New Year's Resolution Kept

There are many new years resolutions we have all vowed to adhere to, but ultimately failed and abandoned. Quit smoking, quit sweets, quit heroin, quit stress? Most are unattainable at best, others impossible outright. Then there are those that are a bit of both. To commit and complete a rehabilitation course and kick an addiction is probably one of the most ambitious new year’s resolutions one could attempt and definitely no other more necessary.

Millions of people claim to kick a bad habit every year, be it open and candid or perhaps secretly and to themselves. You would be hard pressed to find an addict that loves to be one and doesn’t mind all the lost friends, family, and opportunities that came and went over the years. Very few actually reach and complete their new target, even fewer do so in that very year. Battle with addiction is a long and hard one, but like every road has to have a beginning, so must the path to sobriety.

Do not deny the problem.

There are countless addicts out there that genuinely do not believe that they are addicts. People will find a justification for almost any action. Using drugs is not an exception. It usually takes for them to hit the proverbial rock bottom or attending a particularly candid intervention by friends and family to realize and come to terms with the fact that yes, you are indeed an addict and no you don’t need that bad habit to cope with the world.

An addict with a runaway addiction problem is almost constantly looking for drugs or using drugs. A simple delay in that schedule can send an addict into panic and at odds with everyone around them. Addicts become withdrawn and anti-social. For better chances of recovery, the addict himself must come to the conclusion that he has a problem and he wants to claw his way back out of it. Forceful rehabilitation is very unlikely to succeed because they must want to get clean. Simply locking someone in a room will cure them of their dependence, but it will never cure their addiction. As soon as they are out and left to their own devices, the addict will find any chance to score a hit again. For forced addicts rehab is just a sentence one must endure to be set free again. While trapped in their own minds, addicts will never be free.

Taking the step.

Once the addict has understood that the only path away from wasting away in a ditch is a rehabilitation course, it’s important to choose the right rehab center. The first choice is between inpatient and outpatient rehabs. While outpatient rehabs and their programs are much cheaper, they seldom have the success rates of an inpatient rehab. It’s important to remember, that the inpatient centers have an environment, facilities and activities catered for the addict’s recovery. Being isolated from the outside world the addict can focus on his recovery without temptations and stress that would not be possible otherwise.

What to expect.

Be it an inpatient or outpatient rehab, the basis for recovery is the same. Support and care. The addict is surrounded by like-minded people who want to help you on your way to independence from drugs. A peaceful and serene bubble of their very own so the patient can thrive and heal both mentally and physically – an inpatient rehabilitation center. Outpatient addicts receive the same kind of support and help, yet they run the risk of temptation. They remain in their usual comfort zone, where drug using friends keep coming by and offering a bump, where a dealer is a call away and ready to sell you some poison. In the case of alcohol its even worse, since every shop and corner store sells hard liquor and every other type of alcohol.

Getting clean is a conscious choice. It is a battle of will every inch of the way and will not come easy. Wanting to be clean and dedicating oneself to be sober is a just and worthwhile new year’s resolution and definitely one to keep.