who influence you in negative ways, or who make negative choices. For example, if you are surrounded by peers and professionals who also use drugs and/or alcohol, it is unlikely that your recovery will be successful long-term. This behavior can have a poor impact on your progress during recovery, and this may be reason enough to seek treatment elsewhere.

Consider the options that are nearby. Do they treat the individual as a whole? Do they work to identify and improve underlying issues which contribute to substance use? Is their treatment approach one that aligns with your needs? The best options are always those which provide 24/7 access to medical professionals so that pre-existing health concerns can be appropriately monitored and put to rest throughout the recovery process. Addiction can take a toll on your overall health in many ways, so it is vital that you choose a facility that will take the utmost care to make you feel comfortable and safe. 

Another very important part of recovery is establishing healthy connections and building a positive support system. This means surrounding yourself with people who support you and your path to sobriety, and this may prove difficult if your social network at home is full of negative influences, or if you feel that you have a certain reputation to uphold at home which may not be in line with the person you become throughout your journey to sobriety. In this case, seeking treatment out-of-state may, again, be more conducive to your recovery.

If you find that your life is full of distractions at home, this is another sign that you might be better served by a treatment program in another state. Distractions can come in many forms, ranging from family and work duties to social events. During recovery, it is vital that you are able to put all of your focus and attention into your treatment. If there are too many distractions around you, they could be  hindering your recovery.

Summary

Traveling away from home for rehabilitation may sound like a daunting task to take on, but it is worth it. Traveling for recovery can be extremely rewarding and beneficial in many ways, because being away from home means there are less distractions, less negative influences, and less exposure to triggers that may interfere with your recovery progress throughout treatment. 

Being away from home allows you much more privacy regarding your personal struggles with substance abuse and addiction, meaning neighbors or coworkers will not have to know. This distance means you will also no longer be dealing with stressors such as work obligations or family obligations, and you will also be able to separate yourself from places and things that you associate with substance use. 

Most importantly, being willing to travel for drug addiction treatment opens up your options to many different facilities and approaches to treatment. This means that you can find exactly what you need and what will be most beneficial for you in order to yield successful results long-term. 

Certain approaches or programs that may not be available near your home base are most definitely available elsewhere. Evidence-based treatment specifically has long been held as one of the most successful approaches, and if this is not available at a facility near you, it is likely worth it to travel in order to participate in a program that uses this approach. 

Explore Starbridge Recovery’s luxurious substance abuse rehabilitation facility by taking a virtual tour here. 

Sources:

https://www.addictions.com/faq/should-i-travel-for-treatment/

https://www.addictionresource.net/blog/traveling-out-of-state-rehab/

https://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/principles-drug-addiction-treatment-research-based-guide-third-edition/evidence-based-approaches-to-drug-addiction-treatment/behavioral-therapies

How To Decide on a Drug Rehabilitation Center Near Me

When you have decided that it is time to seek treatment for your substance abuse, the options can be overwhelming. 

Choosing to take part in a program at a facility near you can narrow down the choices available, but it is important to make an educated decision so that the center you choose can take care of you and your specific needs. 

With a little help and research, you can narrow your choices down from the thousands that are available and choose one that is best suited to your individual needs.

Types of Rehab Programs

The first step in choosing a drug rehabilitation center is to determine what your needs and goals are for treatment and then deciding which treatment method is right for you based on those needs and goals. 

The most common types of rehab programs are:

• Outpatient treatment – You will live at home and regularly visit a facility or clinic for addiction treatment sessions run by medical professionals.
• Inpatient treatment – You will stay in a hospital or clinic in order to receive intensive, around-the-clock care. This form of treatment for struggles with addiction and other medical problems is highly structured.
• Residential treatment – You will stay in a non-hospital setting, meaning the environment will be more homelike. This form of treatment is offered at Starbridge Recovery, and the care you receive will be intensive and highly structured in a similar way to inpatient treatment but without the sterile setting. 
• Recovery housing – You will live in supervised, temporary housing, likely with other people who are struggling in a similar way to you. Recovery housing includes treatment programs, and it is considered to be the halfway point along the road to recovery and sobriety in the real world. 

