Rehab for Drug Addictions

When someone hears the word rehab, their visceral reaction is to cringe, whether they are an addict themselves or the loved one of an addict. The media taught us that rehab should be feared or looked down upon; however, that is simply not true with the scientific advances in effective therapies that help drug abusers reach and maintain the sobriety for which they long. While rehab for drug addictions does require effort, it is available to anyone looking to take the reins of their life back from the drugs that are consuming it. Rehab is short for rehabilitation and is referred to in modern society as drug addiction treatment or a drug addiction program as well. Research has shown that the vast majority of individuals who are dependent on, abuse, or are addicted to any chemical substance repeatedly relapse and rarely succeed at maintaining sobriety without professional help.

What is rehab?

Rehab is defined as “a course of treatment for drug or alcohol dependence, typically at a residential facility”. It is derived from Latin words that mean to make something fit again. People who take advantage of the services that rehab has to offer want to fit back into their lives and society.

Rehab is the step that follows detox, the elimination of the drug from the body. Getting past detox and into rehab is an enormous achievement and is best done with medical assistance. A variety of rehab programs exist, and that is because drug addiction does not discriminate between class, gender, ethnicity, or career choice. Choosing the rehab center and program that most closely meets who you are as a person provides the best chance at recovery. This means that there are many facilities offering different therapies and amenities. Rehab is typically a long-term process that requires a great deal of support and monitoring.

What is involved in evidence-based drug addiction rehab?

Two major entities are involved in the research and science behind what practices are effective against the most severe cases of drug addiction, NIDA (National Institute on Drug Abuse) and SAMHSA (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration). Their goals are to reduce the impact of substance abuse and mental illness by applying the knowledge acquired on its causes and consequences. Evidence-based treatment is that which has been proven to be effective after extensive research.

When an addict or a loved one does research on the thousands of facilities in the United States, they can see that there is a generally process that has offered a high success rate. It involves:

• Detoxification
  • Detox is the process of allowing the body to eliminate the chemical substance. This relatively short (few days to a few weeks on average) stage is the most physically uncomfortable part of achieving sobriety. It can be accompanied by life-threatening symptoms and is the stage during which relapses often occur, because the user knows that it will alleviate the pain for the moment. Medical monitoring is usually recommended, so detox is best executed at a drug detox facility. Similarly, it is generally included in an inpatient drug treatment program.
• Rehabilitation
  • There are a variety of therapies that are most effectively used in combination with each other. Each person’s customized plan will look different, depending on what resonates best with them. These plans look similarly whether an inpatient or outpatient drug addiction rehab is chosen.
    • MAT (medication-assisted treatment)
      • A variety of medications have been discovered to be useful in or were specifically designed to help an addict in their fight against addiction. Some examples are the ones that have created hope in the opioid epidemic that plagues the streets of America: methadone, suboxone, and naltrexone. There are a variety of medications that are also used to treat alcohol and nicotine dependence as well. They lessen the symptoms and quell the cravings to use. They decrease the likelihood of relapsing and increase the chances of success.
    • Behavioral therapy (group and individual sessions)
      • Many of the reasons behind continued substance abuse is because of the lack of coping skills necessary to face stressors in life and past traumas. Trained therapists use methods that help people deal with and resolve their roadblocks to a happy future. Therapies can include cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT), contingency management (CM), and motivational enhancement therapy (MET).
    • Additional services
      • Individuals who are addicted to drugs customarily are affecting by additional issues, from legal and career-oriented to family and mental health. Good programs will include services that assist someone in  resolving those difficulties, including psychoactive medications for those who have a dual diagnosis.

What is helpful in addition to rehabs for drug addiction?

Many people who have sought out professional help have usually tried to quit using drugs on their own first. Many times, the addict has not admitted themselves to a rehab facility for their drug addiction but has been admitted after a legal issue or ended up in the emergency room because of drugs. Statistics point out that those who try to stop on their own do not have as high a success rate as their counterparts who have gone through a rehab program. People who would like complementary ways that may help them sustain their sobriety can include activities in their daily routines that include:

• Meditation can help lower stress and reduce the chance of relapsing
• Recovery coaching from those who have been through it themselves
• Finding a therapist can help someone delve into past traumas or teach them how to cope
• IOP (intensive outpatient programs) offer a flexible schedule that allows for daily therapy sessions and classes, but they can live at home
• Eating healthy and optimizing nutrition
• Peer recovery groups cover a vast array of interests with a few examples including:
  • SMART recovery - self-help addiction recovery
  • Women for sobriety
  • Refuge recovery based on Buddha-inspired thoughts
  • Celebrate recovery based on Christian-centric thinking
  • LifeRing - secular and based on abstinence
  • Wellbriety for the Native Nations
  • Moderation Management

One thing has been proven throughout the years … that a combination of therapies is necessary for someone to achieve and maintain sobriety. It is difficult enough to admit that you are having a problem controlling your use of drugs, and it is another thing entirely to create the upheaval necessary in your life to get the rehab that will help treat your drug addiction. It involves a restructuring of your entire routine, from who you hang out with to what aisle you walk down at the store. Using a combination of any therapy chosen is the best answer when you have proposed the question of how to best regain the happiness that you once had before drugs took over your life.