Drug Rehab – Your Light At The End Of The Tunnel P2

Welcome back to Dara. Today we will continue our previous article about the differences between an inpatient and outpatient rehabilitation centers. You can catch up with the previous article here.

Mind over matter

Let’s just begin with acknowledgment, that it’s impossible to simply “wish” your addiction away. It is a hard process. Becoming sober will mean long nights in cold sweat and self-doubt. Before we get ahead of ourselves, let’s refresh what was the difference between an inpatient and outpatient rehabs.

Simply put an inpatient rehab is where the addict is admitted to the facility and is not allowed to leave the property of the rehab until checked out.

An outpatient rehab is a place the addict visits a few times a week, depending on their rehabilitation course. The biggest difference here is that the patient does not remain in the rehabilitation facilities and comes only for their therapy and counseling sessions.

Re-learning to live

Admitting yourself to a rehab is no easy decision. It is never the beginning of the fight, first, the battle of attrition with your own mind must be won. People rarely wish to make drastic changes in their life due to being scared of the unknown is a very strong pillar in human nature.

It is hard enough to tackle your fears and commit to becoming sober, then one must decide to go for an inpatient or outpatient rehab. Fundamentally they are very similar, but it is important to understand that an addict’s mind and reasoning has been impaired by years of substance abuse so one must ask themselves before making this decision – how much do you trust yourself? How easy will it be for you to avoid the temptation of your favorite drug? How long can you go without, until you MUST have some, no matter the cost, effort or ruined relationships?

An inpatient rehabilitation center has quite a lot better track record when it comes to successful cases of becoming sober. The reason being, that inpatient rehabs offer protection from the influence of outside world. It addresses the physical need for using by simply cutting off all supply and any chance of finding some. These first days or weeks, in some cases, can be very difficult to cope with. Many people break and demand to be discharged immediately. If the addict is able to withstand this tough period, the body no longer has physical need to use the drug, from there on out, it is all a mental battle.

Outpatient rehabs rely on you to keep yourself in check whenever you are not in their facilities. They expect you to stay strong despite being in the same environment that resulted in you becoming an addict in the first place. That is the main drawback with outpatient rehabilitation programs. They do work, but people are much weaker than they think they are. A large portion of inpatient rehab residents are people who tried to quit all by themselves at first, failed and then turned to outpatient rehab, but ultimately failed that as well.

Whichever treatment type you choose, they both provide you with support throughout your course. They provide much-needed structure to your life, discipline, and comfort of other like-minded individuals who are going through the same hardships that they are. A sort of camaraderie and mutual understanding is developed, usually reserved for those who experience high-stress environments or situations – people like soldiers, policemen or firefighters just to name a few. These people become your best chance at remaining sociable and engaged with people around you because for best chances at recovery the addict must avoid contact with people that affect him negatively. The dealer, the friends you used with and people that indirectly made you turn to substance use as a means of escape.

Whatever your choice, no better to make that choice than today. Seek help, because an addicts battle, is seldom won by themselves and without supportive people. We, as humans are social beings, being lonely and addicted is the worst kind of combination. You are never alone and there are professionals and other addicts who will do everything they can to make sure you become clean and complete your path to recovery.