How To Narrow Down the Search

Even after seeing and understanding these four forms of treatment, you may have trouble deciding which rehab program is the right one for you. 

Asking the following questions may help you narrow down these programs and the centers that offer them:

• What types of treatment therapy is offered within each program or center?
• Can/does the program or center offer medication?
• Are the staff members within a given program or facility trained to handle both physical and mental health issues and conditions? Are they trained to handle both mental health issues and addiction?
• Is treatment within a program or facility tailored to each individual patient? 
• What can and should my family do while I am in treatment? Will my program or rehab facility offer family guidance?
• Can the center provide patient rights and responsibilities in writing for a more thorough understanding of what is in store?

After developing answers to these questions pertaining to your specific situation, it can be helpful. It is highly recommended to consult with an addiction treatment professional to get professional insight into what options may be best for you and may yield the highest success rates. 

Consulting with a treatment professional is also the best way to understand what all of your options are and find a clinic or facility that most closely matches your rehabilitation goals. Because of the sheer number of facilities available, it can be difficult to eliminate those that are poor fits for you on your own. A professional will be able to aid in this process.

You can go about consulting a professional in many ways, but we’ve tried to make it easy. 

If you are ready for treatment and want to learn more about our facility, you can submit your contact information, and one of our caring and devoted representatives will contact you shortly to answer any questions or concerns you may have. You may also call us directly and speak with a representative over the phone if your needs are more immediate, or you can go straight to verifying your benefits to see what your insurance covers. 

Investigating the Options

You can either come up with a list of possible choices of facilities on your own, or a professional can help you craft a list of facilities after your consultation with them. Either way, the next step should be to start narrowing down that list of options. 

The best way to go about doing this is to start exploring and investigating each facility to make sure it fits your needs and goals. Most facilities will offer a great deal of information on their website, so that will be a great place to start. Click through each website, explore their tabs, and look into amenities and specificities of treatment programs. 

A facility that has nothing to hide will be forthcoming with information, and if there is anything you would like to know which cannot be answered just from the website, contact them directly and get your questions answered. 

A few things to consider when exploring options include:

• Available treatment programs – Inpatient vs. Outpatient
• Areas of treatment that a facility specializes in
• Treatments and therapies available
• Amenities
• Location
• Program length
• Cost

Once you explore each of these topics, you can start making comparisons between different clinics or facilities and the standards of treatment that they have to offer. 

Making these comparisons between rehabilitation centers can help you more easily identify each facility’s strengths and limitations, allowing you to make a clearer choice. 

Credibility of Programs

Another important area to consider when evaluating and selecting a drug rehabilitation center is how credible the programs offered are. 

Evidence-based treatment programs are the only treatment programs which have been proven to be successful, so this is something to look for and keep in mind. 

Evidence-based treatment means that the treatment and its intended purpose have been tested, and it was proven to be effective. 

Not every facility uses evidence-based treatment. Some facilities still utilize therapy and treatment methods that don’t work for everyone. This hit-or-miss approach to treatment can be more harmful than helpful. With that said, it is important to be on the lookout for facilities that offer evidence-based treatment so that you can get the best care possible. At our luxurious Los Angeles facility, we use evidence-based treatment in order to ensure that our clients’ roads to recovery are successful long-term. 

Moreover, it is important that you choose a facility which offers a variety of evidence-based treatment programs rather than just one. Each individual is different and has very unique needs and health concerns, so it is important that the drug rehabilitation center you choose takes this seriously and creates a unique plan for each person. 

The more options that are available to you, the more likely you are to experience a successful recovery. 

Within evidence-based treatment programs are both pharmacotherapy and behavioral therapy. 

It is important to choose a facility that offers both, especially if the addiction you are struggling with is more severe. Substance abuse pertaining to alcohol and opioids may be especially severe, in which case medication therapy is especially recommended in order to aid with the process of detoxification and the symptoms which may accompany it. 

The use of medication during treatment for drug addiction has been shown to yield much more positive, long-lasting treatment outcomes than treatment without the use of medication. 

