Addiction to drugs and alcohol is a problem in the United States and around the world. In the United States alone, it has been estimated that more than 20.5 million people who are 12 years old or older have problems with alcohol and drug abuse. Of these people, about two million misuse prescription drugs. Another 591,000 people use heroin. As a consequence of this and the opioid crisis that is ravaging the nation, drug rehab centers have become very important for a large number of people around the country. If you or someone you know is set to go to one of the drug rehabilitation centers, there are things you can do to make the most of the situation.
- Pick the right program. The first step in dealing with alcohol or drug abuse is to find the right program. There are residential and outpatient programs. Inpatient recovery programs can last anywhere from 29 days to 18 months. Some areas have free programs and in other cases, you can use health insurance to pay for drug and alcohol treatment.
- Trust the process. The process of recovery from alcohol or drug abuse can be long and hard. The experienced professionals who have worked with people suffering from addiction have programs and processes that have worked. While everyone is different and every recovery plan is unique to the individual, it is important to have some faith in the process and to go through with things that may not immediately make sense.
- Try to stay positive. If you have a problem with alcohol or drug abuse, it took longer than a few hours, days, or weeks to get to where you are today. It will also take longer to go through the recovery process. As unpleasant as it may seem, at least at times, you should do what you can to stay positive. Remind yourself, when you are feeling bad, that the feeling will pass. Going into the process knowing that not every day is going to be great can help you deal with harder days and times.
- Enlist the help of your friends and family. The more you get your support system involved in your recovery, the better the chances will be that you will be successful. When experts talk about recovering from an addiction to alcohol or drugs, they talk about “changing the people, places, and things” that addicts associate with their drug of choice. Getting the people who you love and who love you involved, you can do some of that. In this instance, you may not be changing all of the people you surround yourself with but they can do things to help you stay clean and sober.
- Stop beating yourself up. It is easy to get into the trap of thinking about all of the bad things that you did while under the influence of drugs or alcohol. While admitting what you did and taking responsibility for your actions is an important part of recovery, you should not think of those things as encompassing the totality of your existence. You may have done bad things but you are not the bad things you have done. That is an important distinction. More importantly, self-pity will hurt your efforts to stay sober.
- Prepare for what you will do at home. No matter how great the drug abuse treatment program is, at some point, you are going to have to go back to your life and the world. They say that a “failure to plan is a plan to fail.” Nowhere is this truer than when it comes to recovery from drugs and alcohol. Find support groups, work with sober people, and make a plan for when you may want to use. This will make a huge difference for your recovery.
Recovering from problems with drug abuse is possible. Every year, many people around the United States and the globe create better lives for themselves and the people around them by making their recovery a priority. You can succeed if you work at it, have faith in yourself and your program, and do the work to get and stay clean and sober.