This is largely because of the fact that medication eases much of the discomfort experienced during withdrawal, and withdrawal is generally the most unpleasant part of the journey to sobriety. 

Cost and Insurance Coverage

It is also very important to consider your budget when choosing a center and to make sure that the center you decide on accepts your insurance. Most facilities will provide some information pertaining to cost and coverage on their website, but if this information is not readily available, you should call and ensure that you can afford your treatment at the center in question. 

Starbridge Recovery offers a feature on our website which lets you check to see if your health insurance is accepted at our facility. We work with most major insurance carriers so that we can ensure our patients receive the care they need, but if you are uncertain that your insurance is accepted, you are welcome and encouraged to fill out our free insurance verification form. 

Summary

The options can be very overwhelming when you begin your search for a drug rehabilitation center that is right for you and your needs. It can be helpful to start your search by exploring the different types of treatment most commonly offered, and investigating the ways that each method does or does not align with your needs and goals. 

Consulting a professional can make this process easier because a treatment professional will have a lot of familiarity with centers in the area and an understanding of your concerns. A professional can also help you make a list of centers that fit your criteria, and drawing comparisons between those centers will allow you to narrow it down and ultimately pick the facility that best fits your specific situation. 

Each individual has a very unique experience and history with substance abuse and addiction, and every situation should be treated as such. A center that uses evidence-based treatment and treats the individual as a whole will allow you to be as successful as possible, and this is exactly what we strive to do at Starbridge Recovery.

Sources: 

https://startyourrecovery.org/treatment/rehab-centers/choosing

https://www.addictioncenter.com/rehab-questions/choose-right-rehab/

https://www.help.org/choosing-the-right-rehab-facility/

https://www.statnews.com/2017/05/15/medication-assisted-treatment-what-we-know/

https://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/fact-sheets/2016/11/medication-assisted-treatment-improves-outcomes-for-patients-with-opioid-use-disorder

What Should a Person Consider When Choosing a Drug Treatment Program?

If you’ve reached a point in your life where you realize that you need a drug treatment program, this is no small feat. Many addicts never take that first step of their own accord. You’re taking control of your future from this moment forward, and you deserve access to the best possible care. 

Rehab is a huge leap, and it’s one that should be taken with care. You want to know that you’re going to a credible facility with capable staff who will provide you with the highest possible quality of treatment. You’ll need to know that the program is sustainable for you and that all your needs will be met throughout your treatment duration. 

If you’re comfortable with the facility you’ve chosen, it will be easier to commit to your recovery. Inpatient treatment is much less scary when you know where you’re going and what to expect when you get there. 

The first step in empowering yourself is choosing the surroundings in which you will recover, and it’s worth doing your research to make sure your first step is the right step.

The Location of the Program

There are advantages of choosing a program that’s close to home, and there are advantages of choosing a program that’s far away. 

If you’re committed to the idea of a new start and you want to remove yourself completely from your connections to your old habits, it might be worth choosing a rehabilitation facility that’s away from home.

If you’re looking for the best possible care, no matter where that care may be located, you may also want to leave yourself open to the idea of staying at an inpatient facility that’s far from home. Finding a facility that makes you feel truly comfortable may be worth more to your recovery than simply finding a facility that’s close to home.

Choosing a facility within a reasonable commute of where you intend to live when treatment is over also comes with benefits. If you want to continue outpatient aftercare with that facility after your care has ended, you’ll likely have to make that drive at least once a week. You’ll need that drive to be reasonable enough that it won’t prevent you from fulfilling that commitment.

The Quality of the Staff

Everyone who works in a drug rehabilitation facility is required to have certain credentials. As long as you’re choosing an accredited and regulated rehabilitation facility, the staff onboard will legally be able to provide you with the health you need.

That said, qualifications are not necessarily indicative of bedside manner. Understaffed and underfunded rehabilitation facilities are less likely to have well-qualified staff. They’re working with limited resources and helping more people than they can reasonably handle. It’s only to be expected that they’ll deal with burnout and compassion fatigue. Smaller centers are usually able to provide a better bedside manner because the staff can better handle their workloads.

The Outcomes of Their Patients

It’s worth asking every potential rehab center on your list about their clinical outcomes. Clinical outcomes from drug addicts, in general, aren’t very good. It’s only the people who commit to their aftercare and independently make the lifestyle changes necessary to live a drug-free life who are ultimately successful with their recovery. 

The decisions people make after they leave the program are in their own hands, and a lack of personal accountability shouldn’t necessarily reflect on the quality of the facility. People choose to act against the advice of their care providers all the time, and even the best possible care cannot overcome free will. 

You’ll want to know how many people they see a year, how many people who start the program see it through to completion, and how those people evaluated their experience with the program. These are the factors that will help most in your decision-making process.

How the Program Approaches Health and Wellness

Rehab isn’t just about kicking drugs. It’s about completely reclaiming your health. After you’ve completed detox, you need to get back to work on your body. You need healthy food and exercise to help re-regulate your systems. Your body has been through an ordeal, and it’s calling out for your health.

You want a rehab facility that will provide you with equipment or classes you need for low-intensity exercise to stimulate blood flow and keep your muscles active. You need nutrient-rich foods and lots of lean protein to help you recover from the process of withdrawal. 

Drug treatment shouldn’t be a gym or a masterclass in weight loss and nutrition, but it should provide you with at least the bare minimum of what you need to keep yourself healthy and thriving while you’re in treatment.

The Comfort of the Facility

Inpatient treatment can last as little as 30 days or as long as 120 days. It all depends on what you and your treatment provider agree would be best for you. 

Rehab will be your house for as little as a month or as long as a whole season, and you need to be comfortable there. If you’re constantly unhappy with your surroundings, you might feel trapped or too unhappy to finish your stay, and thus, your program. 

Ask for a tour of the facility before you commit to treatment. You’ll be able to see the places where you’ll sit for group or individual therapy. You’ll know what your room looks like and what the bed feels like. You’ll see where your meals are prepared and what the leisure spaces look like. 

At the very least, you want your treatment center to feel like an upscale hotel you’d enjoy an extended stay in. At the most, you want your treatment center to feel like a place you’d like to live. If the words “tolerate” or “endure” come to mind, it’s time to look elsewhere. 

The Amount of Patients in Attendance

Choosing a great drug treatment program is a lot like choosing a great school. You want the patient-to-staff ratio to be ideal, much like a student-to-teacher ratio. If there are too many people in attendance, the staff will be stretched too thin to provide adequate personalized attention and individual help to the people who need it. 

Larger centers are often understaffed. People get short visits with an individual therapist, and group therapy may be too large for everyone to have a meaningful opportunity to speak. 

The fewer patients a facility takes on at one time, the better they will generally be at assisting their patients. 

This is why so many people choose boutique facilities. They’re able to make the most of their time because their access to resources comes with much less restriction. If they run over their allotted time with their individual therapist, they aren’t rushed out the door because that therapist has 15 other people to see that day. 

You likely want a facility where all of your care professionals can really take their time with you. 

You’re taking a big step to get better, and you’re entrusting these professionals to keep you safe and provide you with the tools that you need to be successful. You don’t want to risk being reduced to the concept of a faceless patient on a long list of other faceless patients. You want carefully managed care provided by competent professionals who will take a vested interest in your wellbeing.

Activities Offered By the Program

You’re going to be spending time there, and you don’t want to find yourself bored out of your wits. Mindlessly watching TV will give your mind time to wander. Sometimes that’s good for your recovery, and sometimes that’s bad. It helps to have positive things to focus on when you’re attempting to make positive changes in your life.

Rehab isn’t a punishment. It may be difficult, but it’s a wonderful gift you’re giving yourself. If you talk to some people, take some vitamins, and are left to sit in front of a screen or to lay in your room all day, it’s not going to feel like a gift. It’s going to feel the same way it felt to be grounded when you were a teenager.

A quality treatment facility will provide you with opportunities to participate in healthy activities. Hiking, sports, yoga, meditation, swimming, cookouts, and trips to the beach will keep a rehabilitation facility from feeling like a prison. You obviously can’t go out to bars and clubs, but that doesn’t mean you should be without any activity during your stay.

Conclusion

A lot goes into choosing the right drug treatment program. You need to make sure you’re comfortable with your choice if you want to set yourself up for success. 

If you’re not sure, sit down with your loved ones and have them help you decide. They know you, and they’ll have a good idea of what will work for you.

Sources:

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/high-octane-women/201407/are-you-suffering-compassion-fatigue

https://www.livestrong.com/article/557788-the-effects-of-low-intensity-cardio/

https://www.verywellmind.com/psychotherapy-101-p2-1067403

What is the Difference Between Drug Abuse and Drug Addiction?

Drug use, drug abuse, and drug addiction are not interchangeable terms. They refer to three things that often happen across a single timeline in someone’s life. There is a very thin line between drug abuse and drug addiction, so thin that no one is really aware of the exact moment they crossed it. 

One is not better than the other — in fact, one almost always leads to the other if left unchecked for too long. 

If you’re looking to eliminate drugs from your life and form healthier habits, you need to understand where you are on this linear path. Depending on what stage you’ve reached in your relationship with drugs, specific courses of treatment may be available to you. 

Planning your recovery begins with the fundamental knowledge of the severity of your drug use.

What is Casual Drug Use?

Casual drug use is any type of drug use that occurs without pattern or consistency. A casual drug user may be someone who takes ecstasy at a party once and doesn’t do it again until a concert two years later. It might be someone who socially hits a joint once or twice a month. It could be someone who tries psychedelic mushrooms once and never does it again.

Most people who use drugs will only ever be casual drug users. They experiment, but they move on. It isn’t a habit that sticks with them. It’s not something they desire to do with any type of frequency, but a special occasion indulgence that they don’t go out of their way to look for.

This doesn’t mean their drug use is safe. Drugs are never safe or healthy in any amount. All it means is that they don’t have a habit or pattern of behavior that a treatment program could fix or address. They could just as easily decide on a whim to never do drugs again and have no problem committing to that decision independently. 

What is Drug Abuse?

Drug abuse is when the set of circumstances regarding someone’s drug use is beginning to have a negative impact on their life. They may misappropriately spend their money on drugs when they have bills to pay. They may have been caught with drugs and faced legal ramifications for possessing them.

An individual who abuses drugs may be harming themselves or others around them with little regard. They may choose opportunities to do drugs instead of choosing activities necessary for their lives, like going to work or school. 

What is Drug Addiction?

Drug addiction is when drug abuse progresses to the point where someone becomes physically ill as a result of not having drugs. 

If you feel like there is a minimum amount of drugs you need to do just to keep yourself going, you have a drug addiction. If finding or using drugs has become such a focal point of your life that you don’t have time for anything else, you’re an addict. 

Addicts find they need more and more drugs to achieve the same effect that they experienced when they first started using. It may get to the point where drug addicts can’t even afford to get high anymore — they can only afford to stave off withdrawal day by day. They often have to borrow or steal money just to keep themselves involved with drugs, and they crave drugs so desperately that they don’t hesitate with the moral implications of doing so. 

If you’ve found yourself in this position, you need immediate help.

Where Does Alcohol Fit In?

Alcohol fits into every bracket. Simply replace the word “drugs” with alcohol and the warning signs are the same. 

There are casual drinkers, problematic drinkers, and alcoholics. The progression is similar, and in the end, the needs are the same. Problematic drinkers and drug addicts need help equally.

When Does Abuse Become Addiction?

No one quite catches when abuse becomes addiction.

Intervention is best when casual drug use first starts to become drug abuse. At this stage, it’s less traumatic to someone’s mind and body to change course. Addiction hasn’t fully developed and created havoc in the lives of everyone around that person. Most people, however, don’t seek treatment at the moment when casual use becomes drug abuse.

Some people seek treatment right before drug abuse becomes addiction, but most people don’t catch that transition in time. It’s so subtle that you’d miss it if you blinked. This leads to addicts that often don’t realize that they’re addicts, and they continue to get worse before they eventually wind up in treatment. Sometimes, they only wind up in treatment because they were mandated by the court.

Treating Drug Abuse

Drug abuse can be treated with inpatient or outpatient treatments. 

When recognized and acted upon early, outpatient treatments can be highly beneficial. Working with a therapist, attending group meetings, and changing your lifestyle and habits may be enough to keep you from turning back to drugs and progressing into full blown addiction.

If you have even the slightest doubt in your ability to change your course and manage your life through outpatient therapies alone, it’s better to go to an inpatient facility for comprehensive care. It may be better to take a through approach from the beginning to prevent the possibility of winding up back where you started. 

The First Step To Treating Drug Addiction

Drug addicts will experience profound withdrawal symptoms when they stop using drugs. These symptoms motivate them to find more drugs and deter them from attempting to detox at home. They feel sick, and some of them describe it as the feeling of being near death. The exact opposite is true.

Drugs, especially opioids, significantly alter the brain. That’s their entire purpose. They’re supposed to alter the way the brain receives pain, dulling the sensation. 

The problem is that opioids cannot be so precisely targeted to only impact certain neurotransmitters. They negatively impact all neurotransmitters. Opioids slow your breathing and even impact your digestion, causing constipation. They begin to run the show, and your body suffers for it.

When you stop using drugs, your brain is intensely happy. It frantically begins the process of repairing itself. It pumps you full of adrenaline to check all of your vital processes, causing your heart to race, your breathing to become rapid, and your blood pressure to raise in conjunction with a feeling of anxiousness or restlessness. It makes you sick and feverish and sweaty, in an attempt to flush out any remainers of the drug. You may vomit or experience diarrhea. Your body may ache. 

This process will continue until your brain can re-establish proper levels of the chemicals you need for your body to work correctly. It’s bringing you back to life, and that’s what withdrawal is. 

Even though this is a process that needs to happen and is, despite how it may feel, a very positive thing, it can still be dangerous. It’s especially dangerous for people who have been addicted to drugs for a long time, because they’ve suppressed their neurotransmitters for so long that they’ve likely done damage.

Detoxification should always take place in a controlled inpatient environment where medical professionals trained in helping addicts safely detox are always present. In the event that something goes awry, such as dehydration due to a wealth of fluid leaving the body, the medical professional will know what to do to prevent the situation from becoming dangerous. 

The Second Step To Treating Drug Addiction

Detox takes the drug out of the addict, but it doesn’t do anything to prevent the addict from putting it back in. 

If you’re a drug addict, inpatient treatment can help you determine why you use. The idea of putting your life on hold to check into an inpatient treatment center may not seem appealing, but it’s a power move that will help you reclaim your life.

You’ll work with a therapist to discuss how aspects of your life or your past make you feel, and discover how they impact your behavior. If you also live with a mental health condition like anxiety or depression, you’re what’s considered a dual-diagnosis patient. Your therapist will work to simultaneously treat your addiction and your mental health condition, assuring that one can no longer impact the other.

You’ll learn new skills for personal accountability, how to build healthy relationships, how to be a more responsible person, how to set goals for yourself, and how to recognize your personal strengths and weaknesses. 

Inpatient rehab has the potential to be one of the most empowering experiences in your life. 

Conclusion

The best time to get help for your struggles with drugs is before you become an addict. The second best time to get help is right now. You don’t want to wait until the eleventh hour to go to rehab. Your mental and physical health will deteriorate more and more each day you procrastinate your wellbeing. 

Going to rehab is taking care of yourself. It’s loving yourself, and giving yourself the things you deserve to have the life you’ve always wanted. There’s no shame in wanting to be happy and successful, and it all starts with treatment.

If you or a loved one are ready to get started, click here to explore what Starbridge Recovery can offer. 

Sources:

https://www.bjs.gov/content/dcf/enforce.cfm

https://www.actionforhappiness.org/take-action/set-your-goals-and-make-them-happen

https://www.habitsforwellbeing.com/what-is-personal-accountability/